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Education / Training SIG Sauer SP 2022 BB pistol – Part 1

SIG Sauer SP 2022 BB pistol – Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Pyramyd AIR will have a booth in the exibit hall at the NRA Annual Meetings in Louisville, Kentucky, May 16-18 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Admission is free to NRA members. Be sure to stop by the booth and say, “Hi,” if you’re at the show.

Also, the Little Rock Airgun Expo will be held this Friday and Saturday at the Saline County Fairgrounds in Benton Arkansas. Visit their website for all the information.

The first thing you’ll notice about the SIG Sauer SP 2022 BB pistol is that the sample I’m testing does not have the white letters shown in the photo on Pyramyd Air’s website. It is made by KWC, a well-known airsoft manufacturer that’s now making conventional airguns, as well.

04-28-08-pistol

The SIG Sauer pistol and its magazine that also houses the CO2 cartridge. The aluminum magazine weighs more than the rest of the pistol!

This pistol is mostly polymer – something many shooters will want to know. With firearms being made from similar material these days, it isn’t that much of a stretch for air pistols to be made of the same material. Of course, the critical operating parts are metal, so the longevity is there just the same. And, the SIG Sauer SP2022 is in good company with other air pistols in its price range.

General
The controls are partly operational and partly for show. The magazine release on the left side of the grip does work and the mag drops free, just as it should. The safety is also on the left side of the grip and can be applied by the firing hand. That makes this pistol one designed for right-handed shooters, though I tried it in my left hand and found that both the mag release and the safety can be operated by that hand as well.

The hammer does move and is under spring tension, but it doesn’t move when the trigger is pulled. It can’t be cocked by hand because there’s no sear to hold it in position. The slide release is a separate part of the gun but it has no function. The slide is also separate but non-functional. When the gun is fired an internal striker does the shooting; the hammer doesn’t move and the slide remains stationary.

The box includes a small packet of BBs that appear to be of extremely high quality and uniformity. The surface finish is beyond any BB I’ve ever seen, and the diameter ranges between 0.1729″ and 0.173″. That’s one ten-thousandth of an inch of variation, which is ten times better than a BB. They look more like ball bearings than actual BBs, but I’ll wait until I shoot the gun to tell you if it makes any difference.

Accessory rail
The forward underside of the frame has a short Picatinny rail, so you can mount aftermarket lasers and tactical flashlights with no problem. Pick something short, like Leapers deluxe tactical laser perhaps. Just pick something that doesn’t have to conform to a specific shape of the triggerguard – something that’s not model-specific.

04-28-08-bbs

The pistol comes with a small packet of BBs that look nothing like Crosman or Daisy BBs. These are remarkably uniform in both their size and the smoothness of their surface finish. Perhaps they’re ball bearings.

The instruction manual is very much like an airsoft gun manual – lots of pictures with few words. It fits on one side of a single 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper. Both outside covers contain standard warnings, and everything is written in proper English.

The sights appear to be adjustable for windage by sliding them in their dovetails…until you look closer. They’re molded in one piece and the dovetails, while appearing very realistic, are not. The front has a single large white dot set into a conventional square post. The rear is a wide square notch.

The pistol is double-action only, with a light, smooth trigger-pull. It breaks at 6 lbs., 10 ozs with no noticeable creep. You should be able to fire the 23 BBs from the magazine very fast.

Loading
The BBs load in a single stack in the front of the aluminum magazine. A 12-gram CO2 cartridge is housed in the rear, where it’s entirely out of sight. KWC has recessed the cap that covers the CO2 cartridge so, from the side, the pistol’s profile is clean. That’s a feature air pistol shooters are very sensitive to, so this was a good move. To open the cap and change CO2 cartridges, you the large 1/4″ Allen wrench that comes with the gun. The cap is molded plastic, but the large size of the Allen wrench socket means very little strain is put on it when tightening to pierce the cartridge.

04-28-08-co2

Looking at the bottom of the magazine after installing a fresh CO2 cartridge. The CO2 cap is plastic, and the Allen socket is so large that the wrench hardly puts any strain on it at all. CO2 cartridges were pierced very easily.

