A military cartridge seems like a sure thing in the commercial market.  The 30-06 and 223 are the most popular cartridges in their class, the 308 has also done quite well, and the adoption of the Beretta has probably done wonders for the popularity of the 9mm here.  But I have my doubts about the 6.8x43.

-Remington is not on a winning streak as far as marketing.  The Ultra Mags (short and long) seem to be doing pretty badly as compared to the new Winchester/Olin offerings.  That electronic ignition was a bust.  Remington has introduced a host of orphaned cartridges.

-There is no hot new commercial rifle for this cartridge, like the 270 Win had with the Model 70 and the 7mm Rem Mag had with the 700.  Too bad Ruger does not figure out a way make a decent semi-auto hunting rifle for this cartridge.  It seems like it would make a nice replacement for 30/30 lever guns.  Same power, lots more range.

-As shown by the continued popularity of the 30-06 versus the 308, hunters have do not care that much about case length.  This short mag craze may seem like an exception, but that might have more to do with the lack of a belt and alleged increased accuracy.  And the new short mags have about the same performance as their longer cousins.  That will not be the case with the "new" 270.  I can see some guy looking at the ballistic tables and being confused why anybody would want to buy a 270 Rem (or whatever it will be called) instead of a 270 Win.  There is a significant velocity difference.

-The military's commitment to the round is questionable, and at the present it is not for general issue.

-Because of the demil requirements there will be no surplus ammo available, unlike the older rounds.

I'm personally excited about the new offering (and I love 270s, especially the new WSM), but I am afraid the 6.8x43 might go the way of the 225 Win, 6.5 Rem Mag or 8mm Rem Mag and just be a niche cartridge.  Ammo will remain expensive and unavailable and there will be few loads produced.  It will never be affordable to shoot.

6.8 won't make "Major" in IPSC or 3Gun, will it?

That's 340 PF.

-z

As a bolt action sporting load, it doesnt offer anything over existing 6mm loads.

It's nich is as a load for semi-automatuc magazine fed firearms. That means unless Bushmaster, Armalite, & Colt tool up to make guns and uppers for it, it will flop.

Oly has their "6.8" in the .243WSSM.

I cant see PRI and MSTN carrying a new cartridge. It has to go mainstream , meaning Bushmaster, to survive the commercial market place.

Yes, in a BIG way.

I think it will find success among AR owners who like to do their own custom work. However, it's not likely to become one of the top ten best selling loads by any means. However, it will sell enough among a strong core group to remain profitable. I'll no doubt pick up at least one upper. Maybe two. But I am not giving up on .223 either for the obvious reasons. And yes, the cost of ammo and available options for civilians will keep it's sales down. It will never attain the status on the civilian market that the .308, 30-06, 7.62x39 and .223 enjoy. At least that's my opinion.

-Charging Handle

I law enforcment latches on to it like they did the 40 S&W it could be big.

That is a really big "If", since LE agencies do not issue rifles in anywhere near the quantities that they do sidearms.  Those longarms which are issued typically lead a much more sheltered life than the individual officer's pistol regarding storage, use, and abuse.

The largest number of sales will be to the "Walter Mitty" market, but I doubt that this will be enough to support the cartridge commercially.  External accessories and out-sized [i]eargensplitten-loudenboomer[/i] cartridge conversions have more obvious sex appeal.