Yes there is a difference. May be noticeable and may not be depending on target, bullet and just how different the twist is.
In both ballistic testing and extensive use in animals, differences in twist can be seen. Now with some bullets out off 223's you can see the difference in small animals like Prairie dogs, coyotes, etc., but normally not on bigger animals such as deer. Monos do seem to be more consistent, or I should say show less inconsistencies with faster twists. Granted the differance between a 1/12in and 1/14in is slight, but between a 1/12in and 1/7in does show a difference with some bullets.
With most bullets it's hard to see a differance on bigger game like deer, but you can recreate the same as with 22's and varmints by using big varmint bullets. As an example- the 30cal Hornady 178gr Amax is really a big varmint bullet. It can produce very graphic wounds on deer when started around 3,000 FPS and normal 1/10 twists. With the same impacts velocity using 1/8in twist barrels wounds are noticeably bigger. Have done crop damage with two identical rifles using that bullet with the only difference being twist rate- 1/8 and 1-10. There is no mistaking which did what when looking at the deer. We're not talking a couple of animals either. Well into three figures with both. Anyone that looked at the animals could tell the differance between them, and the butcher even could figure out which was which.
There are no downsides to faster twists. However slight the differances may be, they are real, have been proven in ballistic testing and sometimes can be seen in tissue.
I'll take fast twists please.
Bingo.
This is not a "new" conversation and guys like Billy Steigers at Bitterroot did the testing and proved this stuff 30+years ago. (A lot of posters were not around for that) If you bought the bullets,and used fast twists, you saw the results.
Velocity matters; twist matters. In conjunction they both contribute to bullet expansion and will help expand tough hunting bullets. If you want to see the chest cavity of a bull elk reduced to pudding,start 165 Bitterroot from a 300 mag at 3300 fps in a 9 twist barrel ( if you have any).
I don't shoot Barnes only because I don't need them (I have BBC's). But I have a funny feeling a lot of the erratic results people have seen has been a result of too little velocity and too little twist resulting in the bullets not staying point on in the animal,and not enough force to cause expansion of tough jackets.I spoke with Steigers about this very thing years ago when the Barnes first came out...he said people will drive them too slow,won't use enough twist, and have expansion problems. Turns out, he was right.
Fast twist will help keep the bullet point-on as it travels through an animal and encounters different levels of resistance(hide,bone,flesh,fat,muscle etc) and will help facilitate more rapid expansion with tough bullets,provided the bullet is made of the right materials.
It will also tear up thinner jacket designs (like what Formid explains above),and what the varmint hunters are seeing.
If I used monos I'd drive them fast and use a faster twist for consistent results.If all we ever used was standard C&C bullets from standard twist,we might never see much difference....but if you use a tough premium and shoot them into enough animals, the differences in twist will show up.
It's no accident that guys are getting a lot of wounding effect from long, heavy target bullets of high BC,and at distance as well.....these bullets are all being started from very fast twist barrels.