Remember to put Crosman Pellgunoil on the tip of each new CO2 cartridge you pierce. An alternative way to do it is to turn the gun so the magazine hole points straight up, then just drop the Pellgunoil straight down inside. That’s what I did, and the gun sealed quickly after piercing.

The advertised velocity is 330 f.p.s., so I will also be counting the number of good shots I get with a cartridge. I’m guessing at least 70 or so, which would be three magazines of BBs. The BBs are loaded one at a time through the same hole they’re shot from, while your other hand holds down the spring-loaded follower. It takes quite a while to load them all, and the irony is that you’re probably going to dump them in less than 20 seconds. The BB count of 23 is right on the money, so no confusion about how many this gun holds.

Well, that’s it for now. No good/bad assessments yet, but a hunch tells me KWC wouldn’t make a gun that wasn’t good. At least, that’s been my experience with their airsoft guns.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

51 thoughts on “SIG Sauer SP 2022 BB pistol – Part 1”

  1. Hi,B.B. Was wondering if you ever did any trigger or sear work on your Blue Streak or your Benj. 392 to lighten and smooth out the action.Charlie da tuna stopped making the supersear for a while.What are your thoughts. Thanks

  2. I have a Blue Streak from 1978. It doesn’t need smoothing.

    My 392 could use it, but I haven’t done it.

    My chief concern is that whoever does the work will break through the casehardened skin and the soft metal will render the trigger unsafe.

    B.B.

  3. Hi B.B.
    I enjoyed your post today as always. I was wondering if you have any feelings regarding the Crosman 760 in comparison to the 760 XLS (wood stock / rifled barrel). Walmart has the reg 760 for $29 vs aprox $75 for the XLS.
    Thanks Mike

  4. Thanks B.B. For the simple basement target and plinking I thought the cheaper would be fine. The rifled barrel at short distances and low velocity is probably not worth the price difference. Mike

  5. B.B.Thanks for your input on the Benj.392 trigger sear. I did’nt realize that the metal could be weakened by grinding through the outer layer. I ‘ve heard of tuners grinding on the sear,but like you said “safety first.Guess I”ll wait for Charlie to start production of his supersear again.

  6. B.B.

    The controls for show reminded me of a fairly expensive airsoft reproduction of an M14 rifle. You can move the bolt with a very realistic sound and feel but it does nothing at all. Ha ha. Or there’s one of my favorite airsoft blog posts which said that the person likes ejecting the (mostly nonfunctional) shells from the UC Super 9 sniper rifle as his favorite thing to do all day long….

    Matt61

  7. BB,
    Every time there’s an airsoft or BB-only post, I have a stupid question: is the industry moving towards phasing out BB’s and converting entirely to airsoft? While I wasn’t paying attention, it seems like old-school BB’s suddenly became perceived as very dangerous (don’t fire at metal, etc.) and people are shooting at each other with airsoft, and that’s supposed to be OK (still seems strange except in military or LE contexts). I read your airsoft blogs, but I still don’t understand where conventional BB’s fit anymore, being somewhat more dangerous and accurate than airsoft, but nowhere near as accurate or long-ranged as pellets. Add to that the tendency of steel BB’s to bounce back, and it seems like we are going to be protected from ourselves again. Is my understanding correct? I regained my interest in my old Red Ryder after seeing all the warnings posted about steel BB’s — drawn like a moth to flame, I guess.

    PS: The visual verification is unusually challenging today.

  8. BG_Farmer,

    Before there were airsoft guns, people shot each other with the kind of BB guns you refer to. I wrote about it in “The BB-Gun Wars” in Shotgun News.

    Is there a place for a BB gun today? Well, if I am the father, the answer is no. A pellet rifle is more accurate than a BB gun and safer for the eyes, as you point out. However, the current crop of real youth pellet rifles is pretty thin, so maybe the Daisy 499 can stay.

    A traditional BB gun is an American icon of youth. Had there been accurate pellet rifles I could have had access to, I never would have warmed to BB guns in the first place.

