In all this exciting discourse I forgot to mention that I absolutely love both the .260 Rem and the 6.5x55 Swede. They are very similar in their performance on game and they are about as close to perfect for deer-sized animals as any cartridge could be. You won't have much trouble finding ammo for both.

If you handload, the possibilities increase up to an including elk and moose. In fact, some factory rounds for both will do the trick on the larger game. You will be happy, no, ecstatic with either.

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting