Does it give it some sort of added benefit like traveling further vs no spin? Why does that happen physics wise?
In: 6
It makes the bullet more accurate. The rifling causes the bullet to spin, which gives it a more stable flight path and makes it more accurate.
A really good example of this phenomenon is the fastball and knuckleball in baseball. A [fastball](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5oDTxcex0k) is thrown with a significant amount of backspin. This causes it to have a stable and predictable flight path. As you can see in the linked video fastballs usually go pretty straight. There are fastballs (such as a cut fastball or two seam fastball) which intentionally break in one direction or another, and non-fastball pitches (changeup, curveball, slider, etc.) that do so as well, but the same principle applies: the spin creates a specific and predictable flightpath.
The [knuckleball](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgmQV9sodUA) is intentionally thrown with essentially zero spin. This causes it to have a slower speed and a very unpredictable flightpath. You can see in the video that the knuckleball darts and floats around, it moves in an unpredictable way. However it is also much less accurate. You will also notice that, as compared to the fastball, the pitcher and catcher have much less of an idea where it will go. In the fastball video the catchers have essentially no problem catching the ball despite the fact that is traveling at speed in excess of 95 or 100 miles per hour. In the knuckleball video they frequently miss or drop the ball.
This is essentially what is happening with a bullet. Muskets, which were “smooth-bore” weapons with no rifling, were quite inaccurate. A late 18th century musket could hit a target as far as 300 meters away, but could only reliably hit a target from about 100 meters away. For comparison a mid 19th century rifle, like those used in the American civil war, could reliably hit a target from about 450 meters.
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