OPINION: Every American should own four guns

5.56x45 isn't going away any time soon. The US military will be buying and using it for at least a decade, more likely two decades. And, of course, there are umpteen million 5.56mm ARs already in civilian hands, ensuring a steady market for manufacturers. Each of the major ammo companies has at least one production line of 5.56 running continuously (most other calibers are only run in batches).

The idea of buying an AR in "one of the 6.whatever calibers" is simply a mistake for most people.

None of the currently available "6.whatever" cartridges are compatible with the new military 6.8x51 that the Army is starting to play with. ALL the "6.whatever" cartridges are overpriced and hard to find -- the new 6.8x51 is likely to be the most overpriced and least available cartridge for at least the next decade.

The only plant with a serious production capability for 6.8x51 is going to be Lake City and all their production will go directly to the military unless a particular batch fails to meet spec. Only then would any be available to the civilian market. In theory, the plant could sell any overproduction on the civilian market, but the military has dibs on taking it first -- for at least the next few years, the military will be taking all the 6.8x51 that Lake City can produce because they will be trying to build enough stock on hand.

It will be years before there are enough civilian 6.8x51 rifles to temp any of the major manufacturers to bother setting up a production line unless they get a govt contract (in which case they are in the same situation as Lake City, any in spec ammo will go to the govt and only ammo that fails spec will go to the civilian market).

This is doubly true for the 6.8x51 high pressure hybrid case ammo, all of which will be going to military war stock.

If we get a sane (Republican) administration in power, the leftover 5.56x45 that the military still has on hand might eventually make it to the civilian market, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The government prefers to waste money paying a contractor to "demil" their old ammo to ensure that it doesn't offend anyone rather than sell it through CMP like they used to.

Reloader.

I prefer a bolt action over the AR platform, just one of my quirks. If I need a semi auto I should be able to snare one.