I got a Sightron SII Big Sky about a month ago, it blew me away. Before this scope, the nicest I had owned was a Nikon Buckmasters. The Sightron glass is crystal clear. It's 10x better than my Nikon. So far, I haven't found anything about the Sightron that I don't love. If you do get a Sightron, you may want to do it before they stop doing their $75 mail-in rebate. I don't have any experience with the Vortex, but I've heard very good things.
As far as first focal plane vs. second, with the first focal plane, the reticle will remain the same size regardless of what magnification it is set on. This is very convenient for reticles with "hold-over" marks (mildot, BDC, etc.). That way, once you know where your specific load will hit with each mark in your scope, you're all set. With second focal plane, the reticle size will change depending on the magnification level. This means that if you are shooting at 200 yards on maximum magnification and you are using the second dash in the reticle, once you reduce the magnification you will no longer be able to use the second dash down. The reticle will change size and you will need to recalculate to figure out what hold-over point to use. It's much less convenient to try to use unless you either: always use it on one magnification, or you use elevation adjustment to compensate for drop, rather than using hold-over points in the reticle. If you are planning on doing either of those, then it really doesn't matter whether you get first or second focal plane.
I hope that makes sense.
-James.
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