First Look: SIG Sauer CROSS Rifle

SIG Sauer’s already expansive product portfolio is expanding with the release of the company’s first bolt-action hunting rifle designed and built in the United States—the CROSS.

“Hunting rifles are typically focused on less weight, and accuracy is secondary,” says Tom Taylor, SIG Sauers’s chief marketing officer and executive vice president of commercial sales. “Precision rifles are designed for extreme accuracy, with no weight limitations. 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 will appeal to a wide range of hunters and shooters. First, it offers many of the features that you’d expect on a target rifle, including a two-stage, match-grade trigger that’s externally adjustable from 2.5 to 4 pounds, a full-length replaceable Picatinny rail (20 and 0 MOA), and a stock that’s adjustable for comb height and length of pull.

But unlike most precision rifles, the 6.5-pound CROSS is light enough to be carried in the field. A push-button foldable stock adds to the versatility of this rifle, and if you’re serious about packing deep into the backcountry in search of game, the CROSS is an ideal choice. Other features include an interchangeable bolt knob, a stainless-steel barrel with an M-LOK handguard, a one-piece aluminum receiver (so no action bedding is needed), and AI detachable box magazines.

It also comes with a three-lug bolt with a 60-degree bolt lift and an ambidextrous safety that’s similar in design to an AR safety selector. Current color options are black anodized finish or First Lite camo, and there are three chambering options: 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win., and the brand-new and soon to be launched SIG .277 Fury. The 6.5 Creedmoor version comes with an 18-inch 1:8" twist barrel while the .308 and 277 models come with 16-inch barrels with 1:10" and 1:8.5" twist rates, respectively. Overall length ranges from 35.5 to 36.5 inches, depending upon caliber, and with the stock folded, these guns measure as little as 25 inches long, making them easy to strap onto a backpack when hunting the high country.

This rifle truly represents something new and innovative in hunting rifles, a gun that seamlessly blends elements of tactical guns and sporting rifles into a single, versatile package. Preliminary accuracy testing has proven that the CROSS is capable of extremely good accuracy, and this gun may represent a preview of the future of bolt-action hunting rifles.

The new CROSS rifle has an MSRP of $1,779. For more information, visit sigsauer.com.