by Serena Juchnowski for the IHEA-USA
SIG SAUER, a company most known for military and duty arms, has released a product accessible to many more — the P322. The P322 rimfire semi-automatic pistol is something different than you’d expect from SIG. One clear thing — it’s not the SIG Mosquito. The SIG P322 is Made in the USA and has been thoroughly tested — it works. According to SIG SAUER staff, one goal of the P322 was to make it run with any .22 lr ammo on the market, even low-cost ammunition famous for jamming.
Each gun ships with two 20-round magazines, a magazine loader, adjustable fiber-optic sights and is optics and suppressor ready. The P322 has a stainless-steel frame and polymer grip, weighing just over a pound without a magazine. It is a SAO pistol with an enclosed hammer, front and rear cocking serrations and fully ambidextrous controls. One of my favorite features of the P322 is the modular trigger. It is easy to swap the pre-installed flat trigger shoe with the included curved shoe. Use the thin part of the included chamber flag (which is designed specifically for this gun) to push the inside edges of the upper trigger shoe out. Simultaneously slide the trigger shoe down and forward. Install the replacement shoe by starting it at an angle around the metal tabs and slide it up until it clicks into place.
Unlike the P320, the P322 is not a modular pistol. It doesn’t have a removable firing control group. In fact, the 4″ barrel is fixed and the frame and grip are one piece from an industry perspective. It isn’t a full-size P320 trainer and is considered a compact pistol. P322 specific holsters are currently in production — this rimfire isn’t compatible with P320 holsters.
Most importantly, this gun is smooth, accurate and fun to shoot. As part of a launch event, I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the P322, running it through a Steel Challenge course at Volusia County Gun Club, a SIG Academy Outpost. The iron sights were quick and easy to acquire though I did prefer shooting it with the ROMEOZero Elite Micro Red-Dot Sight. The pistol was comfortable to hold and while I didn’t accuracy test off a rest, professional shooters in the group, including SIG SAUER’s Max Michel, Phil Strider and Jack Barnes, showed the full potential of the gun — ringing steel at impressive speeds.
