"6.5 shoots flatter and hits harder than 7.62" in an internet myth. The 6.5 simply doesn't carry enough foot pounds of force as far with a 130gr bullet compared to a 7.62 (.308) with a 168gr. Our Boys In SWAsia have been getting hits out to a mile with it.
Industry support for the 6.5 has been helped with the introduction of the .264LBC. If anything, that highlights the whole problem. Now there is a competing name that has doubled the choices, but the result is still about 10% of the market the 6.8 enjoys. That is because the 6.5 is a long distance target round developed from the PPC design. It's a range gun caliber, it does hold the 600m record. Sure, it can be used to shoot animals, but most users didn't get it for that.
Another consideration is that optimizing the gun for it's best use means barrel lengths at least 20" or more. It's not a carbine round, and when used in 14.5 to 16" barrels, it loses enough velocity that the long distance use suffers. High ballistic coefficient bullets need long distances to pay their way, that's their point. Shooting them from a short barrel close in the majority of the time is like shooting squirrels in the woodlands with a .22-250. You can do it, most would suggest something else a lot cheaper.
Surf the forum that is set up for the discussion on 6.5 and see if the qualities of the caliber are what you want, especially what the majority of the users actually do with it. There are lots of anectdotal reports over the years of hunters using small calibers for major game, but the ethical ones seem to prefer 7mm and bigger in cases over 50mm. An elk can be shot with a .22, but facing down a 1500 pound animal makes most hunters choose something bigger - especially if other elk predators are around to take it away. I don't put much credence in small caliber kills. .22's are the poacher's favorite.
Match the caliber to what you plan to do. 6.5 is a nice long range small caliber varmint round, maybe the best prairie dog shooter yet devised. If most of the shots made are under 300m like the majority of shooters and hunters, there are a lot of other calibers to choose from. In the AR, they are all wildcats, and that makes them more expensive to build and feed than 5.56. It's not a cheap proposition.