If in question I always go with a faster twist. I have yet to see a downside to it. One of my friends thought I was nuts about 17 years ago because I had a custom rifle built for me by Jim See of centershot rifles. I went all in with a full single point trueing of a 700, custom bottom metal, jewel trigger, cerekote, and a cool looking interrupted fluted barrel from a lessor know company at the time called Brux.

He thought I was crazy because I was going for a good long range varmint rifle and I chose 243 win over 6mm rem. I had grown up shooting a 6mm so he couldn't
fathom me switching. I told him the 243 was actually better on a short action because of mag box space and seating out. He couldn't follow. Then when I told him I went 8 twist he really thought I'd lost it. I'd really impressed him with my 6mms ability to splat things with a 55g nbt at 4100 fps. He said the 55s would never shoot in an 8 twist. I went ahead with my plans and he continued telling me I was an idiot.

About 2007 or so we went rock chuck hunting at an old favorite spot towards twin falls. It was a typically windy spring day. We hit the first pile from about 300 yards back. I smoked 2 right away and he missed 2 from "wind problems". He then said you may have hit but those bullets don't explode like they did in your 6mm. That's when I had to break it to him I'd switch bullets and was shooting 105 Amaxes. He really flipped at that. While he was letting me have it I glassed a few more way further down the canal bank on another pile. The Leica read 670 so I dialed elevation, held for windage and missed. My windage was off but I could barely see a mark on the lava rock through the spotter that said I gauged the wind wrong. I adjusted and hit the next 2 at that range.

This was back when long range shooting wasn't as common and hitting Rock chucks at that range didn't happen often for most people. I proceeded to take several more past 500 and he ended the day with only taking 1 past 300. He admitted he could hardly believe some of the shots the 243 made but kept rubbing it in how the 105 amaxes didn't detonate like a 55 and insisted I screwed up. After a few hours I put a target on a fence and we backed up to 100 so I could sight in again. I had brought about 20 rounds loaded with 55g NBTs at about 4000. I shot a few rounds and adjusted to the new load and shot a nice 1/2 moa group with 55s.

Then we spent another hour looking for a chuck and couldn't find one. Finally a rabbit stepped out and donated its body to science. At the shot it pretty much instantly disappeared in a big red and white flash it was about a 7 foot tall mushroom cloud of rabbit hair and mist. My friend couldn't believe it. He said he'd never seen anything like it. That's when I explained that the faster twist meant an even faster spin on the bullet and that my theory was that if the bullet held together enough to get to the target its was going to come apart more violently when it got there. He quit giving me crap about my 243 and started borrowing it.

He was a guy that was very committed to the old ways and didn't care much for new things. He didn't change his mind easily but that 1 day with my 8 twist 243 changed his thoughts on lots of things. Next thing I knew he was looking at the BC of bullets, buying a scope he could dial, and wanting a faster twist barrel. He later had me load 208 amaxes for his old 30-06.

Bb