....what becomes of the .308? I've always thought of the 5.56 as a varmint round provided nothing was in the way.
My 'long range iron is in a 30-06 keeping in mind the widespread ammo availability.
I'd considered getting something in .308 due to the seeming military standardization, but this muddies the water.
What's the new strategy???
308 (7.62x51) is not going anywhere anytime soon. Even though it is no longer the military's standard round, outside of LMGs and snipers, so many 308s exist in the civilian market that ammo will always be plentiful.
My strategy is to have at least two (preferably more) rifles in every major military caliber.
I wouldn't worry too much about 6.8. It's a great round but will never be adopted by the military so ammo will be scarce and expensive. It has developed a niche market among serious shooters and hobbyists but that's about it.
Stick with the widely available calibers - 7.62x51, 5.56x45, 7.62x39 and even 5.45x39.
I guess running out of ammo in the field and not being able to find the special stuff laying around.
Screw that.
just traded my .30-06 for a .308, altho my -06 was an awesome shooter, it was too small to be able to comfortably shoot from a bench all day.
.308 shoots the same bullet, just slower. if you reload, you can use the same powder and bullets.. saves on having to buy a bunch of different stuff.
I see them eventually moving back to the .308. They are moving up from the .223 to have a "much better round" for the listed uses. I can see a few years down the road they will state that they are going to go back to the .308 for a "much better round" for such and such.
Even if they don't, the .308 is not going to go away. Look at the 30-06, it has been out of military service for 40+ (?) years and is still readily available.