The March 1-10 is almost perfect to me, except simply price. The size is hilarious, the weight is good, and the reticle is simple. Like you said to another commenter, everything has a trade off and price is the trade off for the March tech. I prefer the idea of the $800 Vortex over the $1500 NF, but I like the Mil-R reticle for a hunting/target reticle especially when it's in another scope I own already.
My issue with the FFP reticles in LPVO and MPVO is they have to be made awkward so they are useable at 2x-ish, and then give up precision at the high end. Look at the Athlon 2-12x reticle offering
here. I don't want a center dot that covers 1" at 100 yards when the rifle is capable of half of that! lol I get it, they are meant for hunters and DMR roles where 1" is more than sufficient. Then everyone wants the daylight bright red dot for some reason, but that requires compromises in reticle design, unless you go dual focal plane like March. I want a reliable and proven sub-20oz optic with a mil based reticle that has a fine aiming point at 10x+ and turn the reticle into a German #4 style at low power where you simply bracket the game and let your eye naturally grab the center point or a center box of sorts. In the mean time, I am forced to do what I swore I would never do again and that is strongly consider purchasing another SFP optic or go heavier.
You may not have used the correct type of reticles or using them not as intended in your FFP MPVOs if you're finding them useless at either end. We hear this argument all the time to justify less expensive SFP offerings. For clarity on my end, I consider 1-10s today LPVO; 3-18 MPVOs, so please excuse me if our brackets are off.
But people who love SFP in an MPVO often have not really experienced using an FFP with an illuminated reticle correctly under both short and long-range hunting conditions. For instance, often, they'll say they need SFP is needed for fast target acquisition at min power, or a duplex reticle is needed for fast target acquisition. While both are true, there is another part of their argument that makes no sense at all. They'll go on to say that the FFP at min magnification is not easily seen, or you can't see the windholds easily. Again while true, it's usually completely out of context. We need to admit that neither the SPF nor duplex has the accurate wind holds at min power. The second is that at min power, our scope should only be serving one of 2 needs, general glassing or short-range shots; neither needs wind holds.
If we can accept that, then we'll realize that with the correct reticle type paired with daylight illumination with FFP, it will appear like a Red dot, and Duplex hybrid, when zoomed, will also have a fine POA. Now, as we zoom in for longer range shots and zoom out as needed to deal with FOV or lens flare, the windhold is accurate, as are the drops. Simply put, the FFP is far more versatile than many fans of SPF understand for hunting, especially out here in the West.
If someone is looking for a scope for longer range hunting, for me 400 with a 308 is a poke; I'd make a priority list first. Here is one I posted in another thread.
Previously posted:: Not exactly relevant to the OPs post, the idea of the priority list should be.
As a hunter, who shoots long-range in our hunt unit because of the way the topography often forces us; as well as a competitor who has owned much of the top tear glass including a ZCO. The ZCO and some of the other top their glass; are not on either my long-range hunting magnums or other hunting guns.
I see a lot of votes for the ZCO and I love mine, but the feature set comes as an overall weight package that defeats what I am trying to accomplish on a hunting rifle that I will not only need to carry but need to add a tripod, glass and still pack out the animal. I am not hunting varmints, other mammals that one might leave where they lay or steel. I can't count how many times I seriously thought about leaving thousands of $$ of gear on the pack out as the meat can't be left; ounces matter to me. Counting ounces, I still end up with a full features system; my magnum is 9lbs with, mag in, full arca rail, a huge Ti brake, exposed turrets, and a usable FFP scope with illumination (MK5 3-18).
I ran 5-25s but came back to 3-15x/3-18x. A 3-18 and your hunting rifle is wicked well past 1,000 yards on a mammal and usually will have the field-of-view on the low end to work when you're surprised by something a hair closer.
Make a priority list unique to you; mine was something like this:
Quality
FFP
Illumination daylight visible (you need this not only for low light but to quickly see and acquire targets an min power- it helps the scope work like a duplex as you just don't need wind holds on min power close range targets)
Reticle
FOV
Locking elevation
Capped or locking windage
Low weight <= 26oz
Good Glass
forgiving eye box
cost
Top of the list for me was
TT 315M
MK5 3-18
March 3-24
The only one that you'd get a Mil discount on would be the MK5. The march I didn't like the reticle or eye-box, but it was the lightest by 2oz. When I worked through my list, the MK5 being 1/2 the cost of the TT allowed me to buy several, so that's the way I went.
The entire point is to really take the time to think about our entire system and how it fits with your personal picture. Hope this helps provide food for thought.
PS - I've seen (or heard) more fucked up long-range shots in the last three Elk seasons, with guys using SFP scopes on partial zoom, than I can count. It's sad and inexcusable to cheap out, not practice, not know your gear, then start firing away from long range like the current trend. Remember a lot of the hunting is done at first or last light and the sun angles often require that we're off max power to reduce the lens flare effects. This flat-out fucks up SPF holds.
I am NOT against people who only want to stalk (heck I have a bow) or those like me who do make long-range kills, but if your taking long-range shots under adrenaline inspired, often tired from a hike, where sun angles can create lens flare, and or accurate wind and elevation holds are required, use an FFP.
