SFP or FFP scope for Wiley - 50 to 800 yards?

[Taidog1]

MODERATOR: If this post should have been placed under Optics - pls move. I put it here because the ultimate goal is hunting Predators.

__________________

I'm a relatively new member here and greatly appreciate the support and genuinely helpful information Ive been given by good folks here. Thank you.

My goal over the last 6 months has been to get my rifle and scope battery down to 3 HUNTING rifles. Rifles? Accomplished. Scopes? 2 down 1 to go.

The Light "hunting" rifle is the Low Profile Varmint in .243. Its PRIMARY mission is to hunt Coyotes at multiple ranges. I've already posted the outstanding short & LR accuracy of this rifle and why I'll happily carry the rifle's weight for it's accuracy. After wearing multiple scopes, it's now carrying a SFP / MOA 6x24x50 of good quality.

Please - I am NOT asking for another long list of differences between SFP & FFP. Thank you. Those differences I have learned reasonably well. What I am asking for is your FIRST HAND experience hunting Coyotes at close and longer ranges. Do you prefer SFP or FFP and why??

I'm asking because I'm trying to finalize my scope decision. So I can spend my time & $$ into testing that last / final scope on this rifle. If the decision comes down to SFP MOA - I may already be set? FFP MIL? And why I'm posting my question.

Thank you kindly - will seriously consider your opinion.

Cheers.

[LDSILLS]

Ok Ill throw this at you. I have used both FFP and SFP. Unless your using the reticle to judge distance it doesn't matter. When hunting yotes just learn your ballistics drops and hold over. I say this as after thousands of yotes taken I can remember ranging two. That is because unless you have a barker you don't have time.

The other thing I do is keep the scope on the magnification if its a SFP. So what if the yote looks bigger at close range. Nothing wrong with a yote at 12 power at 50 yards.

My longest lifetime kill shot at a barker was 746 yards. Cant say how long it was for runners.

I use Sightron scopes exclusively for yotes and they have performed very well.

[Taidog1]

Ok Ill throw this at you. I have used both FFP and SFP. Unless your using the reticle to judge distance it doesn't matter. When hunting yotes just learn your ballistics drops and hold over. I say this as after thousands of yotes taken I can remember ranging two. That is because unless you have a barker you don't have time.

The other thing I do is keep the scope on the magnification if its a SFP. So what if the yote looks bigger at close range. Nothing wrong with a yote at 12 power at 50 yards.

My longest lifetime kill shot at a barker was 746 yards. Cant say how long it was for runners.

I use Sightron scopes exclusively for yotes and they have performed very well.

Thank you. I greatly appreciate your reply. Trying to learn what's "best" (???) I've spent a ton of time reading / testing and too many $$ on purchases. I actually rationalized your findings above - but my speculations lacked confirmation - and I don't want to trust what I don't know. Hence my posting my question. Which you've answered.
:-)

Maybe turn my 24x down to 12x and develop my DOPE / hold-overs?

Thank you again

[25-204]

Being a serious coyote/predator hunter I kill more coyotes under 50yards than over 200. Over 300yards is a long shot on coyotes. My longest range coyote rifle a 22-250 AI wears a 2-12x40mm scope with a BDC reticle. I rarely take it out and when I have my longest shot was under 50 yards. Most of my rifles wear 1.5-5x20mm, 1.5-6x42 scopes. I live in the west and hunt most of the states west of Kansas.

The very top of that far ridge is 278 yards The longest shot I've seen on a coyote 22-250 Luepold 2.5-8x36 That is a long poke on coyotes. Northern NV


I have both ffp and sfp on my scopes, for me it doesn't matter as I don't dial for hunting, I get closer. I do prefer sfp for the fact of a larger bold reticle when the coyotes are just beyond my bootlaces. My one ffp 1.5-6 has a German #1 reticle so in I it makes little difference and my ffp 2.5-8 has tapered cross hairs so again not much difference than it takes the 2.5-8 out of the low light scenarios.

[J.Baker]

For any hunting scope I tend to prefer a SFP as the reticle size (viewed) stays consistent. I've tried many variable high power FFP scopes only to find that at lower magnifications the reticle becomes all but useless because it shrinks down so small. Some will try to claim you need a FFP for ranging, but let's be honest...if you're hunting at longer distances you'll probably be using a range-finder so you don't need the ranging function of a FFP reticle. I also typically find 14-16x to be more than adequate for hunting on the top end of magnification, and staying with a lower max magnification means you'll have a lower bottom end magnification for those close encounters when they sneak in on you. Of course, with many of the higher zoom factor scopes (5x, 6x, 8x) you can get the best of both worlds, but it will cost you more. From there it's just a matter of reticle choice and working up a drop chart for your load to tape to the stock or inside your flip-up scope cap so you know which hash to hold on for whatever distance you're shooting.

