Stepping up to the plate for low-cost training and to provide a fun handgun for fans of the storied brand, Sig Sauer has developed the new P322 pistol. 

Designed and constructed totally in New Hampshire by Sig, the P322 is a hammer-fired 20+1 shot .22 LR pistol that is, more than anything else, dependable with common ammo. This is no mean feat when the notoriously unreliable cartridge is its fodder. Using an internal stainless steel frame inside a polymer grip, the pistol's aluminum slide contains a single-action-only enclosed hammer. 
 

Those keeping track of such things will note this is on par with the Glock 44, which is essentially a .22 LR reimaging of the Glock 19. 
 

The basics

Featuring ambidextrous surface controls and an easy "no tools" takedown for maintenance, the new P322 ships with a threaded barrel adapter for muzzle devices and suppressors – no extra barrel needed – is optics-ready right out of the box, and has both a flat and curved trigger shoe that the user can swap out as desired. Other standard features include front slide serrations, an adjustable rear sight, a fiber-optic front sight, an ambi frame-mounted manual safety, and an M1913 accessory rail on the dust cover for lights and lasers. 
 

Reliability

As part of the design validation process, Sig's engineers spent more than 15 months subjecting prototype guns to a grueling and demanding series of tests, rebuilding and refining the standard as they went. This included 5,000 dry fires on each pistol and running three guns through 40,000 rounds of a wide mix of .22 LR loads drawn from across the ammo market. To ensure the P322 would be ready for hard use with accessories, half of the test guns were outfitted with optics and a variety of suppressors were utilized to ensure compatibility. 

In the end, Sig's engineers developed a rimfire semi-auto pistol that had a "mean rounds between stoppage" rate of over 1,000 rounds, an almost unheard of benchmark for a .22 LR autoloader. 

In early March, prior to the launch of the P322, Sig Sauer invited Guns.com and other media outlets to an event in Orlando in which 16 attendees ran eight of the new .22 LR pistols in the Florida sun all day.
 

This included the opportunity to drop 200-300 rounds each through the pistols to gain some familiarity and then breaking to organize in teams and going back on the line to run a (thankfully) informal Steel Challenge Match throughout the afternoon. This gave the attendees another 200-300 rounds downrange. As we had to double up, basically two people per gun, this meant the average P322 had to chew through upwards of 1,000 rounds of CCI Mini Mags in just a few hours on pistols that were dry, right out of the box. 
 

With that being said, I personally witnessed just a couple of failures on the line, and those being late in the afternoon on guns that were so gummed up with carbon you couldn't see the chamber. Sure, that is not an all-inclusive test, but it was a great introduction to the P322. 

Since getting back home and trialing a T&E gun, which I have put about 500 rounds through so far, I have only seen one failure, which could be ammo based as the round – an Aguila Super Extra – was dimpled but didn't go off even when retrieved and tried again. 
 

Cost?

The P322 ships with a pair of flush-fitting 20-round magazines that are easy to load while extended 25-rounders and state-compliant 10-round mags are reportedly soon to be available. While Sig typically doesn't release MSRPs, preferring instead to give its dealers a Minimum Advertised Price threshold, the sweet spot for the P322 is in the $400 range, putting the gun squarely in the obtainable category, especially when stacked against competitors like the Glock 44, Taurus TX 22 Comp, and FN 502.