Hi L.D.G.
Cartridge discussions are largely theatrical ones, in my view, so please don’t take criticism of your chosen one personal. I don’t dislike any particular rifle cartridge; I try to acknowledge the strong points and weakness of them all and remain objective.
I am first to admit in the past I have wound a few posters up in these threads.
However in this case I will try to keep things more balanced and keep to the facts,
my criticism is only so less experienced stalkers understand were the 6.5X55 lies in the great scheme of rifle cartridges. It is an effective deer cartridge in the right hands. For the record the second deer legal rifle I stalked with was a 6.5X55. The 6.5x55 as I have already said is slightly more power full than a 243 and less so than every other common large deer legal calibre, that does not mean it is no good, in my view it works best with 120gn to 130gn bullets. It is hampered by a low maximum working pressure and a heavily tapered case limiting its capacity, it therefore struggles to push heavier bullets at high velocity compared to other cartridges based on 308 or 30-06 cases.
It is very unlikely that you can legally shoot deer with a 160gn let alone 168gn bullet from a 22” barrel in Scotland, as it will fail to meet the legal minimum velocity of 2450fps.
it is important that all 6.5 user are aware of this. It is also considered too light for boar of cause. I am pleased to see your 6.5 shoots 85gn to 168gn so well, I don’t know if my 270 would shoot 90 to 160gn bullets equally as well because as I have never found the need to use anything else other than 130gns, everything from fox cubs to rutting red stags and Bull Tahr seem to be equally as dead when shot. 8) Even when taking it aboard last year, hunting among other things wild boar did I change bullet weight.
Ezzy post is an interesting one, as a 130gn bullet at 3100fps from a 270 with a 22” barrel would have the same 13” of drop at approximately 350yrds as his the 6.5 does at 250.
For a lot of stalker this is largely academic as most shots are under 200 yrds, but never the less it puts things into perspective.
Accept the 6.5 Swede for what it is a mild recoiling calibre, if you are looking to shoot a cartridge without using a moderator then it might have some merit.
As for the 243, I have used one on 5 of the six species of UK deer, including red stags and rutting sika stags, just over the South Lanarkshire boarder if fact, with no problems. It would not be my first choice of cartridge for this, but with the right bullets and good shot placement no problems. I have also hunted boar over sea with a 243 again no problems, and there is plenty of none shredded meat in my freezer.
Please take time to look over some of the old post as we have had the arguments of the merits or other wise of the old Swede for page after page, once you have found the time to have read them and then if you subsequently believe some point has been missed by us please bring it to our attention, so we can be enlighten or discus it more.
Best rgds
Tahr