I'm looking to pick up a second P322. I'd like to replace the green fiber optic rods, front and rear, with red material. I've ordered some in the proper diameter. Has anyone performed this replacement on the P322? The instruction manual talks about several small parts that need to be removed/reassembled in the process. How challenging is this?

You should not have to remove any thing other than the old rods themself.
If you do that seems like a pretty poor design.

Interested to see if this is the actual case.
I have a number of fiber optic sights and none you have to remove anything.

Snip the old rod slide them out insert new rod apply a little heat.

I just looked at my 322. I haven't read the owners manual but it looked pretty standard as far as fiber optic rods go.

If you have the proper diameter rod then I would take a pair of nail clippers and snip the old rod in the middle to cut it in half. The front sight is plastic or I would just use a sharp knife, since it's plastic the nail clippers seem like a good call. Then melt one end and insert from the back of sight. Clip the front muzzle end about a 1/16 inch over length and apply heat. Don't actually touch the rod with the flame, you don't want to blacken the rod. Enjoy.

I'm going by instructions in the P322 manual that calls for removing the front and rear sights, in order to access the rods for replacement. Sig sells a P322 replacement "kit" for 30 bucks that includes precut lengths of assorted colored rod and replacement screws and nuts. I can order several inches of fiber rod from another vendor for a fraction of that price. I'm not sure that Sig's directions are essential but I don't want to damage the pistol.

Ok, I just looked that up. First off you can get it cheaper at other places. Second off, what the actual fuck? Sig wants to sell an entire front sight just to change out the rods? That is crazy. The fact that they sell the kit with assorted rods tells me you can change them out. No way would I buy that kit unless I actually lost or damaged my front sight. Just do the rods like we described is my advice. Worst case if you screw it up somehow you can always buy the entire kit but it fiber optic rod not inserting a stent into a ventricle. lol

Sig doesn't provide a sight in the $30 kit-- just rods, two screws and two nuts. A real bargain. My original question was about the difficulty in removing and reassembling the front and rear sights, as explained in pages 75--78 of the owner's manual. Those are Sig's instructions for changing out rods on a P322.

Fiber Optic Replacement video by Dave Dawson
https://youtu.be/1Mx2Hg06Q4Y

That video works for “normal” fo sights. Sig apparently saved money by using a plastic front sight that retains the fiber rod via a pin, nut, and screw system. It’s goofy as hell.

Personally I like to tinker so I would snip the 322 rod, loosen not remove the set screw, and then feed the new rod in and retighten.

No matter what you certainly risk losing 3 tiny pieces, the nut, the screw, or the pin. Or all 3.

The next task I would try is to find a replacement metal front sight. That replacement instruction alone makes me want to ditch the stock sight. It attaches with a screw/nut arrangement. I wonder if a Glock front sight would work.

My 322 has been very reliable if, big if, I’m extremely careful to load the mags correctly. I find it very easy to misstack a round and cause a problem. My way around this is to load the mags and look at the stack from the side. The ones that aren’t correct are easily identified.

To answer your original question I think it’s overly complicated but should be very easy. There is no spring to go flying just tiny little parts to lose. You could do it in the ziplock bag method but I don’t think that is necessary. A metal front is the better answer but if you just want to change rod color all you need is a tiny screwdriver. How hard could it possibly be? lol

Alright. I looked mine over real well and I think if I was going to do this, this is how I would proceed. Assuming you don't want to follow their instructions. The tiny retaining pin is what holds the rod in place. The back side is a smaller hole so rod can't move backwards towards the rear sight. The front side the pin blocks the hole.

I would remove the retaining pin entirely. Then insert the rod and use a flame to heat up something metal and flat, like a butter knife. I would apply that to the end of the rod and hence "button" out the end and locking it into place. Doing it this way should keep a flame away from the front sight body and potential issues with that.

I like my 322 but this is a goofy design.

"Goofy," for sure.
My interest in changing the rods would be to provide variation in a second P322. My pistol is shooting POA and my feed issues are minimal. I'm really impressed with this rimfire, which is why I'm picking up another.
I think I'll try Sig's method, first. I agree that aftermarket sights are a better option. I doubt that anyone is selling sights compatible with the P322's screw mounting specs, however.

Or ..... you could just get used to green fiber optics!

The swap out was easy. I now have a P322 with green rear fiber rods and a red rod front. My second P322 is the reverse-- red rears, green front. I like the contrasting colors, although the original all-green rods were perfectly adequate. The trick is to follow the owner's manual instructions (pages 75--80). It's a lame design and I'd prefer metal sights, but changing the fiber rods was no big deal, after all.