pheasant665,
Welcome to the Campfire!
But as has been pointed out many times before (and not just one Campfire but other places) that the 6.5 Creedmoor did NOT appear 2-3 years ago, and become popular because of "marketing hype." Instead it was introduced in 2007 as as target round. Then some hunters started using it, and discovered it worked very well, in fact better than already established 6.5mm rounds withe the same basic ballistics.
This was because Hornady made very accurate factory ammo which didn't cost much, and the first factory hunting rifles were very accurate, and not just with handloads but that factory ammo. This is very different than what Remington did with the .260, with it's 1-9 twist and often mediocre factory ammo-, hat after a few years you couldn't buy (if you could find it) in anything except the 140 Core-Lokt.
The 6.5 Creedmoor is also VERY different than the 6.5x55, because 6.5x55 chambers and actions have varied so widely since 1892 that nobody can make factory ammo that works anywhere nearly as good as 6.5 Creedmoor ammo in various 6.5x55 rifles. This is a major point that many rifle loonies (like you) miss, because they assume EVERYBODY handloads, and probably for a custom rifle, or at least a "tuned" factory rifle.
The 6.5 Creedmoor is VERY accurate in just about any rifle, and there's a wide variety of pretty inexpensive factory ammo available loaded with an incredibly wide variety of both match and hunting bullets. I know all this because of having many 6.5 rifles over the years, including several factory and custom .260's and 6.5x55's (as well as a bunch of other 6.5's), plus actually owning, shooting and hunting with several 6.5 Creedmoors. In fact the very first 100-yard group I fired with my first 6.5 Creedmoor, a factory Ruger, back in 2010, was with Hornady factory ammo. It measured around .6 inch--for 5 shots, not the typical three shots most hunters shoot today.
All of this also why the 6.5 Creedmoor has become one of the standard world-wide cartridges chambered in factory rifles, which means not just in America but Europe and elsewhere. One of my friends is a long-time South African professional hunter who also owns a big sporting goods store. He reports that around 80% of the new rifles he sells these days are 6.5 Creedmoors--because they work, whether with factory ammo or handloads.