    That said, I have a pretty large collection of them that I WON’T BE SELLING SOON.

    B.B.

  9. In the next sig 2022 review, could you (if it does)put up a picture of the slide pulled back all the way. Just to let you know, Cybergun (KWC) has also unvieled a AK 47 bbgun, a SIG 1911, a metal framed SIG 2022 and a Jeracho(Baby Eagle).

  10. The 747 has better sights? Are they not the same plastic ones? I wasn’t aware of that. I may have to order one (spare sight) from Daisy if that’s the case.

    Also, I read that the 747 has an adjustable trigger, where the 717 doesn’t. That alone is probably worth it.

    I have two 717’s and modified one to have trigger adjustment, but it’s a bit of a complex mod and not that easy to adjust.

    Nick

  11. BB gun wars. OMG…Nothing I would consider today unless with airsoft or paintball guns with full protective gear.

    I grew up with the crowd that thought that BB guns wars with fireworks added to the mix was a cool idea. Not mention the acetylene oxygen or dry Ice 2 liter plastic pop bottle bombs ony added to the excitement along with throwing aerosol cans in the fire. The list goes on and on, but I’ll stop here.

    JUST SAY NO. Is about all I can say now.

  12. Nick,

    Unless Daisy changed the sights recently the 747 sights are taller and have sharper edges. (The don’t look like it in the pix on the PA websight, though) But the front sight doesn’t come off, so you can’t exchange them.

  13. BB,
    Good answer. We were allowed to shoot firearms at a pretty young age, but only under strict supervision and depending on our individual temperament. Of course, I first drove a tractor in the field (only for certain tasks) at age 7, which many would consider young these days, too. We weren’t allowed to have BB guns for our own, unsupervised use until 9 or 10, by which time we were pretty well-behaved even left to our own devices, since we treated them like “guns”. The kids in town (whom we often envied) had BB guns by first grade in many cases and often shot at each other or broke windows with them. I can’t fault my parents on their policy, because in the course of five boys, there were no BB gun accidents in the immediate family, not even a broken window or welt. The only accident I know of was my grandfather’s, when he insisted over my protests on shooting the Red Ryder at his tractor shed from close range. He was remarkably safe otherwise, but he knew it was just a toy. He stung himself pretty hard in the bib of his overalls when the BB bounced back off the weathered planks:).

  14. AAAAHHHHRRRRGGGGGGGGG! My Izh 46M has been moved back again to 5-9!

    I’m beginning to feel like the donkey chasing a carrot. And like the donkey, I just haven’t figured out what I’m pulling yet…

    /Dave

  15. B.B.,

    Before I start, I hope this doesn’t turn into to one of those questions you rant about, where the person asks you a question like,” I want a really powerful air gun that is really accurate,” or something along those lines.

    Now, for the question.
    I am looking to buy another air gun. I don’t have that much of a budget(about 100-250, 250 is pushing it). Are there any guns within that budget range that you recommend?

    Hope you can help,
    Kyle

  16. hello bb. Sorry to bother you again but I have another question regarding the rws model 34. In the blog you mentioned that many scope rings/or the rail, wouldn’t hold unless you hang the stop pin over the rail. What do you think the case is with the 34 combo w/ scope? Will it hold or strip the rail. I am also wondering if when you come out with the rail to solve the barrel droop if there will be a blog… I dont want to miss it!
    thanks again
    john

  17. /Dave,

    Hang in there! The Russians are treating us poorly because of economics (dollar sliding down). Pyramyd AIR has a large standing backorder with EAA for thjs pistol. They know how well it sells, but they can’t get the Russians to move when they don’t want to.

    B.B.

  18. Kyle,

    No rant, but you didn’t give me much to go on. I will assume you want a rifle, but I don’t know what guns you already have.

    However, with your budget, I’d look at the RWS Diana 34 Panther. It’s very accurate, and powerful for a springer.

    Now, there are a bunch of rifles for half the price of the Panther, so you should wonder why I told you to look at the Panther.

