As many already know, the 6.5 Creedmoor is simply a well-designed example of a moderate round that can be truly "multi-purpose". This is achieved by case design, twist, bullet/ammo selection, modern rifle design, and mild recoil levels. Much in the way the 30-06 and 375 H&H have always been considered so flexible for big game hunting because of their wide range of available bullets and factory support, the Creedmoor is much the same when you throw in other criteria to include long-range shooting, higher-volume shooting, lower recoil, lower-cost for ammo/components, and remove some of the need for it to handle really big animals (not that it likely couldn't). The draw of having an accurate rifle chambered for a moderate and efficient round that is factory-supported and well-suited to both shooting for fun and hunting deer-sized game is apparent to a lot of hunters and shooters. Some die-hard .270win/.308win/30-06 guys I know are even starting to see the appeal. It helps when the new rifles are accurate as well.
I think you've about covered all the bases. The bit about big animals is spot-on, especially if one considers the history of the Swede and MS rounds, with the inferior bullets available in their heyday. The late Al Miller did a piece on the Swede years back where he told of visiting the cabin of a ship's captain. The cabin was decorated with the photos of numerous dead polar bears and the box-stock 96 he had taken them with. Not my first choice, but you can't argue with results.
I'd like to try a CM, but have so many other irons in the fire at this point, I don't know when I'd get around to messing with it without neglecting something else in the pipeline. Just as well, as if there's anything I've learned while farting around with this stuff, it's that for my use, just about any cartridge from .243 to .30/06 works very well; one reason I tend to be attracted to interesting
rifles more than any particular round.
