I want to jump in here not because of any expertise but because of interest.
I have long been interested in a short action 6.5 but the 260 Remington, 6.5 creedmoor, 260 AI etc. have left me a little short of my long range goals and performance. I always have liked the the 264 win mag but again wanted a short action. That left me to the 6.5 WSM which by most accounts like the 264 win mag is a barrel eater and the limitations of magazine length for heavier vld bullets.
I don't know why I never thought of the 6.5 saum which in a 700 action should allow enough length for vlds, but I still question the life expectancy of the barrel especially at the 3200+ fps range.
So, this leads me to another thought. The standard mark of most 6.5 X 284 shooters for optimum performance has been 2900 fps. So, why? or why not? or what if you would down load the 6.5 saum to the 3000 fps minus range? Could this give better barrel life with plenty of long range performance.
