Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics 1st vs 2nd Focal plane?

Hi all,
I recently was the high bid for an auction at an RMEF banquet for a Quigley-Ford scope.
They are asking if I want to upgrade from 2nd to 1st focal for $200.
Basically go from a 4-16x 50 1” to a 5-20x 50 30mm.
It is going on my 700 BDL 7SAUM with a 24” barrel.
I doubt I will ever take a 500 yard shot while hunting.
Is it worth the upgrade for me? I have never had a scope like this so thought I should get some opinions.
My usual scopes are VX-3’s and such. Never had an opportunity to purchase a $2000 scope for a reasonable price before.

Thanks for any help you can be.
Have a great day!!

50mm is 50mm, so there is no advantage to light transmission of the 30mm tube. I personally don't like the magnification of the crosshair when you turn the power up on the FFP scope.

Some people can better use the FFP scope and it's ability to stay constant in relation to the target, but for me, I like the constant size of the crosshair...

Quigley-Ford... probably the most controversial optic I've ever read about...

Thanks for the input.
I was able to get hold of a couple of friends that actually shoot distances that I don’t even consider with equipment costs waaay higher than mine and neither of them have a FFP scope either.
The one who competes at Perry said he just doesn’t care for how the reticle changes much like you said.

Have a great day and thank you for your time!!

With experience a guy can use the reticle and subtensions to judge critter size and distance, as well as hold off. FFP keeps the math constant. If you plan to use the scope for that kind of thing I see no downside to a FFP.

If you can keep all that math straight in your head when on different powers and when things happen fast, then I guess rock on with SFP. It isn’t for me though.

It’s not an upgrade just because it’s FFP vs SFP. That’s just a matter of personal preference and what you want the scope to do. Imo, there is, however, an advantage to 30mm vs 1”. To me, everything a 1” tube does, a 30mm does better. I know mathematically a 1” tube doesn’t pull in more light, but the sight picture sure is better to me with a 30mm.

No counting a 30mm is stronger than a 1 inch tube. Allows for a little more adjustment. Hasbeen

I have mostly FFP reticles and they can be used exactly as T Inman said. The reticle size at base magnification will determine if it can be used for long range without cluttering up the view.

I agree. Also when the magnification is down low on a FFP, the reticle is hard to see on most scopes. When I shoot "long range" the X's are going to be turned all the way up anyway, so a second focal plane scope works just fine.

In a FFP scope the reticle spacing is the same on all powers, thus the spacing of the reticle and math is the same

You don't say what kind of a terrain you hunt. For me 5X on the low end would be too much in the thick timber i hunt.

Another thing to consider is: Are you a Hunter or someone that is Tacticool......
Most hunters prefer a 2nd focal plane scope, there are some that don't but the numbers are small.
If you are Tacticool it is a must to have a FFP scope or the "COOL" is lost. it is also more Tacticool if you abandon 1" and 30mm tubes for 34-35mm tubes.

Though I prefer SFP for hunting, there is one additional thing to consider with FFP, that being the chance of a wandering POI. Reticle in front of the erector eliminates that.

I normally hunt brush with a 1-4 or 2-7 type scope, though.

For a hunting rifle it's not worth it. A FFP scope matters most when you use the reticle for your holds. If you dial for your distance, FFP has very little advantage. A FFP optic with a MOAR type reticle will give true MOA (or mil) readings regardless of the power setting. A MOAR SFP optic only gives true MOA/MIL readings at one power setting, usually full power. If you shoot competitively, or military where fast shots are long ranges are common it makes sense. If you have time to range the animal, which is necessary for almost any shot past 300 yards, you have time to turn the turret to your proper hold.

A 30mm tube gives more vertical adjustment, that's great for long range sniping, but like you said, most people hunting don't shoot past 500 yards, if that. Having the ability to dial to 1600 yards is pointless for a hunting rifle. Just extra weight.

The QF notion is HILARIOUS,even if they were free and came with $200 cash back! Hint. LAUGHING!

You gals read too much,shoot too little and love to PROVE same,by doing your best. Read that again. Now one more time. Hint.

