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Restart Import from Germany

10K views 44 replies 26 participants last post by  Toddm 
#1 ·
Anyone have an idea when Sig will be able to re-start importing from Germany again? How long is the export ban for? Forever???
:(
 
#5 ·
Why would Sig want to? It will cost them more and drive up the cost of the end product. They have to be competitive. It would be like Sig shipping U.S. manufactured pistols to Germany and attempting to sell them to the European customers. What if they try it and Mr. Trump becomes our next President?

Remember how recently Steyr, Remington, Glock and several other companies moved production from the North to the South in the USA because of operational cost and political issues.

It is amazing how we complain about putting workers out of jobs in the USA. Then we still want to buy foreign products because of some fancy in our minds or imagined higher quality.
 
#6 ·
Why would Sig want to? It will cost them more and drive up the cost of the end product. They have to be competitive. It would be like Sig shipping U.S. manufactured pistols to Germany and attempting to sell them to the European customers. What if they try it and Mr. Trump becomes our next President?
SIG USA does not make all the models that SIG Germany made. There is still demand for those models from Germany.
 
#8 ·
Even if the German Government ban ends, I doubt we will ever see regular importation of SIGs from Germany to the US again. Cheaper to make them here. I understand that the American "P210" is projected to sell for about half what their German counterparts did. Somebody once said, "There is nothing that cannot be made a little worse and sell for a little less". Within my humble experience with SIGs and other German pistols, German quality is not just imagined.......ymmv
 
#16 ·
I understand that the American "P210" is projected to sell for about half what their German counterparts did. Somebody once said, "There is nothing that cannot be made a little worse and sell for a little less". Within my humble experience with SIGs and other German pistols, German quality is not just imagined.......ymmv
The P210'murica isn't an American made P210, it just looks like a P210, with a completely different locking action. They crammed the P-Series action into a P210 frame, cut the price in half and somehow it is supposed to be of the same quality of the original, I don't believe it. Also the safety looks awful, I know it is so they could use the grips they chose, but it ruins the classic lines of the P210. Recent history with QC failures with Legion frames and finger pointing customer service has made me focus on trying to find quality used or NOS German guns over anything made by Sig USA.
 
#11 ·
This ban will last for long time.

Sig Sauer has been occupied because of the illegal arms sales in the civil war Colombia with an export ban. Accordingly, the processing of all application procedures by the responsible Federal Office of Economic and Export Control was stopped on July 1 2014. The Federal Office initiated a review and is examined in whether Sig Sauer is a reliable exporter .
The illegal gun shipments to Colombia have for Sig Sauer consequences . The German company may no longer export weapons.
Sig Sauer is also reducing (stopping) the production facilities in Germany due tu the ban. Only hunting rifles will be produced in future for the European market.
 
#13 ·
Being that they reduced the staff in February 2015 down to 50 with only 12 employees actually manufacturing 25 pistols and 5 rifles per day for the European market only, I really don't think that SIG Sauer will export any weapons anytime soon. The guns they are manufacturing in Eckernförde are sporting guns only. The hunting rifles are being manufactured in Isny. The DA is still investigating illegal exports and as long as that is still going on there will be no export permit for SIG Sauer issued. There were also reports that evidence was stolen from the DA's office (3 laptops) without any trace of a break in.

I got these information from local German newspapers. Here are the links for everyone interested:

Sig Sauer schrumpft weiter: 73 Mitarbeiter müssen gehen (02.25.2015)

Diebstahl offenbar ohne Einbruch (03.11.2015)
 
#43 ·
Jeez, after reading the articles it seems plain that NO more weapons will be reasonably produced in Germany. Or at least in the quality that I would purchase. They lost the experienced machinists so quality WILL suffer along with any chance of redesign or advancement.

Looks like they are engaging in a controlled corporate shut down to me. Too bad.
 
#14 ·
I have the Sigs listed below. They are all reliable and accurate. I know the 229 and one of the 226's are stamped, "Frame Made In Germany". The rest I don't know. Sig announced sometime in 2014 that all guns would be made in the USA eventually. So, I don't think there will be a lift on the export ban.
 
#22 ·
Simple Answer, "NOPE"

There are too many rules associated with importing, besides they are currently well established in the USA. Now having said that, I prefer the older German made models, i.e. P230. With that in mind, the same is true for Walther firearms, i.e. P5. Fortunately, the market is now focused on modular, plastic, DAO and hammerless, which has allowed me to find many of my favorites.

LilOsage
 
#23 ·
I have zero interest in German-made SIGs. Don't have anything against others' opinions of them and nothing against others' collecting them. I can appreciate them and I can be happy for my fellow SIG enthusiasts for getting ANY gun that they want and that makes them happy.

