For hunting of large varmints and deer to elk sized game, I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find a better rifle than a Swede Mauser. They are light, easy to carry, and sufficiently powerful to hunt just about anything inside of a couple of hundred yards. I've got three, a military correct condition M96, a sporterized M94 carbine, and a sporterized M96 rifle with a cut-down 20" barrel. The M94 is a light, handy, iron sight rifle that I like to swing over my shoulder when I'm going places. The M96 sporter I use is set up for hunting bobcats and coyotes with 85 grn HP bullets. It will function equally well on deer sized game and up with 140grn or 160grn bullets.
That said, if you're looking for a long distance precision rifle, you might be better off with another setup. I'm not saying the Swede Mauser won't do it, it will just be easier cheaper with other calibers (6.5-06 comes to mind if you're set on the .264 bore diameter, as does 6.5-284). If you're set on the 6.5x55 cartridge for long range work, do yourself a favor and get one built on a M98 Mauser or a modern sporting rifle. Then you can safely load the 6.5x55 to modern pressure potentials. Most of the 96 Mausers out there are quite capable of handling even stout pressures, at least for a short while. The problem comes in with longevity and factor of safety. The M96 action is not designed to handle escaping gas well at all. When you're playing with increased pressures to squeeze that extra velocity out for long range shooting, this can be a problem. If you screw up the reloading process you will be much more likely to pay for the mistake with your life or serious injury than if you're using a M98 Mauser or modern action with better gas handling abilities. There's also no telling what the metallurgical condition of the rifle is, or what abuse it's suffered in it's 100+ years of existence.
That's the long and short of the swede in my experience. An awesome cartridge and rifle as long as you respect its limits. If you want a hotrod, look elsewhere.
Also, ammunition loaded to European pressure specs is commonly available through Prvi Partizan. It, along with Norma, Sellier and Bellot, and Lapua loadings are noticeably hotter than their American counterparts.
