There's no way in today's world it'll ever catch the .308 or 30-30, or 30-06 (as an example in terms of total numbers ever sold). The difference being that those calibers took the world by storm by virtue of being light years ahead of whatever else was being offered at the time they were introduced.
The 6.5 x 55, another ex-military caliber, is hampered IMO by the confusion regarding what is safe loading practice and what isn't. If there were no "weaker" actions chambered for the x55, new buyers and new reloaders would be more confident. Remember, there are NO mil-surp 6.5 CM rifles out there. There's no "X vs Y grains of powder" with this or that version of the rifle. That doesn't deter an experienced loader, nor should it. The 6.5x55 is every bit as safe as it ever was. It's the new PRS or new F-open shooter, plus some .308 shooters that are switching to it, that's driving the 6.5 CM craze. There are no downsides to it, other than somewhat shorter barrel life than a .308.
When I was shopping for an entry level target rifle, the Savage 10T-SR is available in both .308 and 6.5 CM. At less than $700 on sale, it's pretty attractive. So you've decided to buy one and it's between the .308 and the 6.5 CM. You do some research on things like external ballistics, felt recoil, and barrel life. Unless your sport of choice dictates .308 (some do that in the interest of a level playing field) the choice is pretty clear. Put differently, how many top competitive shooters would willingly continue to shoot the .308 if they could use a ballistically superior cartridge with no penalty?
Many national shooting organisations continue to prop up the .308, missing the opportunity to add the growing number of 6.5 CM shooters to their ranks.
When I queried the section head of our TR division, he was more than welcoming with the caveat that I'd be relegated to Open class if I didn't shoot a .308 or .223. The bottom line is, he wanted more shooters participating regardless of what they were using. That's smart from a club standpoint. There's strength in numbers, why would you discourage participation in a sport that's already seeing declining numbers in attendance? PEI recently introduced a "box-stock" division to encourage more participation, plus it opens up a whole different playing field for those that enjoy the challenge of shooting their "hunting rifle" in a competitive sense. Smart.
I'd have no qualms about hunting medium game with it, the availability of quality components makes it as attractive as any other cartridge in it's class.
cheap.
