I bought one because I wanted to:
1) Build a new rifle in a caliber I did not have
2) Build a rifle using an action and a chassis I wanted to try (short action with a DBM)
3) Build a light rifle with low recoil and low blast
4) Try a carbon-wrapped barrel
5) See what all the fuss is about
I was one of those "haters" hating 6.5CM just because my 6.5x55 could do everything the CM can do and more and because of the hype. But I ended up with what I wanted and here are the pros and cons of my experiment so far:
PROS:
1) Rifle/cartridge combo is precise
2) It is also light, yet does not kick and the blast is not bad even with 20" barrel
3) Carbon is definitely light and cool looking and feels good to touch
4) Cartridges fit in the magazine with some room still left for copper bullet use
5) Brass and loaded ammo is actually plentiful and cheap (for now), rivaling that of .308
6) The cartridge will replace my 6.5x55 for silhouette shooting as I use short action for the Swede since I single-load, but with CM I can use a magazine
7) It can and will hunt
CONS:
1) Buyer's remorse - all that carbon and custom action cost me an arm and a leg and in the end I have an expensive rifle I still may not hunt much (good coyote and deer rifle - and as shown above even more) only because I like my 7x57
2) While originally built for plinking at the range or as Hunter Class silhouette rifle, it will serve better as a hunting rifle than silhouette one. So as a competition rifle goes - fail. But that was almost expected given the light barrel to begin with.
3) Even with TriggerTech trigger, I do not like it as a Hunter Class silhouette rifle (barrel is too light and short, the trigger not as good as others when set for "heavy" 2+lbs.
4) Yet another caliber in my collection until 6.5x55 is retired which may be a while
5) Kind of like .308 (not that there is anything wrong with .308) - many other cartridges do the same or better and can be just as cool if not cooler, so only the brass/ammo availability gives it the edge
6) I still don't like short action no matter what I build or have built on them
7) I have yet another rifle to choose from when going hunting (exhausting task for an idiot who can't decide on anything)
In the end, I should have just chambered another regular steel 6.5 barrel on my Silhouette rifle to replace 6.5x55 and be done with it. But hey, I do have one more cool rifle and I'm now growing hair to try that manbun (well maybe I won't go quite that far). Overall nothing wrong with the cartridge after all, and I'm glad I now know from personal experience at the range. Time in the woods will tell me even more but I like what I see above. If my buddy can take elk with 25-06 and somebody's kid a giraffe and eland with 6.5CM, I'm looking forward to using it on deer and maybe some elk.
Overall I'm pleasantly surprised, growing to like it and it does make for a nice, light yet precise setup.