FFP Scope with larger reticle at low magnification?

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cabro

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May 22, 2020
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British Columbia, Canada
I'm wondering if anyone knows of a FFP scope that has a "usable" reticle at low magnification?

I currently have a SFP 2.5-15 scope and most of the time i'm shooting between 15-35 yards so I have the magnification down to 2.5x but sometimes up to 10x. My PCP is limited to 495 FPS so while more powerful PCP's/PB's would not need to worry about hold over/under at lower magnifications/closer range, it's definitely important to me. Most of my shooting is pesting so I like to hold over/under as it's quicker than dialing clicks.

This is the reticle i'm currently using and really like it.

reticle.JPG

As most of you know, there are "challenges" with using the reticle and hold over/under points while changing magnifications so I would like to alleviate that by moving to a FFP scope. The issue i'm running into is most of the reticles at 2.5-3.5x don't look usable.

Does anyone know of any outlier scopes that have usable reticles at lower magnifications? Budget would be up to $1,200.

Thanks!
 
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I'm afraid the short answer is no. I've owned several brands of FFP scopes and they all seemed to have the same thickness reticle at the same power setting particularly less than 10 and if there were a difference it's wasn't discernable to my eye.
I believe the design and intent of an FFP scope when being used on lower magnifications is to gain maximum FOV while using a PBR aim point. At least that's what I've done when using mine on minimum magnification.
 
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Cabro,

there are two factors that influence how thin the reticle lines in an FFP scope appear.


🔹(1) The line thickness, obviously.
I have Scope Specs Tables for different magnification ranges, that provide the thickness of the crosshairs and provide links to many reticles videos/photos at different magnifications to see for yourself.

→ What is the bottom end magnification you require? Is 2.5x a requirement, or would 3x be OK, or even 4x?


🔹(2) The magnification range:
3-fold, as in: 2-6x | 2.5-7x | 3-9x etc.
4-fold, as in: 2-8x | 2.5-10x | 3-12x etc.
6-fold, as in: 2-12x | 2.5-15x | 3-18x etc.

A 3-fold magnification scope will have a less drastic change in apparent line thickness than a 6-fold magni scope.... And that means it will have better visible lines on the bottom end magni.

→ Your 6-fold 2.5-15x is clearly not the best for low-magnification holdovers....



🔹(3) A work-around this problem are scopes that have "daylight bright" illumination (brighter than "regular") — even at low magni you'll see the reticle.

→ Ask on the forums which scopes have that feature, unfortunately my Scopes Tables only list if a scope doesor doesnot have an IR.


Cheers,

Matthias
 
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Do you need to use holdovers at ~3x or do you just need to be able to use the center of the reticle?

If the latter then an illuminated reticle should take care of that.

If the former then maybe an FFP LPVO would have visible holdovers around 2.5x - 3x.

Look through the profile of @Dairyboy & look for pictures he posted of the Athlon 2-12x44 reticle at different magnifications.
 
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davecole said:
I'm afraid the short answer is no. I've owned several brands of FFP scopes and they all seemed to have the same thickness reticle at the same power setting particularly less than 10 and if there were a difference it's wasn't discernable to my eye.
I believe the design and intent of an FFP scope when being used on lower magnifications is to gain maximum FOV while using a PBR aim point. At least that's what I've done when using mine on minimum magnification.
Click to expand...
That's pretty much the conclusion I came to as well. Unfortunately i'm an outlier and FFP scopes were just not designed for my use case which is understandable. They do however, work perfectly for the users it was designed for which is the majority and totally understandable.
 
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Scouty said:
Do you need to use holdovers at ~3x or do you just need to be able to use the center of the reticle?

If the latter then an illuminated reticle should take care of that.

If the former then maybe an FFP LPVO would have visible holdovers around 2.5x - 3x.

Look through the profile of @Dairyboy & look for pictures he posted of the Athlon 2-12x44 reticle at different magnifications.
Click to expand...
I definitely need holdovers at or around 3x as the bullet drop is quite significant when you are limited to 495fps.

I'll definitely take a look at the FFP LPVO, thanks!
 
