The SIG Cross
The SIG Cross is SIG’s line of one-piece receiver bolt-action rifles. What does “one-piece receiver” mean? Well, on a traditional bolt rifle, the steel receiver holds the bolt and action and sits inside a wood stock or aluminum chassis.
On the Cross, the receiver is the chassis. It’s one piece of aluminum, and the action sits inside the receiver, which is the chassis. This simplifies the entire system and makes for a lighter package with fewer failure points than on a tradition bolt gun. No need to torque an action screw, as there is no action screw because it is all one piece.
The first Cross is a lightweight hunting rifle weighing 6.5 pounds with a 16-inch barrel. SIG’s next offering in this line, the Cross PRS, focuses on PRS-style long-range tactical competitions. It has a 24-inch barrel and weighs 14 pounds.
Related Review: SIG Cross PRS – Modern Modular Rifle Precision
STX Design
The Cross STX is basically a blend of the two Cross models mentioned above, with a 20-inch barrel and 7.7-pound weight. It keeps some of the original Cross features but adds a few of the PRS upgrades.
The STX retains the same stock, receiver, bolt, and trigger from the original Cross. From the PRS model, the STX takes the more vertical, competition-style grip, extended ambi mag release, and thumb rest safety. The STX also comes with a 10-round AICS-patterned Magpul magazine instead of the five-round Magpul that comes with the Cross.
What’s New on the STX?
The original Cross is offered in a heavy profile 16-inch .308 barrel and an 18-inch 6.5 Creedmoor barrel, while the PRS has a 24-inch heavy profile barrel for both the .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor calibers. The STX is also offered in .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor, but both barrels are 20 inches and still heavy profile. The .308 comes in a 1:10 twist, and the 6.5 Creedmoor has a 1:8 twist.
The STX’s 20-inch barrel generates a bit more velocity, allowing longer range shots than the original Cross without the big weight penalty of the PRS. The barrel also comes with a SIG SLH/SLX suppressor-ready quick-detach flash hider threaded on a 5/8x24 TPI thread pattern.
The 6.5 Creedmoor round is, in my opinion, the new .308. It’s an excellent do-all round, just like the .308, but with better ballistics. It can effectively engage targets that exceed the .308’s abilities, so you can hunt, fight, and target shoot with the 6.5.
Related: Love it or Loathe It – All About the 6.5 Creedmoor Round
The next new feature is the forend. The STX reuses the original Cross’s free-floated forend but adds a full-length Picatinny top rail with 20 MOA of cant for long-range targets. This allows the use of more aiming devices such as night vision or thermal clip-ons, laser range finders, and laser designators. It also adds some rigidity to the forend.
More Features
Size-wise, the STX is not much bigger or heavier than the Cross. The stock is still foldable and completely adjustable without tools. I really like the spring-loaded cheek rest that pops up. It makes it easier to fine-tune the proper cheek height.
The cheek rest itself is a minimalist design. It works fine for a lightweight hunting rig, but it’s not really that comfortable for long-range sessions because it’s a bit narrow. I would add a pad if this were my rifle.
The two-stage trigger is excellent. Mine broke at 2 pounds, 5 ounces. The shape is somewhere between a flat and a curved trigger, and there is a set screw allowing the user to adjust the pull weight. I think the great trigger helped to produce those half-inch groups.
The action is a three-lug design with a 60-degree throw, and the bolt lift is surprisingly light for a three-lug. The bolt head is floating and interchangeable, so combined with a simple barrel install, caliber changes should be no problem.
My favorite design element from the Cross PRS was the safety, which SIG brought over to the STX. It’s shaped like a thumb rest for right-handed shooters when the safety is disengaged. It is made for shooters that like to float their thumb on the right side, which is common for precision rifle competitors and is the way I shoot. The design is ingenious, and it works very well.
Accessories
On this rifle, because I don’t have a SIG-compatible quick-detach suppressor, I removed the flash hider and installed an Area419 universal adapter and my personal Thunder Beast Ultra 7 suppressor. All my cans use the Area419 attachment system.
I also added a CkyePod bipod and a Way of the Gun sling. The CkyePod is my favorite bipod because it’s the most versatile bipod on the market. The Way of the Gun sling is super light and works on rifles that don’t have quick-detach sling mounts.
The scope is a US Optics TS-20X 2.5-20 power, and my support bag is a waxed canvas Warhorse Development Clede bag with a lightweight fill.
Accuracy
SIG Cross rifles have a good reputation for having fairly decent accuracy out of the box, and the STX did not disappoint. I tested these rounds:
- SIG Marksman Elite 140-grain OTM
- Federal Premium Gold Medal Berger 130-grain OTM
- Norma Golden Target Match 143-grain
-
Hornady American Gunner 140-grain BTHP
As one would expect, the SIG ammo did the best in this SIG gun, as it also did with the Cross PRS. With the SIG Marksman Elite ammo, I was able to get half-inch groups with a Standard Deviation of 5 and an Extreme Spread of 9 – numbers usually only seen when doing precise handloading. I was very impressed. Half-inch groups with factory ammo from a production rifle are rare.
The other loads didn’t as well as the SIG ammo, but they did give 1 to 1.5 MOA groups – certainly good enough for a hunting gun. But this is a half-inch gun with the right ammo.
Shooting Impressions
I really liked moving around the woods with this gun. It’s light and well balanced. Taking offhand and improvised shooting positions is fast and easy, and recoil on the 6.5 is very manageable. The action is smooth and quick, and the trigger is fantastic. I had no issues at all with this gun.
Overall, I really like the SIG Cross line, and I think this STX fills in a nice niche for those people that want a little more performance and features than on the original Cross, but don’t want to go to a full-out competition rig like the PRS.
It’s a svelte and handy rifle that can fill multiple roles, such as:
- Lightweight mountain rifle
- Long range predator gun
- General purpose hunting gun
- Lightweight competition hunting platform for events like NRL Hunter
- Bolt action for sniper adventure races
I highly recommend the STX for anyone looking for a lightweight and accurate bolt gun that can fill multiple roles.
