Let's not forget how we came by a 10 twist in the 243. The 244 Remington fell flat because it was twisted 12,and would not stabilize bullets longer than the 90 gr slugs of its day.OTOH, Winchester brought out the 243 with a 10 twist,which stabilized the heavier and longer 100 gr bullets.
So the 243 won the popularity contest and Remington had to rename the 244 to 6mm Rem and twist it 9, IIRC...it was still too late and the 6mm Rem never did catch up.
Then, much like today, the 6mm fans wanted the option of shooting the heavier 6mm bullets; but I never heard anyone complain about shooting lighter bullets in the faster twists of either the 243 or the 6mm Remington as the years went by,and both cartridges were used in a dual role of deer /varmint cartridges.
But today, bullets are even longer, what with the monos,and the VLD types up to 115 grains for those wanting to go long. I have not taken a look at factory 243 offerings but eventually,it's inevitable the factories will start offering VLD type bullets in heavier/longer configurations. So a faster twist in a 243 could be a good thing.
As t "Joe Average", whoever he is, the average shooter has access to more info in places like this site, where these things are discussed....he may not be aware now but he will be if he's paying attention...and may want to develop into shooting the heavier bullets. No sense repeating the mistakes of 60 years ago and handicap his rifle with a slower twist.
There just isn't any question that things are trending this way,and we have many different bullets today vs 60 years ago;and not just 243 but other calibers like 6.5 and 7mm as well.
And in any event I don't see Joe Average buying this rifle; no doubt, some will, but i see it appealing to the guy who wants to move beyond the mass produced-every size fits all type mass production offerings in the sub-$1000 price range...someone who wants to step up in quality.
Or the guy who previously might have built a custom with the features this rifle will hopefully offer but can accomplish most of those things with a rifle in the $1800 price range vs the $2000-$40000 he'd have to spend on a full custom.
In any event I don't see either of these groups loaded with many stooges...since they will know what they are looking for....much like Kimber or Forbes buyers today who want light weights without the heavy weight price tags.
