Located on the south coast of Alaska, Kodiak Island is known for its exceedingly poor weather, phenomenal fishing and legendary hunts. With virtually no roads outside of the main town of Kodiak, the island’s 3,500 square miles consist primarily of secluded inlets and sharp glaciated peaks which are home to a large population of mountain goats. This was the ideal location for testing SIG SAUER’s CROSS rifle, BDX optics, and SIG 277 Fury ammo in addition to filming an adventure of a lifetime.

In partnership with Idarado Multimedia, SIG SAUER is proud to present “Crossing Boundaries,” a short film showing an incredible journey into one of the true last frontiers. The film follows Team SIG Pro Shooter Daniel Horner, SIG SAUER Rifle Product Manager Patrick Hanley and elite guide Cole Kramer as they hunt the elusive Mountain Goats of Kodiak, Alaska.

 "When we developed the CROSS and our hunting optics and ammo we were looking to replicate what hunters will be doing in the field in extreme situations,” said Hanley. “Sitting in a tree stand in a calm open field hunting whitetail deer is quite different than going to a place like Kodiak in the wind and rain and climbing up and down mountains. When we test our products we always try to replicate what are essentially worst-case scenarios.”

They got exactly what they were looking for: tough weather, hard climbing conditions, and realistic situations to reproduce the worst-case scenarios for hunters. 

“From the perspective of the performance of the rifle for accuracy, the BDX for ballistics calculations and the ammo for terminal performance, all three were flawless,” said Hanley.” All shots were humane in long distances and high winds.”

This was the first animal Hanley had harvested with the CROSS, a product that he and a team of SIG SAUER engineers and product managers had spent two years working on. “This was an absolute dream project for me,” said Hanley, “and to have it actually occur with the rifle I worked on was amazing. I was able to fulfill two dreams at once.”

PRODUCTS USED DURING THE HUNT

• CROSS: The CROSS is a precision hunting bolt-action rifle designed and built from the ground up at the SIG SAUER research and development facilities in New Hampshire with the input of hunters, military snipers and elite long-range shooters, the CROSS rifle was created to meet the demands of both precision long-range shooting and extreme backcountry hunting.

• SIG 277 Fury: Based off the 6.5 x 51 ammunition developed for the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons system, using a 150 Nosler Accubond bullet, it delivers the same high-pressure performance allowing muzzle velocities of up to 3,000 ft per second out of a 16” barrel.

• SIG SLH Suppressor: Enough noise reduction to be hearing safe while providing a short package that allows the rifle to still stay compact.

• SIERRA6BDX 3-18X44 MM Riflescope: Built upon award-winning SIERRA3 riflescope technology, and the SIG SAUER BDX Ballistic Data Xchange technology, the SIERRA6 family of riflescopes provides the hunter or marksmen with an intelligent auto-holdover specific to their ballistics, target, and environment.

• KILO2400BDX Laser Rangefinder: Featuring SIG SAUER’s BDX technology, the KILOBDX is the world’s most advanced laser rangefinder. When paired with a SIERRABDX riflescope, the onboard Applied Ballistics Ultralite calculator sends ballistic drop data via Bluetooth directly to the SIERRABDX’s reticle, providing an illuminated holdover dot and wind hold.

• ZULU6 10X30 MM Image-Stabilized Binoculars: With its 2-axis gimbal providing razor-sharp optical image stabilization, the ZULU6 compensates for natural human motion providing the clarity of a mounted spotting scope in a handheld, portable package.

• OSCAR8 27-55X80 MM Spotting Scope: The OSCAR8 is a premium, angled eyepiece 27–55x80 mm spotting scope. Featuring SIG SAUER’s industry-leading HDX™ optical design combining extra-low dispersion glass with high light transmittance glass, SCHMIDT-PECHAN prism and fully multi-coated lenses to provide unmatched resolution, image contrast, color clarity, and image brightness.