Need some info on LPVOs and SFP scopes

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Sound Tribe

Sound Tribe

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Jun 27, 2015
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I have been in the market for a compact + lightweight scope for a while. I have tried out a few...Currently have a Vector Veyron 3-12x44 FFP which is one of the lightest and shortest scopes ive found. I've only owned FFP scopes, I just don't like how thin the reticle is at low magnification.

What I want to know is:
If my use will be mostly backyard plinking+targets at about 30y and occasional pesting, will a SFP scope work okay for me since I won't be doing many holdovers or changing magnification that often? I prefer that it's easier to see the reticle too.

This brings me to LPVOs.. I love the look and style most of them have, I would prefer to get an LPVO from Vortex most likely the Crossfire II or maybe the Bushnell AR, both illuminated, 1-4x24mm, SFP, and similar price. (Feel free to recommend any good budget LPVOs)

Are there any OTHER major disadvantages I'm not thinking of comparing this choice to a FFP scopes? I have a bunch of gift card credit on amazon, and the easy returns let me go back to a FFP model if I need.

Basically... would I be better off keeping the Veyron (or something in the same category) with FFP or would using an SFP LPVO not be a huge "downgrade" or much of a difference for my uses?

Any info is appreciated. thanks!
 
Chard said:
They do make ffp lpvos also.
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Yep I know, my post might be a bit confusing as I was just waking up when I wrote it lol

But basically just wondering if I'd be fine with a SFP LPVO for my uses since i wont be doing much holdovers or magnification changes on this setup. or if i should just stick to the compact FFP scope I have...

I will most likely try one out from Amazon, just not sure what LPVO model to go with
 
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Sound Tribe said:
I have been in the market for a compact + lightweight scope for a while. I have tried out a few...Currently have a Vector Veyron 3-12x44 FFP which is one of the lightest and shortest scopes ive found. I've only owned FFP scopes, I just don't like how thin the reticle is at low magnification.
Click to expand...

I also own one of the FFP Vectors and agree that the reticle is too thin, especially below 6x. However, I have looked through other FFP scopes that had much more useable reticles across a greater magnifcation range, so they're not all created equal. I wouldn't rule out FFP scopes based on the 3-12x44 Vector.

Sound Tribe said:
What I want to know is:
Click to expand...
Sound Tribe said:
If my use will be mostly backyard plinking+targets at about 30y and occasional pesting, will a SFP scope work okay for me since I won't be doing many holdovers or changing magnification that often? I prefer that it's easier to see the reticle too.
Click to expand...

I suspect a SFP reticle will be fine for you. The only caveat might be if you need some holdover at very close range, meaning well inside your zero.

Sometimes it takes time to figure out what works for you and your pesting environment.

I have spent a lot of money on scopes and have yet to find the ideal one for my pesting situation. I do have some odd vision issues that makes this worse, however, so don't let that scare you.

Sound Tribe said:
This brings me to LPVOs.. I love the look and style most of them have, I would prefer to get an LPVO from Vortex most likely the Crossfire II or maybe the Bushnell AR, both illuminated, 1-4x24mm, SFP, and similar price. (Feel free to recommend any good budget LPVOs)
Click to expand...

Not sure of the prices range of those mentioned, but have heard good things about the SWFA 1-4x24, Delta Hornet 1-6x24 and the similar Burris RT6 1-6x24.

If you don't mind a duplex reticle and capped turrets, you might find a Styrka 1-6x24. These have side focus, which is nice to have.

Speaking of side focus, Athlon makes a 1-4.5x24 with side focus that occasionally goes on sale for considerably less than MAP pricing. I don't recall the cheapest I've seen it listed at. Probably 40% below MAP.

I don't worry about side focus that much, but many do. For me it is most useful when shooting indoors at 10-15 yards. Otherwise I could live with an scopes that could have its lens carrier adjusted to about 25-30 yards a be fine for the shooting I do anymore.

Sound Tribe said:
Are there any OTHER major disadvantages I'm not thinking of comparing this choice to a FFP scopes? I have a bunch of gift card credit on amazon, and the easy returns let me go back to a FFP model if I need.

Basically... would I be better off keeping the Veyron (or something in the same category) with FFP or would using an SFP LPVO not be a huge "downgrade" or much of a difference for my uses?

Any info is appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...

I think it's difficult to build an inexpensive scope with 1x for the lowest magnification so if you don't need 1x I think you're always better off with something like a similar priced 2-7x32 over a 1-4x24, especially if the former has an adjustable objective or AO.