But in my case, I am very happy with my American-made SIGs.
 
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#25 ·
The only thing I like more about the German Imports and some of the Swiss, was that Ilaflon finish. I like it alot more than Nitron, but Nitron works just fine for my purposes. I hope eventually Sig goes PVD on everything, just not grey.

Getting too hard to find those even on gun broker.

Loving my Exeter 2022 so far!
 
#31 ·
There were certain questions about my comment regarding the days I regret when SIGs were produced in Neuhausen Switzerland.
Apologies but I do not know in how far you members from the forum know about SIG ... SIG actually was a Swiss company, Schweizer Industrie Geselschaft...producing their weapons in Neuhausen before it was taken over by Sauer in Germany and started also activities in the USA
Sorry chaps but SIG isn't originally american
Having done my military duties in Switzerland we were given ONLY swiss equipments (they have a certain laws regarding this...) and I had the P75 (aka the SIG P220)
The materials coming from Neuhausen had to be more-than-perfect...reason for my comment that I regret the days when weapons came frpm there
 
#33 · (Edited)
I knew SIG itself at one point was being run out of there, and JP Sauer and Son were the German portion.

A few years ago Swiss Arms used to have the Sp2022 listed in their catalog which is interesting considering the Swiss framed Sp2022 were even hard to find prior to that.

That said, I've seen a post on "the gun zone" that showed some cracked P226 slides coming out of the Swiss factory, and they made it right and said it was a small batch. In any case, every SP2022 I've seen with Swiss frames and a few Swiss slides I've seen (besides the P210's) seem quality. I don't think there's any appreciable difference between the German imported ones and the Exeter ones, but I like the finish the European guns had much more.

In any case, hopefully your P220 ran just fine.
 
#34 ·
Rumors? The Swiss army used the year of introduction as nomination for their weapons. For the Sig 220 introduced in 1975 : P75 ...for the Sig 210 introduced in 1949: P49...the Walther PPK used by the air force in 1966: P66 and the SIG510 was known as the Stgw 57...the Sig 550 as the Stgw 90
 
#41 · (Edited)
I think my confusion with your statement is the use of the word "regret". To most Americans the word regret has a negative connotation of sadness or remorse over something that was done or not done. Not to put words in your mouth :lol: but I took your statement to mean you were sorry (remorseful) that SIG pistols were ever produced in Neuhausen when I think you actually meant you were sad and longing for the "good old days" when SIGs were produced in Neuhausen. Also, apologies for not recognizing you were in Europe, and not the U.S.

I know about P75s and have been looking for one for several years, but they are hard to find in the U.S. because they are a military weapon that was in active service within the last 50 years and can not be legally imported here, only brought in as a personal gun. At least that is the story I was told when I tried to import one from Canada. I want one strictly because its lineage traces back to the first pistol ever produced by the partnership of SIG and JP Sauer & Sohn. Unfortunately because they are so rare in the U.S. people are asking ridiculous premiums ($1,600 on Gunbroker when they were around $700 in Canada) for them, which I am personally not willing to pay.
 
#42 ·
German Made

Now I realize its not important so some, but I just won an auction on a German made KF(1995) Sig P230 equipped with Rosewood grips and I am utterly ecstatic. Unfortunately it will be a few days for the shipping and transfer process to be completed. Not real certain that ecstatic and thrilled mean the same thing, but I think so. Since I'm a mix of Osage Indian and German, english has always been somewhat of a challenge for me.

She-Ta-Heh,

LilOsage
 
#45 · (Edited)
The trick will be if they can keep the same level of quality, we won't know that for a long while, The P210 won't tell us because it's a completely different gun mechanically, so unless they take up X5's which seems to still be unknown, we may never know.

As others have mentioned the American P210 is so far removed mechanically from the original P210 that they are basically related in external looks and model number only. The MSRP dropped almost in half, when was the last time you saw a product cut their price in half, but kept the same level of quality? No one knows how production models will perform aside from some no doubt hand picked, pre-tested samples that went to SHOT.

I'll say this, I've fired a lot of SAO P226's and the difference between them and my X5 Tactical is night and day, in fit/finish, trigger quality, and accuracy. So I'm all for more American made SIG's if they keep X5 level quality and accuracy. I have no doubt SIG here can do it, perhaps even do it better, the question is WILL they, or will they be more concerned with profits than quality. If the issues with the Legion and MPX are any indication, well lets just say I wouldn't hold my breath. Case in point the X5 fully adjustable trigger that was advertised to be available on the Legion SAO that magically turned into the normal SAO trigger with a flat face.
 
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