I too have been thinking about the 6.5s, Thinking about a 6.5-06, 6.5-.284 or even a .260 Rem.......But I now have three 25-06s in the gun closet....I bought the first one over 20 years ago, a Rem 700, she has over a hundred whitetail under her belt 2 pronghorns and 2 mulies.......I can think of a handful that actually moved more than 3 feet straight down after they were shot and two of them were my fault......The second one is a Savage with a 26" Douglas varmint tube that consistently shoots .4s....two shots and another mulie and pronghorn......I just built another third simple one with a Adams & Bennet tube from Midway.....second group without load development was a .8....The lighter barrel will make it much easier to carry but I think it has the potential to shoot with the other two.....I have switch barrels for 30-06 and .243 but the 25-06s will remain the first ones to grab when it comes to lope and deer hunting...........................At least until I build a 6.5...............Any thing you choose will make a great lope rifle as long as it shoots