There are some inexpensive 1.5-5x20 scopes that look like 1x LPVOs that supposedly have fewer optical compromises. I know some of them are said to be easily to adjust from a fixed parallax of 100 yards to 30 yards, for example. I don't know of any brands off the top of my head.

The SFP vs FFP thing is such a hard question to answer. Every reticle is different.

Questions you need to ask yourself:

Do I need a true 1x?

Do I need holdovers at distances inside of my zero? How many MIL or MOA, based on distance, projectile weight/BC, speed, scope over bore height, etc.?

What magnification do I prefer to use at those close distances?

How do the subtensions on the reticle I'm considering work out at that power?
 
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Honestly man, I think LPVO's are a great choice. I've been running a Hawke Frontier 30 1-6 (SFP) on my Air Arms Galahad for woods walking and plinking for a few months and I really love it. Super handy, and precise enough to do anything inside of 50 yards no problem.

I think a lot of airgunners have been spoiled by super high magnification scopes - I know I was coming from FT Circles. Firearms shooters rarely use anything close to our magnification levels for the distances we shoot at. I became a believer of low-powered (or no magnification) optics on Airguns when Brady Lawing cleaned my clock at RMAC running a 45* canted red dot on his .30 FX Impact for the speed challenge.

If you will be using it for short range pesting as you describe, I wouldn't hesitate to grab an LPVO. Make sure it has good holdover points on the reticle since even though it's close you will still need to dope a little bit. For budget LPVO's, I was running a Tru Glo Omnio 1-6 before I switched to the Hawke Frontier. The Hawke is VASTLY superior in almost every way, but 3x the price. I'd run the Tru-Glo with no qualms if I needed a good, affordable, LPVO.
 
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Nico5999 said:
Honestly man, I think LPVO's are a great choice. I've been running a Hawke Frontier 30 1-6 (SFP) on my Air Arms Galahad for woods walking and plinking for a few months and I really love it. Super handy, and precise enough to do anything inside of 50 yards no problem.

I think a lot of airgunners have been spoiled by super high magnification scopes - I know I was coming from FT Circles. Firearms shooters rarely use anything close to our magnification levels for the distances we shoot at. I became a believer of low-powered (or no magnification) optics on Airguns when Brady Lawing cleaned my clock at RMAC running a 45* canted red dot on his .30 FX Impact for the speed challenge.

If you will be using it for short range pesting as you describe, I wouldn't hesitate to grab an LPVO. Make sure it has good holdover points on the reticle since even though it's close you will still need to dope a little bit. For budget LPVO's, I was running a Tru Glo Omnio 1-6 before I switched to the Hawke Frontier. The Hawke is VASTLY superior in almost every way, but 3x the price. I'd run the Tru-Glo with no qualms if I needed a good, affordable, LPVO.
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This is great info, exactly what I wanted to hear!

I've been wanting to put a canted sight on my next long gun setup, I do think that firearms scopes/sights are making their way into airguns more, back when I first started out.. everyone had at LEAST 6-24x44 or higher Hawkes haha, I'd even see many long range scopes on pistol builds. A dot is perfect for some of these scenarios and paired with a LPVO or even a fixed magnification scope I feel would be a nice setup these days.

I was definitely trying to go this route I just wanted to be sure I didnt "HAVE" to get another FFP model and limit myself on choices. On guns that I will shoot seriously and at real ranges, of course i will stick with FFP, but yeah woods walks, plinking, and some pesting should be perfect with an LPVO.

I forgot about the Hawke models, Alot of people recommended the entry level one in other threads. But yeah I'll just mainly be on the lookout for a nice IR reticle model.

Should I be fine with a 1-4 or should i try for a 1-6/8/10? Again it would be helpful in some scenarios to magnify a bit more, but maybe 1-6 will be a sweet spot for me too
 
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Scouty said:
I also own one of the FFP Vectors and agree that the reticle is too thin, especially below 6x. However, I have looked through other FFP scopes that had much more useable reticles across a greater magnifcation range, so they're not all created equal. I wouldn't rule out FFP scopes based on the 3-12x44 Vector.




I suspect a SFP reticle will be fine for you. The only caveat might be if you need some holdover at very close range, meaning well inside your zero.

Sometimes it takes time to figure out what works for you and your pesting environment.

I have spent a lot of money on scopes and have yet to find the ideal one for my pesting situation. I do have some odd vision issues that makes this worse, however, so don't let that scare you.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have an astigmatism in one/both eyes I'm pretty sure. Most red dots look like sunburst to me. And I was mainly just referring to the Vector's thin reticle, it's going back to Amazon for sure. I definitely will be using FFP models for my other guns that will be for more serious use/longer ranges.
Scouty said:
Not sure of the prices range of those mentioned, but have heard good things about the SWFA 1-4x24, Delta Hornet 1-6x24 and the similar Burris RT6 1-6x24.

