SIG Sauer just announced the new Cross rifle, a “crossover” rifle for hunting, competition, long range shooters and more. The Cross bolt-action rifle is built for precision and is launching in .308 Winchester and 6.5mm Creedmoor with .277 SIG Fury Hybrid to follow.
“When our product management team and engineers researched developing a bolt-action rifle, they looked at what was missing from the market, and what new innovation SIG could bring to hunters and precision shooters,” said SIG Executive Vice President Tom Taylor. “Hunting rifles are typically focused on less weight, and accuracy is secondary.”
“Precision rifles are designed for extreme accuracy, with no weight limitations,” he continued. “What was missing from the market was a true crossover. Our product management team and engineers took the best of both worlds and developed the CROSS featuring the characteristics of a hunting rifle, with the accuracy of a precision rifle.”
The Cross rifle was designed and built entirely at SIG Sauer’s New Hampshire facilities, designed by SIG engineers and tested by competitive shooters. The design features a one-piece receiver with a free-floating modular handguard and side-folding adjustable stock.
The Cross uses an interchangeable flattop system that can be fit with 0-MOA or 20-MOA rails depending on the shooter’s needs. The forend has M-Lok slots along its full length and the stock is spring-loaded for rapid one-handed adjustments in the field.
Internally the rifle uses a three-lug bolt with a 60-degree throw and a down-turned, interchangeable bolt handle. The rifle uses a two-stage match trigger that’s externally adjustable from 2.5 to 4 pounds. The Cross uses AI-pattern magazines and ships with one 5-round polymer mag.
In 6.5 Creedmoor the rifle comes with an 18-inch stainless steel barrel and has an unloaded weight of 6.8 pounds. In .308 and .277 Fury the rifle will come with 16-inch barrels and have a 6.5-pound unloaded weight. The one-piece receiver and skeletal stock manage to keep the weight down in-line with a lot of lightened bolt-action rifles with simple polymer stocks.
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Adding an optic, a bipod, a muzzle device and a sling will add to the overall weight but starting at under 7 pounds, the Cross is a very light and portable rifle with the folding stock. The Cross will be offered in all three initial chamberings with a standard black anodized finish or the optional First Lite camo finish.
“Right out of the box the Cross comes loaded with new innovation and features that hunters and precision shooters will appreciate at a very affordable $1,779 price point,” said Taylor. “The Cross delivers on all fronts, and we are especially proud that everything about the Cross from concept to completion is 100 percent SIG Sauer and comes directly from our U.S. operations here in New Hampshire.”
The suggested retail price puts the Cross at an interesting mid-point between feature-heavy hunting rifles and entry-level long-range and law-enforcement-centric rifles. Shooters will have to get behind the Cross and test it in real-world environments, but if SIG pulls this off, they may really have just created a new “crossover” bolt-action rifle.