Like Sam said straight pulls are not new. My great great uncle was in the Alpini in WW1. After the war he immigrated with a Budapest manufactured 1895 mannlicher straight pull carbine he took as a war trophy. The action on it is not nearly as smooth as my K31. Having that rifle around when I was a kid started my fascination with straight pulls. My grandfather also had a FN Browning T-bolt .22 that I got to shoot on occasion.
Yes...but 6.5s are not...
6.5 / .26 cal and .25 cal cartridges are great. They sit at the ballistic intersection of having the fast and flat shooting attributes that .30 calibers lack and having knock down power that 6mm and smaller calibers lack. I have own/owned a few 6.5x55 swedes, a 25-06, a .257 roberts and a 6.5 lapua. The 6.5 creedmore gets shit on by a lot of people because it is one of the few 6.5 cartridges to catch on in the US. 6.5 creedmoor fanboys and gun mag writers can be annoying but it is a good cartridge.