Nightforce Optics Announces Three New First Focal Plane Reticles

[aebhunter]

I love my FFPs for hunting, and have used them lots of times on elk, wolves, deer, coyotes, gophers, steel, rocks, whatever. Although my scopes go to 24X and beyond I usually find myself shooting around 18-20 power. I Like Christmas tree style reticles even more, and don't find them to be the least bit obtrusive. I have actually been experimenting with holdover and wind hold on my reticles and find them to be really intuitive and easy to use. Maybe its just me though...

 

[wildcat455]

The only time I notice my ffp reticle looks distracting or cluttered is when I'm trying to spot 30 caliber bullet holes on my target...even then it ain't so bad.. LOL.
I love hunting and shooting with it.
As always, range to target has always dictated what magnification I am on for the shot. When traveling with the gun, I usually have it set around 10X.

 

[MosesTheTank]

questions,

-is this a hunting forum?
-how often if your scope set to middle power while hunting?
-when hunting are you leaving your scope on low or high power most often?
-do you mostly shoot at the range or in the field
-are FFP reticle hard or easily seen at low power
-have you ever shot on public land in the west?
-have you ever had a battery go down on you or turn out to be dead in your optic?
-if your needing the features of the reticle, are you needing it to make a long or short range shot
-do you use full power or low scope power when making a long distance shot?

answer these questions then get back to me on how a FFP reticle applies to hunting scopes.

It is very exciting that NF has come out with these reticles and double so that they are developing their low mag scopes. I am saving up for the ATACR 1-8.

I am a big fan of hunting with FFP reticles. However, I generally do not use them when I know that shots will be absolutely limited to 200 or so yards or closer. Wind calls are much easier to adjust for using FFP and being able to hold over at any magnification is a huge speed advantage.

You didn't ask your question of me, but I think it a worthwhile topic to study so I am giving my 0.02 for the folks who have not ventured much into the FFP world.

- It is a hunting forum. But I don't see that other types of shooting are specifically prohibited. It is also my firm conviction that competition shooting, especially competition that duplicates field conditions/positions makes you a better shooter and helps you know and respect your limits.
- "Middle power" power varies depending on which scope I am using, but generally they are set between low and middle
- I most often hunt wide open spaces with my scopes set somewhere in the 4x to 6x range, unless I'm sizing up an animal and then it gets dialed up
- 80/20 field/range. Although, if PRS type terrain with ukd targets can be considered field then it's more like 90/10.
- I shoot several days a year on land out west, both public and private. Other than boundary markers and what my GPS tells me I can't tell too much of a difference between them
- The only optic on which I have had the battery go dead on me was an Eotech. It is very rare that I need an illuminated reticle on a magnified optic.
- I use the reticle features on a FFP scope at all distances

The below antelope were shot in NW Colorado using the same rifles we use in PRS matches. Mine is the first one, taken at 380 yards (after 300 yards of crawling). He was up on a hill so that he could see over the sage so any closer and I would be nearly in plain view. The wind speed was changing between 12 and 20 mph. Having a FFP (Khales 624i) made the wind hold changes instant. When viewing the antelope from 600 yards I had dialed up to 20x. When getting ready for the shot I had forgotten to turn it down so I reached up without coming off the scope and turned it down. Because it's FFP it did not matter what power it landed on. I only cared that I had a nice field of view. One shot. DRT.

Elevation was perfect but the wind hold was off. The point of impact was about 1 3/4" right of where I wanted it. This rifle has taken more than 50 coyotes in that same area at distances from 50 to 723 yards. In PRS matches I generally leave it on 6x unless beyond 500 yards.

But everything has it's place and when hunting in tight woods, which is where I hunt the most, I use thicker SFP reticles.

 

[wildcat455]

Woah!

Nice looking speed goats!!

Hunting in thick woods, I turn reticle illumination on before the shot.