Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics First Focal Plane vs Second Focal Plane Rifle Scopes

I have found a graduated reticle to be very useful for several purposes: holding wind, measuring corrections for both myself and others, holding over, leading moving targets, measuring target size, and estimating target distance if the LRF fails to get a range. Estimating range is near the bottom of that list, in terms of usefulness.

As mathman said, FFP is so useful for the above applications because the angular graduations on the ruler remain constant. Big Stick has aptly made the comparison of an SFP reticle to a speedometer whose ticks change in separation depending on speed. In terms of FFP reticle design, I also find it very useful to be able to zoom out for closer shots and see essentially a duplex with thick posts and a reticle center with marks that are too fine to be distracting, while zooming in removes the thick posts from the FOV and the fine graduations become visible and useful for longer shots.

That is a good description of the advantage for the FFP scopes Jordan.

I do use the FFP reticle for wind calls, and so forth.

An example of another FFP advantage where scope reticle has graduations (ruler) is a friend of mine mounted a FFP MOA reticle scope to a 22 rimfire. Wanted to sight in. I stapled a large sheet of paper up at 100 yards. Put a 1" dia. dots in center of paper.

Told him to hold reticle center dot on center orange dot. Shoot. Use graduations on elev and wind reticle to measure where bullet hole was in relation to center dot. Adjusted scope turrets, shoot again, this shot was on the orange dot. Two shot sightin. Then shoot more to verify.

Reason we sight in at 100 yard was we have a JFF 100 yard steel match. All of us were done shooting for score and friend removed the old scope he had on his rifle to mount new FFP MOA wiz bang 6-24x50 some of the guys had been buying. He suggested we move to 50 yard for sightin. I suggested we stay setup here at 100, no problem. Worked out fine.

A rifle know-it-all on the forum who shoots matches has to ask someone on the internet why first focal plane scopes are useful?

Bizarre



The FFP has no advantage in this application over a SFP scope with a mil or MOA reticle

Numbnuts

Since I don't communicate with homosexuals I'll not respond to your bait cumaglia. Chit, guess I did respond to a homosexual.

Thanks for playin’ you stupid SOB

🤡

LOL

FFP has the ability to do this at all powers. SFP at the one.

That's a good question. Maybe designating where the reticle physically is in the scope? Having had quite a few fixed power scopes apart, the reticles were at the rear in every case.

Good shootin' -Al

Good point

Einstein

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It’s a proven fact that owners of fixed power scopes like it in the rear


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(Just filling in for the Azz with 100k posts who was banned)


😂🤣😂🤣

Yup, that's included in what I called "measuring corrections," although the advantage of an FFP reticle is less apparent in low-pressure situations such as on the range zeroing a scope, etc., in which the shooter has more time to think about magnification and ensure the correct setting on their SFP scope, and in which the consequences of forgetting to do so are essentially non-existent.

Translation….






😂😂😂

LOL

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Had a very good conversation with an optical engineer for a well known company. We touched on this topic, among others. Cutting to the chase, he stated there were no advantages or diasadvantages to a SFP or FFP reticle placement in a fixed power. That included whether the parallax adjustment was a side adjustment, A.O. style or placed ahead of the occular.

no to page 1 early response...the question is, did you mean to post that question in the hunting optics section?

any of the latest gimmicks designed to part wallets from money will work for playtime on the range....are you setting up a hunting rig or a play rig here? haha...good luck

Thank you for the response.
I guess I am confused then as to why you even made mention of them being SFP if it has no bearing on anything???

These five SFP 6X A.O. scopes will all be evaluated on a new Hunter Class rifle where 6X is the max. allowable magnification.
These two Sightron SFP's will get wrung out on my VFS rig. The 36X45 ED

Same with the 45X Leupy you had mentioned. I am not flaming or being facetious here....I am trying to learn.

I guess it's like the mfgs referencing 'SFP' when listing the specs. for their fixed power scopes....sort of a redundant term. It's like referencing 'head space' when talking about sizing brass.

I also refetenced those as SFP as part of the conversation about FFP scopes being prefered for precision competitive shooting.

Good shootin' -Al

I guess the shooting skills developed in practice have no translation to hunting? Maybe you should tell the pile of critters I've killed with FFP scopes that they aren't really dead.