Any opinions on this gun? I am left handed, so my choices are somewhat limited.

Does the 1 - 11 twist rate work well with 165/180 grain bullets?

I am used to a 24 inch barrel. But the Sako has a 22.5 inch barrel. Any issues with that?

I have an 11 twist and it works fine with 165's. Never used 180's in it.
Barnes says a 10 twist with their mono 180's (longer than most) but I would imagine other cup-n-core bullets would work fine.
22.5 is fine too.
Nothing wrong with your choice IMHO.
Zeke

I have a tikka t3 LH in .308w sako made barrel in 1/11 it works fine with 180gr bullets.

Sako manufactures powerhead2/barnes tsx 180gr as one of their 3006 cartridges.

http://cdn1.sako.fi/sites/defa..._cartridges_2015.pdf

1 in 12 will work with 180s

I shot a Tikka in 30-06 with that same barrel for a number of years. 2010-2013.

It loves 165 Nosler Accubonds. And they perform at fairly long range.

Anything above 200 it hates.

I actually shot F-class with it (Tikka T3 Varmint in 30-06) for a few years before replacing the barrel for a 6.5. The Nosler Accubond was the most accurate bullet it shot at any weight. The 190 Lapua Scenar wasn't bad. But it isn't a hunting bullet.

Before you drop your $$ on a new Sako, do a quick google search on "Sako ejection problems" and read about this issue. Lots of folks are having problems with ejected cases hitting the scope and falling back in the action. I know one guy who has one in 7mag. Ejected cases hit the scope and sometimes drop back into the loading port. This is on a rifle with a 1" Leupold scope and Sako ringmounts.

Beretta won't do anything to correct the problem which seems to be worse with long action cartridges.

Here's just one of the many posts you'll find:

http://www.huntingnet.com/foru...ejection-issues.html

Labman is right about the possible ejection problem so check it out. An older model Sako might be better and possibly cheaper too.

As for the twist, it is fine with the bullet weights your mentioned.

The difference in barrel length is not enough to be worth discussing. Neither you nor what you are hunting will know the difference.

I really don't understand why a company like Sako would try to reinvent the wheel with the 85. The very best, functional and robust feed and extraction system was invented in 1898. Everything since has been an "almost as good", most not anywhere near as good.

I appreciate the information, guys.

Would I be better off with the Tikka T3? It would save me about $1300.

Yes, but Tikka magazines suck massively.

Just be forwarned.

The magazines feed ok, they just break when you drop them in the garage, or shop.

In the forest they won't break if you drop them.

Unless they land on a rock!

Both of my magazines has hold up well, repeating is smooth as silk. Walk in to a shop and feel the both rifles first.

Is the ejection problems of the 85 because of the 3 lug lockup of the bolt and the placement of the extractor? Is the ejector a plunger or manual? Typically, the ejected cases would hit the scope turret. So, a scope with a short or small turret may not have a problem.

DI, the ejector is mechanical and at 6 o clock. I sold a long action 85 because of this. I have a .308 Model 85 and it is fine. The kicker is with the low angle of bolt rotation you cannot mount a scope low to take advantage. I ended up with high rings on a 40 mm Leupold, there was about 3/4 of inch it seemed between the bottom of the scope and the barrel. I may be exaggerating a bit but it was ridiculous how high the scope had to be.

All of the Sako's I had shot great but ejection on the long actions was disappointing.

My one and only Sako 85 was taken back due to being a poor shooter. Cold bore was typically 2-3 inches out of the group. Mind you, they do put an accuracy guarantee on them, but the dealer did one better and just gave me my money back. One thing I noticed is the ejection was weak. With a mechanical ejector you should be able to launch an empty half way across the country and it would barely dribble them out of the action.

I had the same trouble with a Cooper mod 52. The original Coopers were mechanical ejection and with the 3 lug bolt, and the spent case would hit the wind-age turret every time and bounce back into the action. This happened so fast that one would think that the the case just came off the extractor. Cooper fixed the problem by going to a plunger ejector that threw the shell out at a lower angle. With the 3 lug bolts, there just is a good place to put the extractor , so the shell ejects at a lower angle. Good luck, Daryl.