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JungleShooter said:
Cabro,

there are two factors that influence how thin the reticle lines in an FFP scope appear.


🔹(1) The line thickness, obviously.
I have Scope Specs Tables for different magnification ranges, that provide the thickness of the crosshairs and provide links to many reticles videos/photos at different magnifications to see for yourself.

→ What is the bottom end magnification you require? Is 2.5x a requirement, or would 3x be OK, or even 4x?


🔹(2) The magnification range:
3-fold, as in: 2-6x | 2.5-7x | 3-9x etc.
4-fold, as in: 2-8x | 2.5-10x | 3-12x etc.
6-fold, as in: 2-12x | 2.5-15x | 3-18x etc.

A 3-fold magnification scope will have a less drastic change in apparent line thickness than a 6-fold magni scope.... And that means it will have better visible lines on the bottom end magni.

→ Your 6-fold 2.5-15x is clearly not the best for low-magnification holdovers....



🔹(3) A work-around this problem are scopes that have "daylight bright" illumination (brighter than "regular") — even at low magni you'll see the reticle.

→ Ask on the forums which scopes have that feature, unfortunately my Scopes Tables only list if a scope doesor doesnot have an IR.


Cheers,

Matthias
Click to expand...
Thanks JungleShooter, i'll take a look at scopes with 3-fold magnification and even though your Scopes Tables don't have what i'm looking for, they have definitely be a treasure trove of information!
 
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Teber66 said:
Athlon Helos BTR Gen II 2-12x44 FFP
This is what I have on my HW95, took this pic with my phone. It looks a lot better than what the pic shows. The door is 31 yards away with the scope set on 2x. You would have no problem shooting the center of the door handle at this distance on 2x.
View attachment 269162
Click to expand...

Teber thanks for posting this. I watch a fair amount of YouTube reviews and so often at best you get a quick scroll through the magnification with no reference to distance, size of the target in the background or even stopping at a few different power levels so the viewer can get an idea.

If you happen to have pictures of the reticle at higher powers that would be interesting to see.

To Cabro, this is the same scope I mentioned earlier that Dairyboy had posted reticle pictures of.
 
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Several of my FFP scopes are quite usable at low magnification. What happens is all the garbeldeegook (technical term) of the ranging information, bullet drop etc. essentially disappears, but I am left with a perfectly usable set of crosshairs from the bodler aspects of the reticle still visible, ( you remmebr crosshairs, you know, like scopes used to have back 30 years before all the extra stuff was added) I'm trying to remember which ones I feel pull this trick off well. Off hand I'd say it's my Meoptas and Cabela's Covenant.
 
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Thanks, Teber.

I found some other pictures of the same reticle in other threads.

FFP/Athlon Helos G2 2-12x42 is in hand!

Dang if they gonna wanna make a profit from the last sale anyway they should just sell it on EBay!
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com

favorite hunting scope

As an old timer, I find many of the new scopes, those with a plethora of reticle variations, virtually useless in the woods, especially under low light. I have a couple of FFP scopes, with MOA hash marks. When using them to range distance on a target, they're great. But put them in the woods at...
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com
 
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Teber66 said:
Athlon Helos BTR Gen II 2-12x44 FFP
This is what I have on my HW95, took this pic with my phone. It looks a lot better than what the pic shows. The door is 31 yards away with the scope set on 2x. You would have no problem shooting the center of the door handle at this distance on 2x.
View attachment 269162
Click to expand...
This is really useful Teber, thanks!

Would you say the hold over marks are usable at 2x? I ask because i'm zeroed at 25 yards but from 35-50 yards I need to use hold overs due to my limit of 495 FPS. It looks like they might be useable to like you said, a little hard to tell from the picture.
 
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cabro said:
This is really useful Teber, thanks!

Would you say the hold over marks are usable at 2x? I ask because i'm zeroed at 25 yards but from 35-50 yards I need to use hold overs due to my limit of 495 FPS. It looks like they might be useable to like you said, a little hard to tell from the picture.
Click to expand...
Yes you can see the holdover marks on 2X.
 
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