Remington VSSF/Sendero VS Savage Long Range Precision Varminter

[manbearpig]

quick question on twist rates:

i have a .223 700P that is overhwelmingly used as a varmint gun. i have over a thousand rounds of the 45 grain Winnie white box ammo stockpiled - its pretty much all i shoot (other than some 55gr FMJ i plink with now and then).

if you are almost exclusively shooting the smaller 45 grain pills, is the 1:12 twist not more suited to them? i know there is no such thing as 'over stabilization', but with a too fast twist barrel is there not an accelerated wear on the barrel and added stress on the bullet?

or, if the 1:9 twist is 'universally' better for everything, WTF are companies even making the 1:12 twist barrels for? why does Remington insist on selling millions of rifles with these twist rates?
you dont get an improvement on an already stable bullet by spinning it faster, so if one intends to only shoot the small varmint pills then shouldnt a 1:12" twist be better?

 

[prosper]

there IS such a thing as overstabilization, and it WILL manifest with poorer accuracy. But that's the key, 'poorer.' 1/2" is poorer than 3/8," but who really cares, both are sufficient for your intended use. If you were a competition shooter, things might be different.
Overstabilization really starts to manifest itself as you get further out there - like 300 yards and more, but if you're regularly going to be shooting those distances a 45 grainer is a poor choice regardless how well it's stabilized. And faster twists will rob you of some FPS as well

 

[ottawaguy]

I'm not an expert but your logic seems correct to me. If your only going to shoot lighter bullets, stick with a dedicated slower twist like 1:12

The generic 1:9 is the "best of both worlds". It will stabilize light and heavy, but not as well as matching barrel teist to bullet weight.