My love affair with the 6.5 caliber dates to 1958, when I bought a bring-back Japanese Arisaka Model 38 and had it rechambered with a .243 reamer to become what was then called the .263 Express. The same cartridge was eventually legitimized by Remington as the .260 Remington. Since then, I have owned 6.5X54 MS, 6.5X57 Mauser, 6.5X64 Brenneke, a 6.5 Creedmoor and, now that I have an appropriate action to use, I'm planning a 6.5X54 Mauser. For those of you not familiar with the 6.5X54 Mauser, let me provide a short introduction:

Cartridges of the World:

6.5X54 case dimensions:

6.5X54 factory cartridge

6.5 Creedmoor dimensions:

As noted above, it is a cartridge developed in 1900, which differs only slightly from the much touted Creedmoor, chiefly in the length of the neck and the shoulder diameter. The wheel has been reinvented!