The title of this blog looks like it should start with a CEO’s speech about how a company is performing financially in a given area, and I assure you that’s not the case. Nope. We’re covering something cool — FFP and SFP — what each means and which is right for you.
FFP stands for the first focal plane, and SFP stands for the second plane. Both apply top optics, specifically scopes, and you’ll want to make sure you choose the right one for you.
The main difference between FFP and SFP is how the scope’s reticle works concerning magnification. A first focal plane scope’s reticle is set towards the front of the riflescope’s tube. With a first focal plane scope, the reticle will always be the same size regardless of the scope’s magnification, meaning the reticle is not static. The reticle you see will get more pronounced when you look through your scope and turn the scope’s magnification dial. If you zoom in, the scope’s crosshairs will get more extensive in size, and if you zoom out, those crosshairs will be less pronounced.
Increasing and decreasing magnification on FFP scope.
If you’re using an SFP scope, the reticle will never appear to change in size regardless of the magnification setting. The reticle will appear the same whether the scope is zoomed in, zoomed out, or set on a magnification between the low- and top-end magnification range.
Increasing and decreasing magnification on SFP scope.
A second focal plane scope has been the go-to for hunters for decades. Second focal plane scopes, because the reticle’s view never changes, make it easier to distinguish the target regardless of range, zoom, backdrop, etc.
As with most anything in the firearm/optic world, there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of focal plane.
First focal plane scopes are typically the choice of target shooters — those that like to bang steel at long ranges — and hunters who make distant shots on big-game animals. The reason is the changing magnification of the reticle. With the reticle more zoomed in on the target, lines, dots, dashes, etc. are easier to see and help the shooter put lead more precisely on the mark. The shooter gets the opposite effect when the scope is zoomed out, and reticle marks, lines, dots, dashes, or whatever, get smaller. If you’re shooting a hash- or dot-style reticle, marks will represent the same MOA across the scope’s horizontal crosshair at all magnification levels. If you’re looking for a scope with usable holdovers throughout your entire magnification range, a first focal plane reticle might be a good choice for you.
Speed is also considered a benefit of many that go with a first focal plane scope. This speed comes with knowing that each horizontal mark represents the same MOA. The issue can be the sizing of the reticle in different shooting situations.
Say you were prone on your pack, getting ready to squeeze the trigger on a 500-yard bull elk, but the shot didn’t materialize. You stand up, dust yourself off and catch a different bull slipping through the timber behind you less than 100 yards away. You throw down on the bull, but the reticle is too large for the distance, and things get blurry, and you don’t get the shot off. In some shooting situations, the reticle may be too small as well.
I cut my teeth — I think most scope-goers over 40-years-old did — on second focal plane scopes. I’ve shot first focal plane scopes, and while I don’t mind them, I’m by no means in love with them. My biggest complaint is the ever-changing size of the crosshairs in my reticle. I like crosshairs that remain static. Personally, it messes with my mind when those crosshairs appear bigger or smaller. When shooting a second focal plane scope, I still get the same magnification as a first focal plane scope, but my crosshairs always look the same.
Last season when hunting elk with my good buddy near our Colorado home, we called a bull into 30 yards. My amigo was up to bat, and the bull came in silent. We were expecting a shot of 100-plus yards, but when the bull popped around a cedar, he could make out his crosshairs and execute a perfect shot. The following year, using the same scope, I watched him make a 700-yard shot on a bull elk.
Just because a scope is branded as a second focal plane model doesn’t mean you can’t shoot that scope at a distance. If you set a pair of 5-25x50mm scopes side by side — one with an FFP and one with an SFP — you get the same 25-power max magnification with each. The difference is the crosshairs in the SFP scope will stay static, while the crosshairs in the FFP scope will look larger or smaller based on magnification level.
Credit: Special thanks to Vortex Optics for this animation on FFP vs SFP!
Most long-distance competition shooters opt for an FFP scope. They want magnification and want their reticle system to change with the magnification so they can be more finite with their shooting.
Long-range hunters that only hunt at long ranges, which is becoming increasingly popular, often opt for an FFP scope. Like competition shooters, they want control of aiming point size. This is especially true of long-distance hunters chasing small- to medium-sized game and shooting that game beyond 500 yards. Crosshair control becomes critical, and the fact that FFP crosshairs are more defined at a distance is a plus.
A second focal plane scope needs to be your go-to if you’re a hunter who chases whitetails in the Midwest and elk and mule deer in the Rockies — a hunter who takes typical shots between 100 and 500 yards. Second focal plane scopes have served legions of hunters for hundreds of years, and their effectiveness and simplicity, in this writer’s opinion, are second to none.
