I just bought a new Charles Daly mini mauser in .223 Rem. The twist rate measures exactly 1 in 11.5 inches. It's supposed to be 1:12. Has anyone experienced this large of a deviation from the stated twist? Is there such a beast as 1:11.5?

What would it work out to if it was metric? The answer is probably there. I don't think it would matter as long as the twist rate remains constant from breech to muzzle. There are gain-twist barrels, but these go from loose to tight, so to speak. You do not want to go from tight to loose. As long as the riflings are consistent, I can see no problem. What an 1:11.5 twist will do is stabilize the same bullet a little bit better than a 1:12.

1:11.5 equates to almost 1:300mm twist. It equates to exactly 1:292...

I see they have a left-hand Superior Grade in .223Remington. I am so tempted...

Maybe it's 1:30cm. It was manufactured in Yugoslavia/Serbia. Do they make metric twist barrels? The barrel is 510mm in length.

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Maybe it's 1:30cm.

Same as 1:300mm...

It is not unusual for button rifled barrels to have that level of deviation in the twist.

As mentioned, button rifled barrels can vary as much as one twist no. plus or minus at times. You order a 10 twist and it could well be closer to 9 or closer to 11. Gear mechanism rotates the button as it travels down the length of the bore and if the gear teeth, roots, etc. are not new or as precision as they perhaps should be, there is where the variance is derived. Backlash, "slop," looseness, etc. in the mechanism is the culprit, but as also mentioned, doubt you would note the difference in overall performance or flight of the bullet.

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Backlash, "slop," looseness, etc. in the mechanism is the culprit

Why my first, last and always choice in barrels is a cut-rifled Krieger..

Hello homebrewer,
Like you I think highly of Krieger barrels/cut rifled, have shot them for quite a few years in long range matches, but have had Douglas button rifled barrels that shot equally as well. Opposite of what you were supposed to use was a 13 twist, 30",308,for Palma, I opted for 12 twist and used 155's, 175"s and best one was 190's to help defeat the wind issues and whether the twist was a true 12 or an 11 or 13 still did fine. Have not shot Palma since '04 but still have one rifle w/ Krieger Palma barrel on it w/ something over 4000 rounds through it and no question about it, Krieger makes one fine barrel.

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Is there such a beast as 1:11.5?

Obviously, since you own one. This is no big deal. 1/11.5" will not overstabilize your lightweight bullets!

I wonder if it will stabilize the 60 grain bullets.

My 12 twist 700 shoots Berger and Hornady 60's and 62's better than any other. Look for 3000-3100 fps with IMR 4895. Walt Berger told me to shoot for that and it works quite well.

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4000 rounds through it

Then I have years and years ahead of me in mine, assuming our Spineless Leader allows us to continue to own guns. I use 180-grain MatchKings with 65 grains of H4831SC or 65 grains of RL-22 in garden variety 300WSM cases from Winchester. I use whomever's large primers I can find. My chamber is purebred SAAMI and the gun will shoot a little under .5 moa (out at 300 yards) from a machine rest and rear bag. My best group is .154, three shots from 100 yards. Probably a stroke of pure fluke, but that's where it stands...