Mrs. BH1 recently bought me a Sako 85 Greywolf in 30-06 for my bithday/Easter/anniversary/etc. present . I want to "blood" it this year on WTs (maybe elk) and I was wondering what bullet weights Sako 85s tend to prefer: 165 or 180gr? I know each rifle is a entity unto itself but I would like to hear from actual Sako 85 owners.

You figure out your twist rate and then look at some mfg. bullet recommendations.

Barnes or one of those has a twist/bullet weight table.

Rem. 700 in .308 Win. runs 1:12 and the preferred bullet wt. is 168 to 172 gr. Marines and Army use 175 gr. for snipers, but I'm told they run a different barrel.

For elk and a 30-06, I'd be looking at heavy bullets, 180 gr. minimum. I'd put MOA second and DOA up front.

The Sako has a 1/11" twist, 22.5" barrel.

Blackhawk, I own a lot of 85's, just not one in '06...in fact (sacrilege I know) I don't own an '06, and I own a lot of rifles

having said that, I have several friends that own the exact rifle as you have, and I have been intimately involved in their equipment selection, including their bullets/ammo etc. The short story is that they shoot both bullet weights very well, and their (my buddies rifles) preferred ammo is factory Fed Premium with 165 TSX's or Win Supreme ammo with 168 or 180 Ballistic tips, or 180 Accubonds. the performance on game has been really great with all of these bullets, we have seen the penciling through thing with the TSX's on smallish whitetail does, but it killed em dead right quick, so no real worries there IMO.

I tend to like mid weight for caliber bullets, but in the '06 with the great bullets we have now, I wouldn't hesitate to try some of the 150 gr. pills that are available--if I was handloading, I would definitely try some 150 AB's and see how they worked. for bigger, heavier critters, I think the 180 AB is great, or even the 180 gr XP3--of course the XP3 would have to be from Win in factory ammo...lots of great bullets in the 30 cal, and fortunately your grey wolf will like a lot of 'em.

I'd start with some 165, AB's if handloading and go from there!

good shooting!