Rifle Scopes Going from ffp to sfp for hunting

[DWilson]

Im setting up a bergara HMR 6.5 for hunting deer. I bought a gen2 razor 4.5x27 to put on it but decided that if a deer presented itself up close in a food plot that the ffp reticle would b too small. So i traded for a NF ATACR 4x16x50 with seekins rings included that is used but in good condition. Anybody have experience with this situation on ffp scopes hunting an did i make a good trade decision? Thanks for any input

 

[_Windrider_]

Well if it’s that close and you are at the lowest magnification why not just dial and hold the center?

 

[lawofsavage]

I’ve hunted a lot with ffp scopes and don’t really have a problem with the close stuff as long as there’s good light.

It’s tough at the end of legal hunting hours to pick up the reticle at low power with ffp sometimes so just make sure you have illum. and practice with it. Other than that, don’t think you’ll have too much trouble.

 

[Bridges90]

Would you say illuminated reticles are a must for a ffp hunting scope? I was looking into the Burris veracity which is not illuminated but the scenario lawofsavage stated above never crossed my mind

 

[niteshooter]

Would you say illuminated reticles are a must for a ffp hunting scope? I was looking into the Burris veracity which is not illuminated but the scenario lawofsavage stated above never crossed my mind[/QUOTE.
With so many options these days it’s almost why not have illum. reticles. So many brands offer them. Not much price difference. Better to have and seldom need than need......
If you ever do anything like boar hunting old European style under a full moon a heavy or illum. reticle is your friend.

 

[alpine44]

SFP scopes offer an interesting feature when you combine them with holdover reticles. You can match your rifles trajectory exactly to the holdovers by adjusting the magnification to the correct value. That turns the disadvantage of the SFP -changing subtension distance- to an advantage.

Here is an extreme example of what you can do with this. My in-line muzzle loader turned out to be wickedly accurate with the right sabots but the trajectory arc is what you would expect from a 300 grain bullet leaving the barrel at 1950 fps. A Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 set to 6x will match this trajectory perfectly out to 300 yards if I half the value of the holdovers (i.e. cross-hair is 100, "3" line is 150, "4" line is 200, "5" line 250, and "6" line 300) and turn this gun into a "sniper mortar".

BTW: I am a big fan of the Zeiss SFP scope with the RapidZ holdover reticles. These scopes are dirt cheap for the quality they offer. While not a Zeiss Victory or Diavari in performance and price, Zeiss still repairs them or sends you a new scope free of charge if something ever breaks. Zeiss has an online calculator and an app where you can see how your caliber works with their holdover reticles.

As far as dialing-in elevation is concerned, there were few times during my last 10 years of hunting where looking at a table and dialing elevation was a good choice or even feasible. It was usually: "Detect - Identify - Decide - Shoot" in very short order. Holdover reticles make that a whole lot easier IMO. When I sit somewhere, I laser some reference points and then use the appropriate holdover depending on where the critter shows up. In the mountains we are typically at least two people, one lasers/spots, the other shoots. I hear a number, chose the corresponding line, and start prepping the trigger.

 

[Bridges90]

Hmmm, well back to the drawing board then to look for good illuminated scopes

 

[DWilson]

SFP scopes offer an interesting feature when you combine them with holdover reticles. You can match your rifles trajectory exactly to the holdovers by adjusting the magnification to the correct value. That turns the disadvantage of the SFP -changing subtension distance- to an advantage.

Here is an extreme example of what you can do with this. My in-line muzzle loader turned out to be wickedly accurate with the right sabots but the trajectory arc is what you would expect from a 300 grain bullet leaving the barrel at 1950 fps. A Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 set to 6x will match this trajectory perfectly out to 300 yards if I half the value of the holdovers (i.e. cross-hair is 100, "3" line is 150, "4" line is 200, "5" line 250, and "6" line 300) and turn this gun into a "sniper mortar".

BTW: I am a big fan of the Zeiss SFP scope with the RapidZ holdover reticles. These scopes are dirt cheap for the quality they offer. While not a Zeiss Victory or Diavari in performance and price, Zeiss still repairs them or sends you a new scope free of charge if something ever breaks. Zeiss has an online calculator and an app where you can see how your caliber works with their holdover reticles.

