FFP vs SFP scopes

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Spikehunter

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Recently wanting to get into some more precision shooting. Currently only have access to a 400 yard range but would eventually like to shoot farther. Just looking for some advice on FFP vs SFP scopes and what i should pair with my rifle when i acquire one. Just got a good deal on a vortex viper PST 5-25 x 50 but realize now it is a SFP reticle, is it worth keeping still if i want to get into precision shooting? Any advice would help.

Thanks,
Jake
 
Spikehunter said:
Recently wanting to get into some more precision shooting. Currently only have access to a 400 yard range but would eventually like to shoot farther. Just looking for some advice on FFP vs SFP scopes and what i should pair with my rifle when i acquire one. Just got a good deal on a vortex viper PST 5-25 x 50 but realize now it is a SFP reticle, is it worth keeping still if i want to get into precision shooting? Any advice would help.

Thanks,
Jake
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Spikehunter said:
Recently wanting to get into some more precision shooting. Currently only have access to a 400 yard range but would eventually like to shoot farther. Just looking for some advice on FFP vs SFP scopes and what i should pair with my rifle when i acquire one. Just got a good deal on a vortex viper PST 5-25 x 50 but realize now it is a SFP reticle, is it worth keeping still if i want to get into precision shooting? Any advice would help.

Thanks,
Jake
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I have both first and second plane scopes.
First focal plane are pretty much what modern scopes are.
If you are going to use the stadia lines for ranging then the first focal plane is the go to. Usually way busier as far as the reticle is concerned.
I prefer the second focal plane personally.
Less busy and the reticle stays the same size as you dial up. You can range with them also but it takes practice.
I have used both scopes to shoot out to 2500 meters repeatedly.
 
Both have their pros and cons and I am by no means all that educated on the subject matter so take it for what it’s worth.
If you intend to use a busy reticle for what it’s intended a FFP in mils offers advantage but at lower magnification can become unusable.
SFP excels at providing a viewable reticle at low magnification so great for hunting but if it’s a complex reticle has the downside that it only works correctly at specific power settings or increased math is required for accurate dope (so easy to screw up).
I’m sure something might be out there to get the best of both but I’ve not seen it, the closest one I saw was a FFP Meopta that got discontinued (it had almost a CQB reticle).
Different scopes for different uses.
If you want to try an FFP you could consider buying an entry level scope such as the Arkin EP5 which is decent enough and provides all the features of a high end scope at a fraction of the cost. It might not meet all your final expectations but it will provide the answers you seek and can be easily flipped if you decide to spend on something similar at a far greater price point.
 
wasrupzuk said:
Both have their pros and cons and I am by no means all that educated on the subject matter so take it for what it’s worth.
If you intend to use a busy reticle for what it’s intended a FFP in mils offers advantage but at lower magnification can become unusable.
SFP excels at providing a viewable reticle at low magnification so great for hunting but if it’s a complex reticle has the downside that it only works correctly at specific power settings or increased math is required for accurate dope (so easy to screw up).
I’m sure something might be out there to get the best of both but I’ve not seen it, the closest one I saw was a FFP Meopta that got discontinued (it had almost a CQB reticle).
Different scopes for different uses.
If you want to try an FFP you could consider buying an entry level scope such as the Arkin EP5 which is decent enough and provides all the features of a high end scope at a fraction of the cost. It might not meet all your final expectations but it will provide the answers you seek and can be easily flipped if you decide to spend on something similar at a far greater price point.
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Thanks for the reply’s. I think I will stick with the vortex I bought and see how I like it shooting at distances. I think I will just have to buy a FFP eventually and see what I like better. Really sounds like a personal preference from guy to guy….now I just have to buy the rifle lol
 
Spikehunter said:
Thanks for the reply’s. I think I will stick with the vortex I bought and see how I like it shooting at distances. I think I will just have to buy a FFP eventually and see what I like better. Really sounds like a personal preference from guy to guy….now I just have to buy the rifle lol
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I use an FFP scope when I'm shooting prairie dogs at different distances with constantly changing wind speed/direction. I don't want to dial all the time and like using the reticle at different magnification.

I don't think the shooting you are planning to do will suffer with a SFP optic. The scope you bought will be fine.
 
As I age I struggle with FFP escpecially on lower power, the dot is small and to hard to see, anyuthing that I hunt with has a SFP scope on it, my 6.5 and 7mm PRC's both have nightforce NX8 SFP MOA scopes, I have had them both out to 1400 yards and they both double as hunting rifles my 6mm CM is strickly bench it weighs in at 19 lbs and has a bushnell elite tactical XRS FFP on it which works just fine as it is usually up at 10 power or higher. It won't be long and I will have all SFP scopes on my rifles, just my personal preference for what it's worth.
 
