The ONLY advantage, as the long range target shooters have found, in the 6.5 is that it has less recoil than the bigger cousins. The heaviest bullet that you will find (without resorting to some custom stuff) is a 140 (discount the poor BC 142 SMK) grain VLD or similar. The best one out there is probably the Berger hybrid at .618.
Jump up to the 7mm and you have a BC of .674 with the 180 grainer.
Next up the ladder in both recoil and BC is the 230 grain VLD with a BC of .743 and finally, the 300 grain OMG is reported to have a BC of .818.
If you go to specialty bullets in 338, 375 and 408 you can get BCs that approach or exceed 1.000.
The 6.5 is a fantastic caliber in that it is a near perfect balance of recoil, utility and bullet weight. When talking about long range shooting bigger is ALWAYS better. It's just at some point you lose the utility that you want.
I think the 6.5s are better suited at 3200 fps and under. If you want to push a bullet that caliber faster, you might as well go on up to the 7mms. I notice a considerable increase in recoil in shooting a 7WSM with 180s compared to my 6.5 with 140s. I also notice a considerable increase in shooting my 340 with 250s.
There is no free lunch. I think Nosler has a dumb idea!