[prdatr]

Being a serious coyote/predator hunter I kill more coyotes under 50yards than over 200. Over 300yards is a long shot on coyotes. My longest range coyote rifle a 22-250 AI wears a 2-12x40mm scope with a BDC reticle. I rarely take it out and when I have my longest shot was under 50 yards. Most of my rifles wear 1.5-5x20mm, 1.5-6x42 scopes. I live in the west and hunt most of the states west of Kansas.

The very top of that far ridge is 278 yards The longest shot I've seen on a coyote 22-250 Luepold 2.5-8x36 That is a long poke on coyotes. Northern NV


I have both ffp and sfp on my scopes, for me it doesn't matter as I don't dial for hunting, I get closer. I do prefer sfp for the fact of a larger bold reticle when the coyotes are just beyond my bootlaces. My one ffp 1.5-6 has a German #1 reticle so in I it makes little difference and my ffp 2.5-8 has tapered cross hairs so again not much difference than it takes the 2.5-8 out of the low light scenarios.

That is perfect country to call them in. I have to agree that most of the ones me and my old hunting buddy shot were usually close. We always used Circe calls and hunted about 30 yards apart from each other.

[Whynot]

. Unless your using the reticle to judge distance it doesn't matter.
The other thing I do is keep the scope on the magnification if its a SFP. So what if the yote looks bigger at close range. Nothing wrong with a yote at 12 power at 50 yards.

Kind of late to the party.... but thought i'd respond with my opinion anyway. Personally- I think there's a considerable amount wrong with trying to shoot a coyote at 50 yards on 12 power. Yes- it can be done, but not ideal and should not be recommended- especially when they come in hot and run right to the call and then split on a run because they figured out something is off.

Also- a ffp scopes big advantages are not about ranging distance. Ranging is a slow process with the scope and if you have time to do it then you also have time to turn your sfp scope to the correct power to range-

FFP reticles can get hard to find at low power- especially if you buy a scope with a large zoom range... on a 2x or 3x it's not so bad usually. I don't like sfp scopes that have lots of info in the reticle- because sooner or later you are going to use it to get data and then realize you got bad info because you were on the wrong power (except for target shooting when it's not as rushed or as big of a deal). For shots over 350 yards I prefer FFP- but closer than that sfp- and care more about the lowest power than how high it will go.

[NF1E]

Interesting thread. No long range shots around here. My only contact with coyotes is within 200 yds and usually under 100. Found an AR-57 in 5.7x28 suppresseds perfect for my area with a Zeiss Z point on the top. They just look confused and don't know where to run. Whatta Hobby!

[LDSILLS]

Whynot!

[LDSILLS]

I want to say this...if your in the midwest we snipe allot of yotes so the choice of scope is forthright. In the west yotes are called so that demands a different type.

[Whynot]

Whynot!

Please expand what part you disagree with....

Lots of things are open to personal preference and what people like (ffp vs sfp, mag range- etc) But other things are not and are simply facts- regardless of how people feel about it. From other posts you have made it is clear that you have some glaring holes in your understand of optics- and how to use them- but that's ok.... we all have those issues.

[Fjold]

Being a serious coyote/predator hunter I kill more coyotes under 50yards than over 200. Over 300yards is a long shot on coyotes. My longest range coyote rifle a 22-250 AI wears a 2-12x40mm scope with a BDC reticle. I rarely take it out and when I have my longest shot was under 50 yards. Most of my rifles wear 1.5-5x20mm, 1.5-6x42 scopes. I live in the west and hunt most of the states west of Kansas.

The very top of that far ridge is 278 yards The longest shot I've seen on a coyote 22-250 Luepold 2.5-8x36 That is a long poke on coyotes. Northern NV


I have both ffp and sfp on my scopes, for me it doesn't matter as I don't dial for hunting, I get closer. I do prefer sfp for the fact of a larger bold reticle when the coyotes are just beyond my bootlaces. My one ffp 1.5-6 has a German #1 reticle so in I it makes little difference and my ffp 2.5-8 has tapered cross hairs so again not much difference than it takes the 2.5-8 out of the low light scenarios.

I use SFP because of the reticle staying the same size. The FFP reticle can cover up a lot of the target once you get out to long range. I used a SSF 5.5-22X Nightforce on my 6.5-284 to take this guy at 732 yards.