    B.B.

  19. John,

    NO RWS Diana rifle (excluding the 46 and the Schutze) will hold a scope on the rail unless the scope stop pin is hung IN FRONT of the rail.

    Yes, there will be a blog (several, I think) when the new scope BASE comes out. It solves both problems – scope slipping and droop.

    I have been writing about this problem since I began writing about airguns in 1994. In all that time, nobody has come up with a satisfactory way to stop a scope mount from slipping on an RWS Diana rifle scope base. I have conversed with hundreds of owners who have ruined their guns by mounting scopes any way other than hanging the stop pin in front of the scope base, which is why I came up with that fix in the first place.

    The new base will finally get me out of the business of having to answer all those questions, once and for all.

    B.B.

  20. Thanks Dave I guess.

    We did all wear safety gear. Some of these kids grew up to be rocket scientist and computer gurus. I guess we just felt a hands on approach to physics was more rewarding than reading a book or performing boring experiments in class.

    I too am waiting for overseas items to arrive. Mainly JBS and AA pellets. Hard to find places to import them and sometimes no subsitute can be found. But all it takes is the right ammo and just about any airgun can become a winner. My favorite pellets are .22H&N Baracuda/Beeman Kodiaks and .177 beeman style 1222 coated hollow points chinese or german made. Deadly accurate for me. Gamo Rockets .177 have been a good all around economical good pellet for a variety of airguns I own.

    Since I am heavily addicted to airguns, I am waiting for a Discovery 22 also. Hopefully they’ll be worth the wait.

    A CM 2300 or Daisy 747 are nice match pistols, but for serious target work and features, the IZH 46 is about the best in it’s class.

  21. BB,

    Having a Russian wife, I know what you mean. She can be pretty stubborn too. Almost a match for me ;-). I just think Izh should keep their business practices and forex currency trading separate…

    /Dave

  22. I have this gun & was pretty impressed with it overall.
    IMO, although it is not as powerful, it IS more accurate that the Crosman C11

    Good looking, nice trigger for a gun in it’s class, great capacity (23 rounds)& great accuracy.

    If you like the looks… BUY IT!

    – The Big Bore Addict –

  23. BB or anyone else that can help. I have been down sizing my airgun collection in the sense that I’m purchasing “smaller” guns not fewer. One such example is my Webley Patriot in .25 calibers was sold and replaced with a BSA Lightning in .25 cal. The BSA is a wonderful size at about 37” and 6.6 lbs. I like everything about it, but the breech is beyond tight. The pellets need to be jammed in with a pell-seat. So do you know of any skinny pellets in .25 cal? – it almost seems like I should shoot .22’s in it. (Another swap I’m also enjoying is I sold my .22 R-1 of 20 + years for a.22 HW 50S, prefect size and power level) Wish I would have figured this out 30 years ago.

  24. BSA .25,

    BSA has always been the odd man out in airguns (and motorcycles, come to think of it). They have wide scope bases and as you now know, narrow breeches.

    Kodiaks are narrow, but I expect they will all be just a little tight in your breech

    Try round balls and any non-Beeman .25s you can find.

    B.B.

  25. Thanks B.B. – I saw Pyramid had Webley Mosquito’s in .25cal so I just ordered some of them. I had already ordered a B-Square mount from them for the wider scope bases. Everything arrives very quickly these days, so I expect I will get to try them soon. My first spring gun purchase was a Webley pistol from the Airgun Centre in the mid 1970’s –it was somewhere near London I believe. It took almost 6 months. Thanks again for your help, you and the internet have been the greatest boost to this sport since Dr. Beeman’s full color catalog.

  26. Good, detailed review, best I've seen. I'd like to add something interesting about the pistol no one has mentioned anywhere: although it doesn't stay cocked, thumbing back the hammer all the way DOES release the safety! This is an easier manuever once you've raised the pistol and lined up your sites. Big difference about this pistol over any other is it's most realistic mag size and weight, because the mag holds the CO2 cartridge, not the gun. Love it.

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