I have been going over to FFP, and at the same time, I have been going with MRAD. A lot of it does come down to personal preference. I didn't find that it took all that long to overcome the "busy" reticle, I can just look through it.
For lower power, I dont typically need to see the numbers and lines as clear. In all of my scopes, they still show up big enough for what I need, and I'm rarely shooting that low of power anyway. On the flip side, I am very rarely shooting with max magnification either.

One big plus on a FFP over a SFP if you have the ranging reticle of any kind, is that the numbers stay true with the FFP, where as the ranging dots, hashes, or whatever you have, are constantly changing, and not truly what they are marked as unless you are at a specific magnification, normally full zoom.
 
I didn't think much about them until I bought my first ffp scope, now using a sfp one feels painful. I'm down to one sfp scope I bought at a screaming deal for a future hunting rifle if I ever get the urge. Which I probably won't.
 
I put an FFP on my one gopher gun, and on one .22, love the xmas tree reticle for that and correcting for wind on them and at the range. Not sure if I'd want to use them for big game hunting, I hunt a lot of close cover, and I can't really see the value of it to me in that scenario, very comfortable with the Swaro BRH reticle for reasonable distance, and the red dot I have on the DR as it's a 200yd gun.
 
OP, as magnification increases in a SFP scope, the reticle blocks more of the image.

At the lowest settings, this isn't much of an issue, until you want to shoot at long distance and wanting to use higher magnification.

Most folks I know are unhappy with SFP scopes after purchasing/using them.

You need to be very careful when a good quality scope comes along at a very good price.

The FFP/SFP have nothing to do with the quality of the optics, but when those reticles cover the image???????????

Sell the scope for what you can get. They're hard to sell, so getting your money back in full will be a challenge. They usually aren't worth sending away to have the system exchanged either.

I'm not really sure what the advantage of the SFP system is, but some folks like it, and complain not enough good quality scopes offer the option.

I'm not a fan of SFP scopes, but that's just me.
 
bearhunter said:
OP, as magnification increases in a SFP scope, the reticle blocks more of the image.

At the lowest settings, this isn't much of an issue, until you want to shoot at long distance and wanting to use higher magnification.

Most folks I know are unhappy with SFP scopes after purchasing/using them.

You need to be very careful when a good quality scope comes along at a very good price.

The FFP/SFP have nothing to do with the quality of the optics, but when those reticles cover the image???????????

Sell the scope for what you can get. They're hard to sell, so getting your money back in full will be a challenge. They usually aren't worth sending away to have the system exchanged either.

I'm not really sure what the advantage of the SFP system is, but some folks like it, and complain not enough good quality scopes offer the option.

I'm not a fan of SFP scopes, but that's just me.
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?
So much incorrect information
 
Spikehunter said:
Recently wanting to get into some more precision shooting. Currently only have access to a 400 yard range but would eventually like to shoot farther. Just looking for some advice on FFP vs SFP scopes and what i should pair with my rifle when i acquire one. Just got a good deal on a vortex viper PST 5-25 x 50 but realize now it is a SFP reticle, is it worth keeping still if i want to get into precision shooting? Any advice would help.

Thanks,
Jake
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Don't sweat it, find your rifle of desire fasten your PST on top of it and shoot.
 
Bought first scope in SFP not knowing any better. FFP just makes it easier to dial in your firing solution using holdovers at any magnification while the SFP holdovers are only accurate at one magnification.
 
Tokay444 said:
Which parts?
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Sfp
“The reticle covers a proportionally smaller amount of the target image as magnification increases”

Sfp scopes are common among target shooters shooting known distances. S&B, Zeiss, Kahles, Nightforce, March all make sfp scope for long range shooting

Good to decent glass isn’t difficult to sell

Manufactures won’t/can’t change the focal plane of a scope

The scope the op listed is a first focal plane scope
 
I have looked through numerous high end scopes and although I like the concept of subtensions being true at all magnification levels I just can’t see the reticle when turned down low. On the other end ffp scope reticles become very thick when shooting elr.
 
Smokinyotes said:
I have looked through numerous high end scopes and although I like the concept of subtensions being true at all magnification levels I just can’t see the reticle when turned down low. On the other end ffp scope reticles become very thick when shooting elr.
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I can easily see the center, which is all you really need at such a small amount of magnification. This is with my 3-15's, 3-18's, and my 5-25's. There is no chance I'm seeing hashmarks, or numbers at those lower powers though.
 
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