A rolling cone bit includes at least one cone cutter having a gage row of cutter elements and a first inner row of near but off-gage cutter elements that are positioned so as to divide the sidewall and bottom hole cutting duty so as to enhance bit durability, maintain borehole diameter and improve ROP. The off-gage distance of the first inner row of cutter elements is defined for various bit sizes to optimize the division of cutting duty. The distance that the first inner row of cutter elements are off-gage may be constant for all the cones on the bit or may be varied among the various cones to balance the durability and wear characteristics on all the cones of the bit.