If you don't mind a duplex reticle and capped turrets, you might find a Styrka 1-6x24. These have side focus, which is nice to have.

Speaking of side focus, Athlon makes a 1-4.5x24 with side focus that occasionally goes on sale for considerably less than MAP pricing. I don't recall the cheapest I've seen it listed at. Probably 40% below MAP.

I don't worry about side focus that much, but many do. For me it is most useful when shooting indoors at 10-15 yards. Otherwise I could live with an scopes that could have its lens carrier adjusted to about 25-30 yards a be fine for the shooting I do anymore.
Click to expand...
I've never really used a scope without side focus, I feel I wouldn't like it, the few top AO scopes I've tried were more of a pain, I understand LPVOs are harder to find with side parallax but if you guys can try to direct me towards those models too that'd be great. Just something that isn't too expensive but also is quality and not an extreme budget build. So maybe 200$~ mark?
Scouty said:
I think it's difficult to build an inexpensive scope with 1x for the lowest magnification so if you don't need 1x I think you're always better off with something like a similar priced 2-7x32 over a 1-4x24, especially if the former has an adjustable objective or AO.

There are some inexpensive 1.5-5x20 scopes that look like 1x LPVOs that supposedly have fewer optical compromises. I know some of them are said to be easily to adjust from a fixed parallax of 100 yards to 30 yards, for example. I don't know of any brands off the top of my head.

The SFP vs FFP thing is such a hard question to answer. Every reticle is different.

Questions you need to ask yourself:

Do I need a true 1x?

Do I need holdovers at distances inside of my zero? How many MIL or MOA, based on distance, projectile weight/BC, speed, scope over bore height, etc.?

What magnification do I prefer to use at those close distances?

How do the subtensions on the reticle I'm considering work out at that power?
Click to expand...
I don't truly need a 1x, I could definitely be fine with a 1.5 or 2. I just like the LPVO style and looks, I know that may sound stupid to some people but aesthetics are a big part in my setups :) And I doubt I will do any serious holdovers, to the point where I would be fine just learning where to place my shots based off of trial/error from whatever the best info the reticle has, since I'm not shooting groups or needing that perfect 1 shot on game.


So yeah, my first part question has been answered. Now I would be very grateful for people to offer me insight on a few good LPVO models to look out for
 
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Sound Tribe said:
Yeah I have an astigmatism in one/both eyes I'm pretty sure. Most red dots look like sunburst to me. And I was mainly just referring to the Vector's thin reticle, it's going back to Amazon for sure. I definitely will be using FFP models for my other guns that will be for more serious use/longer ranges.

I've never really used a scope without side focus, I feel I wouldn't like it, the few top AO scopes I've tried were more of a pain, I understand LPVOs are harder to find with side parallax but if you guys can try to direct me towards those models too that'd be great. Just something that isn't too expensive but also is quality and not an extreme budget build. So maybe 200$~ mark?

I don't truly need a 1x, I could definitely be fine with a 1.5 or 2. I just like the LPVO style and looks, I know that may sound stupid to some people but aesthetics are a big part in my setups :) And I doubt I will do any serious holdovers, to the point where I would be fine just learning where to place my shots based off of trial/error from whatever the best info the reticle has, since I'm not shooting groups or needing that perfect 1 shot on game.


So yeah, my first part question has been answered. Now I would be very grateful for people to offer me insight on a few good LPVO models to look out for
Click to expand...

I doubt you'll find the Athlon 1-4.5x24 at that price point. I also forgot that it is pretty heavy.

If side focus is really important, I did buy one of my Styrka 1-6x24 on Amazon for $200, but that was a few years ago. It's a discontinued scope and I think the remaining stock went up slightly in price. There was one for sale on the Classifieds in the past few months (not mine). I do not know if it sold.

I should also point out that the Styrka only has a duplex reticle and capped turrets. I have two of them and if they didn't have side focus I would have never purchased them.

Any other side focus LPVO will be considerably more expensive.

I assume you want to buy from Amazon for their return policy? So you'd prefer to avoid sites like Dvor or AGN classifieds?
 
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Scouty said:
I doubt you'll find the Athlon 1-4.5x24 at that price point. I also forgot that it is pretty heavy.