As far as dialing-in elevation is concerned, there were few times during my last 10 years of hunting where looking at a table and dialing elevation was a good choice or even feasible. It was usually: "Detect - Identify - Decide - Shoot" in very short order. Holdover reticles make that a whole lot easier IMO. When I sit somewhere, I laser some reference points and then use the appropriate holdover depending on where the critter shows up. In the mountains we are typically at least two people, one lasers/spots, the other shoots. I hear a number, chose the corresponding line, and start prepping the trigger.

Yes where i hunt theres seldom time to dial. Its just like u described. Im hoping i learn that MOAR well. I think at 10 power its at half value. Anyone with experience with this reticle please feel free to chime in! Thanks

 

[alpine44]

Here is another suggestion if your reticle is too fine or your lowest magnification too big for close up work. After I lost a few opportunities with game jumping out at rock-throwing distances and me not being able to find/track it with a 3x magnification, I mounted an RMR dot sight on a 45degree mount alongside of the scope. That RMR is good to 100 yards on a deer-size target.

 

[101stinfantry]

Yep, if your hunting with a FFP, you definitely need illum. In fact, as I've gotten older, and the ole peepers degrade I really do appreciate the illuminated rets more and more, in FFP or SFP. I set my Sauer 100, 6.5cm up with a Minox ZX5i 2-10 SFP, with their BDC and @ 10X it has been dead on to 400 yds.

 

[ultrarunner7]

If they are that close, bracket them between 1 and 2 mils

 

[tsu45]

I hunt in some pretty thick stuff in Louisiana and I’ve never had this problem. If the deer is close enough for me to be dialed all the way down then the center of the reticle is the only thing that matters, no use for the hash marks.

 

[scudzuki]

Yes where i hunt theres seldom time to dial. Its just like u described. Im hoping i learn that MOAR well. I think at 10 power its at half value. Anyone with experience with this reticle please feel free to chime in! Thanks

If the reticle subtends at 16x, at 8x, the hash values are doubled.
That is, .25 MOA hash on the reticle subtends to .5 MOA at 8x, etc.

 

[Glassaholic]

Im setting up a bergara HMR 6.5 for hunting deer. I bought a gen2 razor 4.5x27 to put on it but decided that if a deer presented itself up close in a food plot that the ffp reticle would b too small. So i traded for a NF ATACR 4x16x50 with seekins rings included that is used but in good condition. Anybody have experience with this situation on ffp scopes hunting an did i make a good trade decision? Thanks for any input

First of all, I wouldn't want to put a Gen II on a deer rifle either, not because it's FFP, but because the thing is a cinder block, in fact, I think that is the major hurdle between FFP and SFP scopes, the FFP relatives always seem to be on the heavier side. In regard to the FFP reticle being "too small" I get that, but I think it's more about re-training ourselves to use the tool better. I am a big fan of Bushnell's G2H reticle they use in their LRHS line and would love to see a similar design offered in a lot of FFP reticles specifically for use in low magnification settings - you can see in the image below that when you zoom down to minimum magnification while you'll lose the hash marks you'll still be able to pickup center pretty well.

 

[Vinvan406]

It’s tough to find a good FFP scope that comes in a hunting weight That has the ability to dial and reticle to match. I’ve spent some time looking for some and most of them in the 15x max mag range are around 2lbs for the most part. A lot of extra weight to be carting around, and the 20+ mag range is even more weight that you are carrying around and you’re not gonna get much use out of the extra mag at hunting ranges.
If I was you I would look at something with less mag and your options open up quite a bit. Your problem with FFP will seem much less if you keep it around 5x till you are ready to shoot. ( or if you don’t have time to set up a shot it’ll be ready to go just hold center or 1mil) I would also be getting a MIL scope as it will be less clutter to your eye and you’ll be able to accurately deciefer between ticks.
Shooting 6.5CM, something with a 10x max power or even a 12 is plenty for what the ethical range is for that caliber. Save you a few bucks too with lower mag. Get Exposed turrets so you can still use it in other things than hunting too.

 

[Duffman1975]

I have always used SFP for hunting and FFP for “tactical” games.