FFP has no equal,no matter whether Drooltards savvy or not. Drop,drift and leads for movers,are like/like at all zoom ratios. BRF's display range instantly and beings you must look through the scope to deliver the projectile,it is hardly a "concession" to be driving a FFP reticle of merit. Hint.

Bless your hearts for trying though.

Hint.

fhuqking LAUGHING!.............

A good FFP reticle for me, in almost all cases. I hunt with fixed-power or FFP scopes exclusively. I compete with FFP scopes exclusively.

In addition to drop/wind/movers, I use the reticle to measure corrections, apply corrections, measure target size, and as a backup to calculate an approximate range if the LRF fails for some reason (this is rare with LRFs being what they are these days).

The upside to a well-designed FFP reticle is that there is no downside.

another opportunity to tell everyone what idiots and bums they are... and how smart you are.. like the only one with any experience or intelligence on the entire planet... We're all sure NASA consults with you on a regular basis... But when you sober up and step back into reality.. well life changes, don't she?

your fantasies and delusions, is what makes ya the best entertainment value on the WWW. bar none Stumpy...but ya still have a body and face, resembling a runover Bullfrog.... Don't know why Stumpy, but when I see something on the Boob Tube, searching thru the channels, and stumble across Sesame Street, I finally come across where they got the concept of Oscar the Grouch... Lives in a garbage can, delusions of Greatness, better than everyone else, talks on a level that only preschoolers understand ( but they at least the ones who can "look up to" him size wise), does the most with the 2 working brain cells than anyone else on the planet... minus Joe Biden.

Yup, it ain't easy being Schtick ( nor a kids puppet in Oscar the Grouch), but for some reason, most of us seem to love him...
Seeing him or you, allows us to laugh at ourselves, while being thankful that in all of our faults.. at least we ain't Schtick..

you do an immense service to your country Stumpy. and give our regards to your half brother, Kim Jung Il...Brothers from a different mother..otherwise, Identical twins...

Merry Christmas Stumpy! and Happy New Year ya little crosseyed green midget... Many of us will take a moment to toast to you, for all ya give us thru out the year, while you'll be passed out drunk on the floor at your place...

All the Best,
your campfire fan club.

In fairness,Shefire is both a First and Second Plane CLUELESS Drooler,who just "happens" to be a Lying Piece Of Fhuqking Schit to boot...the "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?





I keep a 6x MQ with DOPE in it's ocular and a Sig LRF at work,just for Dissenters. Hint.(grin)

It's rather easy to see a Critter and ask "How are you going to kill him?" and they of course flounder. It's all been SFP,in glass that doesn't track,repeat or hold zero for them and "turret" is a DIRTY fhuqking word. "Reticle" is something and Atheist would order,only from the Devil himself. With 15 seconds of "coaching",while looking at a full page print of said reticle and it's subtension values,I hand over the LRF and say "kill it",while counting in seconds. They range,set glass on Critter and say "got it",once subtended in but a coupla seconds. Then look at me and say "that's IT?!?","yep". Such things,tend to bolster Sales. Doubly so,when thy can source their Factory Loaded Schit on Ballistics AE. Hint.

Then it's never ending subtension applications,to make range determinations,Critter determinations,target size determinations and the like,as you cite. Such things are rather good for The Economy,as Sales go and encompassing more than a "few" wares. Hint.................

Buddly, is that you?

With that in mind it isn't worth the added cost to me. I zero my scopes at the highest magnification and know the SFP scopes will be calibrated at that magnification. But I hunt with them on the lowest magnification virtually all of the time. My scopes will all be 2X, 3X, or 4X on the low end and I can make hits out to 200-300 yards on those settings without worrying about multiple aiming points.

If I ever need to take a longer shot at game, or shooting longer at the range, I pass right over all of the mid-range settings and go to max magnification. For what I do, and at the ranges I shoot everything in between isn't needed.

If I were using something like an 8-32X scope, even the 5-20X you're considering, then I can see some situations where something in between might be useful. But for big game hunting out to 500 yards a scope that tops out at 14X is more than enough.