What's the role of any specific cartridge? It's unlikely any of us could make a credible argument that any cartridge is perfect and therefore should displace every other in its class. The 270 Win is a 'perfect' medium game, long range (whatever that means to anyone) cartridge - but so is the 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm WSM, 270 WSM, 25-06, 6.5-284, 264 Win Mag, etc, etc, etc. In other words, each cartridge is perfect for its application in the eyes of the loony who wields it.
The role of the 6.5-284? For me it's an August afternoon in the Talkeetnas with a ram I've been watching slowly feeding closer for 3 hours, now 427 yards away and ready to disappear into a valley. It's now or never - well, he's hanging on my wall as I write this. Do I think I couldn't have made that shot with a 300WSM, 300 Win Mag or 270 Win? No, but that afternoon that role fell to the light 6.5-284 I was carrying and it whispered "present."
Last edited by Wildcatter264; 02/22/09. Reason: spelling
