First of all, the 6.5 Cm and 7-08 are both really great whitetail cartridges with moderate/light recoil, but so is the .243. I know you have lost faith in the .243, but have you considered the tougher bullets in all three cartridges? I shoot Nosler 95 grain Ballistic Tips and get full pass throughs. If I didn't I would load a Barnes TTSX. In 7-08 I shoot 120 grain Nosler BTs. It is also a tough bullet. So far in 6.5 CM I am shooting Hornady 129 grain soft points. The recoil from 7-08 bullets in 120 grains and 140 grains is more than one would expect. For me the deciding factor in rebarreling would be that 6.5 CM ammo is the most accurate factory ammo I have ever shot and is usually more inexpensive than 7-08 ammo by a good margin.
Bookmarks