SIG Sauer P322: "The highest capacity, most advanced 22 pistol in its class"

SIG Sauer is back with a new rimfire pistol, the P322. SIG says it's "The highest capacity, most advanced 22 pistol in its class." That might be up for debate, if you want to argue about what class this pistol is in—but there is no question the 20-round mags are a significant upgrade over many of the current market offerings.

Like SIG's previous Mosquito rimfire pistol, the P322 is generally styled along the lines of its larger semi-autos, not the leaner angles that competitors have been using for decades, back to the days of the Colt Woodsman and its competitors.

SIG says the P322 isn't just built in its New Hampshire plant, it was also designed at the company's New England facility. Does that mean it's a welcome sight for American shootists, who are facing an ammo shortage that far eclipses even the Obama years? Maybe, but .22LR can also be pretty hard to come by these days, and those high-capacity magazines (relatively speaking) are going to make a dent in your stash fairly quickly. Not that that's a problem in Canada, where we'd be restricted to 10-rounders anyway. American buyers can upgrade to 25-rounders as an official SIG-made accessory.

Speaking of Canadian buyers, it will likely take a while for the P322 to make its way into our market, as the 4-inch barrel would be just a tad short for Canadian regs. However, there will be demand, and sooner or later, SIG will have a supply for us with specs that fit our market.

Out of the box, the SIG Sauer P322 comes with ambidextrous controls (including reversible mag catch) and interchangeable straight and curved trigger plates. There's a removable rear sight plate, in case you want to upgrade the standard fiber-optic sights (including fully-adjustable rear sight) to a red dot. SIG says the ROMEOZero red dot optic will directly mount to the pistol with no need for adapter plates. There's a 1913 rail under the barrel, for lights and other attachments.

There's a threaded barrel adapter included, although that might be deleted on a Canada-specific model, should SIG make one. The gun's frame is stainless steel, with polymer grip and an integrated magwell. The barrel itself is carbon steel; the slide is anodized alloy, which helps keep weight down to 484 grams.

American customers will pay a $399 US MSRP for this pistol. See more details at SigSauer.com.