Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako 85 Black Bear. 308Win or 30-06

None of the above, are a bad choice. That being said, I am absolutly head over heels in love, with a .338 federal in a short barreled rifle.

I know what you mean. Big hole, reasonable recoil & muzzle blast & I'm sure as hell it would kill great.

I have been using a Black Bear .308 with a Leupold VX-6 2-12X42 for Red and Sika deer hunting for about six months now (no closed season where I live). To me the Black Bear has a lot nicer balance than the Finnlight which I find quite muzzle light. I find the BB perfect for off hand shots in the heavier cover, especially after climbing up a ridge and having an increased heart rate. It doesn't help when the muzzle end is light as with the Finnlight.

The Black Bear having a much heavier profile barrel than the Finnlight helps, I believe, with accuracy. A friend has the Finnlight in .308 and he has had quite a lot of trouble trying to get it to group under 1" as guaranteed by Sako (Berretta NZ). My BB on the other hand groups amazingly well, averaging .75" with 150gr Hornady SST's and 150gr Nosler BT's. It shoots even better with Speer 130 HP's. I think that the Finnlight barrel in .308 is a little too whippy. Another friend has a FL in .270 and it shoots well although he really likes my Black Bear and is seriously thinking of buying one.

I removed the iron sights on my Bear as I don't need them and they can sometimes get hooked up in the scrub. I think the Sako 85 synthetic stocks are particularly well made. They're certainly far superior to the junky plastic stocks on the average el cheapo rifle; absolutely no comparison. I doubt very much whether they're made from Finnish milk bottles as suggested by one poster. I'm seriously considering changing the Leupold to a Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6X42 #60 ret. Nothing wrong with the Leupold VX-6, in fact it's a superb scope for the money; I just like Zeiss optics.

The Black Bear in .338 Federal would be an awesome bush rifle for any of the bigger deer species including Elk and boar.

"Personally, in that rifle i'd be going with the .308, my reasoning being that the difference between a .308 and a 30-06 is small at the best of times and when you go down to 20" barrels i think you would find that the velocity increase with the 30-06 would be miniscule - probably 50fps."

I don't think it would be that much. A few years back I ran a velocity test with 180 gr. Winchester Power Points from a 22" .308 and 22" 30-06. Rifles were a Winchester M70 for the .308 and a J.C. Higgins M50 FN Mauser. Only 25 FPS difference twixt the two.
I also had a custom Mauser with 24" Barrel and a Ruger #1B with me that day in 30-06 and the only one that came anywhere near factory advertised velocity was the long barreled Ruger. Even then it wasn't quite there. Wish I could find my notes from that day. Be nice to quote the actual figures.
Paul B.

I just looked in the technical section.

http://www.sako.fi/sako85models.php?black_bear

It says 21.25 inches.

Okay, there's two technical sections.

The web page says 540 mm, and the .pdf file says 510 mm.

Guess we'll just have to put a bore rod down the muzzle and measure ourselves.

It's 20".

.308 Win.

I'd get the 308, you could always rebore to 338 or 358 if you didn't like it. A 20" 30/06 or similar 06 based casing has always been too painful for me to be around

When I first tried my Black Bear in .308 I was a little disappointed in the groups. They were around 1 MOA but with a definite horizontal string to them. Then I noticed that the heavier profile fluted barrel was making contact with the stock from just back from the fore end tip to where the barrel flares out in the chamber area on both sides. Why I hadn't noticed it before testing the rifle, I don't know.

Anyhow, I carefully sanded out the barrel channel leaving about a 1/32" gap either side. Back to the range and what a change. The rifle suddenly starts grouping 3 shots into 1/4" at 100m with Barnes 130gr TTSX and consistently under 1/2" with Hornady 150gr SST's and Speer 130gr HP's. I haven't fired any 5 shot groups because it's my policy not to with a hunting rifle. I actually fired two groups of 3 shots at 200m (219yds) with the Barnes and both were right on the 1/2" mark.

Can't complain about the accuracy then as it's the most accurate hunting rifle I've ever owned. Can bitch about the QC that let the rifle go out with the barrel touching the stock as the Sako 85 is advertised as having a free floating barrel.

Since Sako actions are scaled to the cartridge in all dimensions, I'd favor the .308 as it should be considerably handier.

Another factor is that, on average, you get about 30 more loads out of a pound of powder with the .308, based on 58gr. '06 loads and 46gr. .308s; a considerable advantage given the crazy component situation we have.

I really need to check the date on the OPs. April 2012!

It doesn't matter how old the OPs question is as all answers may be useful to others that may be contemplating buying one of these rifles.

I agree with your rationale regarding the .308 vs 30/06 calibre choice in a 20" barrel.

That gun screams for a 338Federal. Higher velocity than 308, bigger bullet and same or more energy than 30-06. powdr