John, I wouldn't call them simpletons of the day. Some involved were very experienced Sambar hunters. I suspect back then not much was known about the 6.5 in Aust. Some would of known of the 6.5X55 and more the 6.5X54 and similar. None of which where held in high regard due to the WW2 useage by the Italians and Japanese. I suspect not many knew of the swede and how much better than the other 6.5's it was. Also the 243, unless used by a cool head is marginal on such a big animal and I believe they were trying to avoid people using this.