Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Scope reticle magnification

At what magnification are you seeing the reticle in a second focal plane scope ?

All of them. The reticle is visible through the entire range of magnifications.

Let me ask this another way .
One of the disadvantages of a FFP scope is how small the reticle appears at very low power in a variable power scope. The reticle in a SFP scope doesn't appear small and Of course doesn't change size, so it must be magnified to a certain extent ?

It just is what it is. Any further questioning, discussion, or anaysis is pointless.

In a SFP scope the reticle is between your eye and where the magnification occurs. Making it static. In a FFP it’s after the magnification so it changes sizes with the magnification.

I get that it is static . So a SFP scope has a reticle magnification of zero and a target image of whatever power the magnification ring is set on ?

Say what?

The reticle is not magnified. The size of the markings (subtensions) on the reticle is set by the manufacturer, usually at max power.

You read it right .

At all magnifications. It just never changes size with variable magnification, unlike with a FFP scope.

I get that too .
If a FFP scope reticle is too small to be useable in timber because it gets "lost" at say 2 power , why is a SFP reticle not too small at zero magnification ?

Good luck fellas.............

You guys aren't getting what I'm asking, or I'm just messing with you ?

Because it is a fixed size from the start.


Hold a toothpick between you and a magnifying glass. No matter what magnification the glass is the toothpick looks the same. (SFP).

Hold the toothpick on the other side of the magnifying glass and it changes with different magnifications.

If that don’t help, I can’t help.

You’re making my teeth hurt.

Maybe this will help? If you taped 2 match sticks in an x in front of the ocular lens they would be pretty thick. If you took 2 toothpicks and made an x on an identical scope the x would be less thick. If you changed the magnification of the scope it would do nothing to the size of the crosshairs. The crosshairs will cover more area on low mag than high mag but the crosshairs are not a certain mag just thick or thin and they stay that way. That wasnt great but might help?

What wr75169 said

Yep somewhat . So the reticle in SFP would be the same size whether looking at it through the scope or laying in your hand , correct ?

Possibly. I don’t know if the ocular lens has any magnification to it. But you’re on the right track.

Well I tried to attach a photo but it appears our system hasn’t changed in ten years so you get what you get. I’m not pulling out my abacus to get it done.