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As a first scope to sit on top of my Ruger Precision 308 I am looking at the Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 which is at the top end of my budget. I know the difference between FFP and SFP and that FFP must be the better option as it costs 35% more, but is it worth it to a beginner?
If FFP is a no brainer must-have then would I be better off looking at the PST 4-16x50 FFP which comes in around same price as the higher mag version in SFP? Initially I will be shooting out to 600 max.

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I think it depends on how often you want to change the range to your target or your magnification? The advantage is that your reticle markings will remain accurate no matter what the magnification, as they grow with the increased magnification but if you leave your scope at full power magnification all the time then there's not a lot of point.

I have a ffp scope which I move between rifles all the time, preferring to do this than to buy one for each gun, mine is the vortex 2-10. Because I change ranges and magnification quite a bit, (lower mag is easier to catch with the eye when moving etc) I like it but if you're going to settle down at 500 yards for the day and keep that scope on max mag then I'm not sure it's worth it but I'm no optics expert!

Aah, so if I'm target only then there appears little point with FFP if only changing range once or twice a day.

If range is 500-600 or poss a bit further would 16x be ok or would I need x24 (bearing in mind bigger is always better...allegedly)

I know people who shoot out to 800 with 10x so it's preference really. The more the mag, the more you need to spend to get a good picture I think.

It depends what type of targets and shooting you are doing. With FFP the reticle size scales with the magnification, so obviously if you're trying to shoot a small target using large magnification you might block out the target. For example, I have an IOR scope which has a 0.1mrad dot at the centre (1cm in diameter at 100m). If I am shooting at a target which is 1cm in diameter in smaller then it doesn't matter what magnification my scope is set at the dot will always appear as a 1cm dot at 100m. With a SFP scope the reticle size remains fixed, so when you crank up to maximum magnification the target appears bigger but the reticle remains the same size.

My main shooting is either at 100m targets (which I create and print myself) and at Fig11 targets at varying distances, from 200m to around 1,500m. I don't really need precision in the latter but I often change magnification and prefer not to think about modifying my holdovers, therefore I use FFP glass. If I was shooting F-class I would more than likely consider SFP since I'd be shooting a fixed distance and wouldn't need to change my magnification.

PS - you won't go wrong with the Vortex Viper 6-24x50 PST. I have one on my 223 and another on my 308 and they are great scopes for the money. I've used these scopes (in MRAD FFP configurations) out to 1,000m and never had any problems with them. However, when trying to shoot out to ~1,200m or further the optics can appear a little bit hazy on maximum magnification. This isn't a problem since you are shooting out to 600m max so I think you'll really love this scope.

Below are some pictures of my IOR scope at a low (~6x) and high (~18x) magnification and shows how much this reticle grows with the magnification. Bare in mind that tryign to keep the camera at the same focal distance is a bit difficult so the images look slightly exaggerated. The final picture is the Vortex reticle at ~x18 magnification so you can see that this reticle is less "heavy" compared to the IOR reticle.

I am using same vortex viper you mentioned on my RPR with FFP while my mate has SFP on his RPR. I say it is useful when you shooting different distance with different magnification and want to adjust quickly your scope using your reticle. I know quickly how many clicks I have to shift base on spotting shot no matter what magnification I am using.


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If you're shooting at paper targets at known distances on a range - go for second focal plane. Buy as large a magnification as you can afford - you can't have too much magnification with a rested rifle.

The Gun Pimp wrote:Buy as large a magnification as you can afford - you can't have too much magnification with a rested rifle.

This is excellent advice, ideally ask others who already shoot the distances and disciplines you're interested in if you can have a look through their scope and make notes on make, magnification and image quality,
Regards,
Nick