SIG Sauer has been around a lot longer than most people realize. SIG and Sauer combined forces in 1976, but if we go back in time to the Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, we find it started in 1853. Sauer goes back even further and has a heritage dating back to 1751. These are old companies that have formed a confusing web. A few different SIG Sauer and Sig and Sauer companies are running around. We won’t dive deep into that web, but we want to explore SIG Sauer’s forgotten guns.
SIG Sauer’s Forgotten Guns
With a few hundred years and what seems like half a dozen different companies between the two, there are bound to be some forgotten guns. Instead of delving into the 1800s or 1700s, let’s focus on a more recent era- the post-World War II world. This period of great change in firearms technology is where we’ll find some of SIG Sauer’s forgotten guns.
P290
We’ll start with the youngest gun on this list. SIG produced the P290 from 2011 to 2017, and when I mention the gun, I get lots of blank looks. “The P2what?” The SIG P290 was one of SIG’s 9mm/380 pocket guns. Plenty of folks remember the 1911-like P938, but the P290 falls into the realm of SIG Sauer’s forgotten guns.
The gun wasn’t that popular. It features some odd choices. First, it had an extremely long trigger pull. Gritty, stiff double-action triggers were a big part of the 2010s for some reason or another. The P290 and later P290RS featured that crappy trigger. The original P290s had a really long trigger pull but lacked a restrike capability. The RS model did fix that and introduced a .380 variant.
The P290, oddly enough, has various models that allow you to change the grip panels. Why? I don’t know, but you could! The gun did have real sights, and lasers were an optional upgrade. The gun was eliminated with the unveiling of the SIG P365, a gun that won’t ever be forgotten.
The Other MP320
SIG Sauer USA recently released a grip module called the MP320 that converts your P320 into a PDW. That wasn’t SIG’s first MP320. It was the American SIG Sauer’s first MP320, but the German company produced an MP320 submachine gun. SIG produced the gun, not SIG Sauer, so is it technically one of SIG Sauer’s Forgotten Guns? No, but it’s still a SIG.
SIG built the MP320 as an update to the SIG MP310 in the early 1970s. The MP320 used a lot of stamped metal and took on a futuristic appearance. It ditched the folding magwell and had a skinny, svelte side folding stock. The gun lacked an external charging handle and instead used an ambidextrous top-mounted charging handle.
This simple blowback submachine gun remained a prototype and never made it beyond that phase. The MP5 was already ruling the market, and the need for SMGs was slowly being eroded and reduced to specialized tactical teams.
SP2340
The SIG Sauer SP2340 is part of their somewhat well-known Pro series. Most gun owners and SIG fans are familiar with the SP2022, but the SP2340 often escapes recognition. The 2340 was part of the first generation of the more affordable polymer frame, DA/SA SIG Pro series. SIG realized their guns were expensive compared to the rising star, Glock.
Using polymer cut costs, improved production speed, and cut weight. SIG aimed to grab law enforcement contracts with the Pro series. As a product of the late 90s, the SP2340 came in either .40 S&W or .357 SIG. In this era, no one trusted 9mm, and .45 ACP was seen as an old man. It was all about the high-pressure cartridges.
The SP2340 didn’t get many American contracts, and honestly, it didn’t get many European or South American contracts either. The SP2022 was much more successful, and the little SP2340 faded from our collective minds and became one of SIG Sauer’s forgotten guns.
SIG SG 510-3
The SIG SG 510 is far from forgotten. This is another SIG, not a Sauer weapon. SIG developed the weapon for the Swiss military. Originally, the gun was a battle rifle that fired the 7.5x55mm cartridge. Like most weapon developers, once you have a working design, why don’t you try to sell it to other military forces? To do so, SIG rechambered the weapon into 7.62×39 and called it the SG 510-3.
As a fan of battle rifles converted to intermediate cartridges, I think this might be my favorite of SIG Sauer’s forgotten guns. The 510-3 used a shorter barrel, receiver, barrel jacket, and a curved AK lookalike magazine. The Swiss wanted to arm the Finnish, but sadly, they looked elsewhere.
The SIG SG 510-3 also takes the award for the ugliest gun on the list. It looks like a gun a six-year-old would scribble out or something A.I. would draw. The SG 510-3 uses a roller delayed system and, by all accounts, was a very fine rifle.
SIG 44/16
Last but not least, we ended up with the SIG 44/16. When you look at the SIG P210 in a vacuum, it seems like a pistol of the era. It’s a post-World War II design with a single stack 9mm magazine. The gun was known for its accuracy, reliability, and low recoil. It was and still is a great gun. The eight-round magazine is out of date these days, and that’s a big reason why the P210 isn’t as well known as guns like the Hi-Power.
However, it could have been. SIG produced several variants of the P210 and sent them to the Swedish Shooters Association for feedback. One of those models is known as the 44/16. The 44/16 model used a 16-round double-stack magazine. Sadly, the Swedish Shooter’s Association knew more about hitting a bull’s eye than fighting with a handgun and preferred the thinner single-stack grip.
Thus, the 44/16 has been regulated to forgotten status. It’s a real shame because the gun could still be somewhat relevant today with a higher capacity. We’ve seen the Hi-Power make one helluva comeback, so why couldn’t the SIG 44/16 as the p210 still function today? Slap a rail and an optic on it, and you have a fantastic pistol.
Forgetting SIG
SIG Sauer’s forgotten guns are a great way to observe the various generations of SIG and their weapons. Sadly, a lot of these guns aren’t bad guns. They could have been successful in a different era or with a different crowd. Except for the P290, that gun kind of just sucked.
