wrong powder for .338 Federal

[anweis]

I know why i tried Benchmark in my .338 Federal: most manuals recommend it for all bullet weights in .338 Fed.
I tried it with 180, 200, and 215 grain bullets from 4 companies, two brands of primers, and two brands of cases (and several seating depths. What a pitiful waste of time, components, and gasoline. I even got depressed thinking that my super rifle went south.
Well, as soon as i switched to RL 15, the bullets (200 grain) went into a 0.5" hole.

[jedman]

   Was it that bad with Benchmark ?   

[anweis]

   Was it that bad with Benchmark ?   

I could not get the bullets into less than 3" groups, most of the time it was a 4-5" spread. 

[Tikker]

I've been holding off to buy the IMR 8208 XBR to use in the .338fed, but powdervally has been out of stock forever! I may just end up buying some RL 15  to give it a whirl since you had some good results. So what brand rifle are you using?

Good to hear other people out there are using this cartridge, I wish the companys would push it more with factory ammo & rifles.

[anweis]

So what brand rifle are you using?

Sako 85