Originally Posted by HuntnShoot
Originally Posted by Son_of_the_Gael
Why would you limit yourself with a 14" twist? You might want to shoot a longer bullet some day.

Not being intentionally snarky, just don't understand the reasoning.

My dad shot bench rest rifles at targets and varmints for many years toward the end of his life. He used 6mm rifles and small 6mm cartridges and 1:14 twist barrels, using bullets from 60-75 grains. Some guys just want to shoot the light bullets. If that's the case, a 14-twist is the best twist. He shot lots of .1's.

Why would he do that??

Faster rotation causes greater precession and nutation when asymmetries exist in the bullet. This was especially important in decades passed, as bullets were not balanced as well as they are today. With the quality of today's bullets, the negative impact of faster twist on precision is not nearly as large as it used to be. Bullets still aren't perfect, so for BR purposes an excessively fast twist might be a hindrance, but for the rest of us there is no downside to a faster-than-needed rate of twist.