It will be a long time–if ever–before there is any significant amount of polymer-cased ammo in the civilian market. The main military interest in polymer ammo is the weight savings, which in large quantities is a significant advantage for the military. But for the civilian market, even the most diehard, weight-cutting mountain hunter can only save a few ounces with the amount of ammo he would generally carry into the backcountry. And those few ounces would come at a significant cost. There are other military-specific advantages to polymer-cased ammo, but none of these will matter to a civilian market.
There is probably a case to be made for how dimensionally consistent polymer cases are, but again that comes at a significant cost. Also, it is a myth that you can’t get brass cases this consistent, you certainly can, it just comes down to money.
Also, anyone shooting enough to really utilize these ultra-precise cases will probably also be loading their own ammo to make the most precise, rifle-matched rounds they can. I have seen nothing that says polymer cases can be reloaded and even if they can, likely it will require significant changes in equipment. And this will, of course, come at a huge cost.
I saw a cost estimate for polymer-cased ammo back 3-4 years ago that estimated that polymer cases would add $15-20 to the cost of the average preimum box of ammo. So fast forward to 2024 prices, even using the low end, that’s a huge cost addition for the already sky-high ammo prices. That would put even common hunting ammo like 06 and 6.5 CM at $70-90+ a box PLUS TAX! Yikes.
