A Swiss company with factories and partnerships in Germany and the US, SIG has long held a solid reputation over the past few decades with their P-series pistols. Members of this series include the 220, 226, 229, et al. These guns are well liked from such high-level operators as the SEALs, British SAS and others around the world. The downside of the P-series is that they are heavy (even in the ‘slim’ P225 version) and are priced high for those who aren’t using a government purchase order. This is where the SP2022, SIG’s full sized polymer framed pistol, comes into play.
Ergonomics and Recoil
The same issues with the rest of the SIG P-series are still evident in the SP2022. It’s the same general width and length as the P229, and comes in at 29-ounces, which is pretty heavy for a polymer gun. The internals are much as the P-series as is the trigger, but the controls are slightly different. The slide lock is huge and feels like a lever from the AK-47. It’s always had replaceable backstraps, which leads you to wonder why it took Glock so long to figure it out.
With such a heavy pistol (only a few ounces less than a Colt 1911), the recoil was marginal and the gun comes back on target rapidly.
Trigger and Accuracy
The SA/DA trigger of the SP2022 has respectable 10-pounds of pull double action with a good bit of travel. Once fired, single action breaks at 4.4-pounds, which isn’t bad but still has a lot of travel. It works, but could be better, and is actually one of the worst in ourcomparison. However, there is still a four-point safety system on the pistol, which is nice for a gun that isn’t striker fired with a safe-action trigger. This thing is not going to go off by accident.
With a shorter sight radius and barrel than most of the comparison pistols, you would expect the SIG to throw rounds, but it doesn’t. It is designed as a military service weapon as is the standard sidearm of several NATO forces. You don’t get that if you can’t hit the target – and this gun can.
Reloading and Disassembly
The large 15-shot (in 9mm) steel mags have the look and feel of a P226 mag but with witness holes on the rear instead of the side. Loading and reloading are no problem. The gun inherited a lot from the P-series aspects but sadly does not have the same simple take down lever for disassembly. To field strip, you have an empty and safe pistol, then pop out that giant AK slide stop (which is probably why it’s so big!), and the gun comes apart for cleaning and maintenance. No tricks or problems with this gun.
Reliability and Durability
Early SP2022′s and the guns it was derived from had a few issues, but the design has matured over the years. Other than the Glock, it is the oldest design in the comparison with more than 15-years of solid use around the world. SIG has a lifetime warranty and a factory here in the United States, which is value added over many of the other guns in the comparison. SIG, like Glock, also has a huge factory-trained armorer program so odds are that most medium sized towns should have at least one SIG smith lurking around. This gun will most likely outlive its first two or three owners.
Final Verdict
The SP2022 is seen as something like the ‘budget P226′ or the ‘SIG for the masses.’ SIG themselves tried to replace it with the P250 a few years ago but was unable to and the SP2022 still reigns as the company’s polymer hope. It’s a little dated, but it works, and at $400-ish, you really can’t beat it on the price point. The only reason it finished at the 10th spot in a 10-pistol comparison is that someone had to, and the other nine were just incrementally better.