At SHOT Show 2020, there was an interesting announcement that flew under the radar. Sig Sauer GmbH announced that it was partnering with Legacy Sports International to import Sig Sauer firearms into the United States. This may strike some people as weird, seeing that there is a Sig Sauer in the United States that produces firearms domestically. But the new arrangement illustrates the complete split between Sig Sauer, Inc. in the United States, and Sig Sauer GmbH in Germany.

While Sig Sauer, Inc. used to be Sig Sauer GmbH’s importer, they have since split off and become their own company, with their own production, marketing, and research and design teams. Only a few designs in the Sig Sauer, Inc. lineup retain the German heritage of the original Sig Sauer guns. Both Sig Sauer, Inc. and Sig Sauer, GmbH are owned by the same holding company, L&O Holdings. L&O also owns Swiss Arms AG, which continues to produce “Sig” rifles, the Sig 550-series of rifles that were originally designed by SIG AG.

Despite being owned by the same holding, the extent to which Sig Sauer, Inc. and Sig Sauer, GmbH collaborate since their corporate split is disputed. In 2010, Sig Sauer GmbH reportedly manufactured SP2022 pistols, which were then sent to Sig Sauer, Inc. in the United States under the understanding that they would be sold in the USA. Sig Sauer, Inc. reportedly then sold the pistols to Colombian police, violating the initial export agreement. Sig Sauer, Inc. and Sig Sauer, GmbH also collaborated to import P210 Legend pistols to the U.S. market in 2012, though this was only a limited run. Sig Sauer GmbH and Sig Sauer, Inc. also collaborated on “main line” Sig Sauer pistols by shipping parts and frames over for assembly in the United States, namely the P226, P220 and SP2022, all pistols originally meant for the European market. However, full production of these guns has since been fully shifted over to the United States by most accounts.

The legal case between Sig Sauer, GmbH and Sig Sauer, Inc may have made Sig Sauer, GmbH wary of further deals with Sig Sauer, Inc. as their relationship is under intense scrutiny by German prosecutors, leading them to partner with Legacy Sports International to import arms into the United States. But the new arrangement leads to the interesting juxtaposition of German-made, original P210s competing with the new U.S.-made and designed models. Legacy Sports International will also be importing the German Sig X-series of tuned P226-variants, which will also compete with the American P226s.

The German-made guns appear to be far more expensive than the American ones, as they appear to be marketed towards collectors and competitors. At IWA Outdoor Classics 2019, the Sig Sauer Mastershop (the European custom shop) revealed race gun and custom black finish versions of the P210 and new variants of the X-Five. Interestingly, these new German P210 variants appear to use a thumb safety derived from the U.S. manufactured updated P210s, suggesting collaboration on the design of the new models. Whether Legacy Sports International will import these ultra-custom versions have yet to be seen, but the photo in their press release suggests that they will be importing more traditional variant with the regular P210 safety.

Charlie Gao studied political and computer science at Grinnell College and is a frequent commentator on defense and national security issues.

Image: Reddit.