If side focus is really important, I did buy one of my Styrka 1-6x24 on Amazon for $200, but that was a few years ago. It's a discontinued scope and I think the remaining stock went up slightly in price. There was one for sale on the Classifieds in the past few months (not mine). I do not know if it sold.

I should also point out that the Styrka only has a duplex reticle and capped turrets. I have two of them and if they didn't have side focus I would have never purchased them.

Any other side focus LPVO will be considerably more expensive.

I assume you want to buy from Amazon for their return policy? So you'd prefer to avoid sites like Dvor or AGN classifieds?
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Yeah the return policy is a plus, but I also have some gift cards saved up on Amazon. I wouldn't ignore a good deal somewhere else though

Athlons were the first I looked at for FFP compact scopes but they were almost 8oz heavier than some other models. This will probably go on an edgun lelya that I have on it's way. So want to keep it a light package and I feel the LPVO will look great on it

capped turrets arent a deal breaker for me or anything but i'm more looking for a good reticle and as long as there is parallax adjustment, or the scope is still clear without it, its not that big of a deal. if it was a scope for a full length rifle then yeah, i try for all the "best" features
 
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Sound Tribe said:
Yeah the return policy is a plus, but I also have some gift cards saved up on Amazon. I wouldn't ignore a good deal somewhere else though

Athlons were the first I looked at for FFP compact scopes but they were almost 8oz heavier than some other models. This will probably go on an edgun lelya that I have on it's way. So want to keep it a light package and I feel the LPVO will look great on it

capped turrets arent a deal breaker for me or anything but i'm more looking for a good reticle and as long as there is parallax adjustment, or the scope is still clear without it, its not that big of a deal. if it was a scope for a full length rifle then yeah, i try for all the "best" features
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I have one Athlon LPVO, the Gen2 Argos BTR 1-8x24. I do not recall the weight but it is quite light and certainly lighter than other Athlon scopes I have looked up. It balances really well on my Leshiys but has somewhat short eye relief so it overhangs the hinge point considerably. Not a problem on a Lelya, however.

One AGN poster says it comes from the factory with fixed 50 yard parallax but I'm skeptical that this is true. That poster has a new user name and I cannot recall what it is.

Regardless, well above the $200 price point.

Does Bushnell offer that scope in both SFP and FFP? I'd check into that. And see if you can find a YouTube review that shows and actual video or photo of the reticle.
 
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Scouty said:
I have one Athlon LPVO, the Gen2 Argos BTR 1-8x24. I do not recall the weight but it is quite light and certainly lighter than other Athlon scopes I have looked up. It balances really well on my Leshiys but has somewhat short eye relief so it overhangs the hinge point considerably. Not a problem on a Lelya, however.

One AGN poster says it comes from the factory with fixed 50 yard parallax but I'm skeptical that this is true. That poster has a new user name and I cannot recall what it is.

Regardless, well above the $200 price point.

Does Bushnell offer that scope in both SFP and FFP? I'd check into that. And see if you can find a YouTube review that shows and actual video or photo of the reticle.
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I don't think the Bushnell LPVOs are FFP, the one i linked has a BDC Reticle which I'd be fine with. It shows it on the amazon page.

So if theres no side focus, there's no AO at all? Ive never seen an LPVO with it on the front

I just want a decent reticle and AO would be nice. I'd prefer decent eye relief, I noticed with the Veyron mounted on an Atomic XR I had, it had to be backed up pretty far. But it seems LPVOs have similar amount as the scopes I was looking at anywas. usually 3.5-4"
 
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Sound Tribe said:
I don't think the Bushnell LPVOs are FFP, the one i linked has a BDC Reticle which I'd be fine with. It shows it on the amazon page.

So if theres no side focus, there's no AO at all? Ive never seen an LPVO with it on the front

I just want a decent reticle and AO would be nice. I'd prefer decent eye relief, I noticed with the Veyron mounted on an Atomic XR I had, it had to be backed up pretty far. But it seems LPVOs have similar amount as the scopes I was looking at anywas. usually 3.5-4"
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No inexpensive LPVOs with side focus in your price range. Even the Styrka was considerably more expensive when new.

There is a 2-7x24 scope in an LPVO body with SF but I think it's discontinued.

One of those Ali Express brands like Fire Wolf, I think.
 
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I meant, can you only adjust parallax if its on side focus? it shouldn't be to much of a big deal and its not really a strict budget it's more like a guideline, dont want to spend too much on a setup that is just for fun/not my main kit

Anyways I'll wait till someone might have info on the Bushnell, Vortex, and Hawke LPVOs, whether they're worth grabbing up or if they have some type of issue that I should know of
 
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