SIG Sauer GmbH is the German representative of Switzerland-based manufacturing firm Swiss Arms AG, which was spun off from Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) in 2000. SIG Sauer Inc was established in 1985 with the name SIGARMS (until October 2007) to import and distribute SIG firearms into the United States, although it now also has some manufacturing capabilities. Since 2000 it has been a separate entity. The origins of the original SIG company lies in the Swiss Wagon Factory created in 1853 by Friedrich Peyer im Hof, Heinrich Moser and Conrad Neher. After winning a competition put on by Switzerland's Federal Ministry of Defense, a contract to produce 30,000 muskets was awarded. They changed their name to Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG), German for "Swiss Industrial Company". In the 1970s, SIG began work on designing a handgun that would balance price with quality. Swiss law limits the ability of Swiss companies to manufacture arms and Swiss companies who wish to do this have to do so by using a foreign partner. In the case of SIG they chose the German firm of Sauer & Sohn. The SIG Sauer line of handguns began in 1975 with the SIG Sauer SIG P220. Prior to World War II, Sauer had been primarily a maker of shotguns and hunting rifles. During the war, they produced a handgun, the Sauer 38H, but afterwards had retreated from this market. With SIG as their partner/owner, Sauer returned to the business of manufacturing handguns. SIG also produced a machine gun, the MG 710 which was a general purpose machine gun chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and based on the German MG42. It also used roller-delayed blowback as used in the CETME/G3/SIG 510 rifles and sometimes had a muzzle capable of launching rifle grenades. However, the MG 710 had a high price so the weapon was only exported to Bolivia.In 1985, SIGARMS Inc. was created as the American branch of SIG in Tysons Corner, Virginia to import the P220 and P230. In 1987 SIGARMS moved to Herndon, Virginia, and in 1990 moved to Exeter, New Hampshire to accommodate new manufacturing. SIGARMS, and its European sister companies, Sauer & Sohn, Blaser, Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH and Swiss Arms were bought by Michael Lüke and Thomas Ortmeier in October, 2000. On October 1, 2007 SIGARMS officially changed their name to SIG Sauer Inc. Today, SIG Sauer is the largest of the five companies and one of the largest firearms manufacturing entities in the world. It is also the fastest growing firearms maker in the United States, expanding its operations and increasing sales nearly 50% since 2005.[citation needed] SIG Sauer has recently tripled its work force and invested eighteen million dollars into state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and equipment. According to SIG Sauer, one-third of U.S. police use SIG firearms. In the U.S. SIG Sauer also operates a firearms training school, the SIG Sauer Academy, in Epping, New Hampshire.Hunting is a sport which a human 'hunts' any living thing, but usually wildlife for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law. The species which are hunted are referred to as game, and are usually mammals and migratory or non-migratory gamebirds.A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency (accuracy and speed) using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns (see archery for more information on shooting sports that make use of bows and arrows). Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event (albeit only once, in 1900). The shooting sports are categorized by the type of firearm or target used.