The new bolt-action Sig Sauer Cross rifle has begun shipping, just in time for hunting season and autumn precision matches.
Sig began shipping the rifles in early August to dealers. The first models are the black version in .308 Win, with more of those in black and camo coming as production increases. Models of black 6.5 Creedmoor will be next, followed by camo versions and then the .277 Fury, a new ammunition cartridge, to come later to the public as first priority is to fill United States military contract requirements.
Sig Sauer is creating .277 Fury ammunition and will partner with Nosler for a 150-grain hunting round. That will provide hunters with options for light- and heavy-skinned game.
During a visit in July to the Sig Sauer Academy in New Hampshire, a crew of writers got to shoot a few boxes of ammo through the Cross. It wasn't a full test at the range with gizmos and different sizes of ammo, in the field on a hunt or in competition.
Those already have been done. The Cross was a two-plus-year project that Sig Sauer CEO Ron Cohen wanted to happen but in a specific way. He didn't want just another slick bolt-action rifle. Or some kind of sorta-custom rifle. He and the Sig brass wanted more.
So they brought together military personnel who had been in the field. Snipers. Precision competition shooters. Hunters. Engineers. Some of those overlapped. They wanted opinions and pushback, arguments and agreements. They got all of that and more, and at the 2020 SHOT Show officially unveiled the Cross.
A long M-Lok rail offers great versatility, as does the Picatinny for optics and lights. It has a two-stage match trigger, folding stock with multiple adjustment capabilities, 16- and 18-inch barrels (depending on caliber), and more. Similar to its more affordable cousin, the Sig Sauer Tread, it will have Sig-branded accessories or can handle customization.
Here's how Sig Sauer describes it:
The Sig Sauer Cross features a precision free-floating stainless-steel barrel fitted to a one-piece aluminum receiver, with no need for bedding or action screws, to deliver extreme accuracy; an aluminum M-LOK™ handguard for quick and easy attachment of bipods, rails, night-vision or thermal clip-on optics; familiar AR-15 styled controls for a seamless transition to the Cross platform; a unique two-stage match-grade trigger that can be adjusted from 2 to 4.5lbs, and AICS pattern magazines for the ultimate compatibility across calibers, platforms, cartridges, and loads.
The unique folding and locking precision stock of the Cross offers toolless adjustment that can be modified for any shooting position while in the field. With folded stock the Cross measures as short as 25” making it the ideal hunting rifle to fit in any backcountry backpack.
I fired less than a box of cartridges through the .308 we had at the Academy and was not concerned about accuracy. I just wanted to shoot the Cross, run the magazines and bolt, and get a feel for it. A request for a test model is submitted so, hopefully, we'll have that sometime in autumn for range work and to go after deer and hogs.
But first impressions? I really like the Cross. I'm a traditionalist at heart with affection for wood-and-blued rifles. But I don't discriminate. Your customers probably won't, either, especially if they're into hunting or precision and long-range shooting. It's not named Cross because someone at Sig liked "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. It's because the rifle is a hybrid, a crossover, with possibilities for a wide range of users.
The Cross is a cool rifle that should be a good seller for you, even outside of these gun- and ammo-crazed times.
CROSS Bolt-Action Rifle Specs (6.5 Creedmoor):
Overall Length: 35.5””
Folded Length: 27.0”
Barrel Length: 18”
Barrel Twist: 1:8
Weight (w/o magazine): 6.4 lbs.
CROSS Bolt-Action Rifle Specs (308 WIN / 277 FURY):
Overall Length: 36.5””
Folded Length: 25.0”
Barrel Length: 16”
Barrel Twist: 1:10 / 1:85
Weight (w/o magazine): 6.2 lbs.
