Couldn't agree more...HOWEVER...This is why for me a FFP scope must have illumination or specific reticle design…otherwise the low end mag is simply unusable. This has been quite a frustration on several occasions in the field. For this reason the otherwise excellent Athlon Midas TAC scopes simply didn't pass the bar for me as an effective hunting scope.
This problem of FFP reticles is augmented when it is in a high zoom ratio scope; for example, my Meopta Optika6 3-18x50 FFP MRAD1 which as a 6X zoom ratio. I use this scope as an example, because the reticle is actually very usable at all magnifications due to a 2 mil donut in the center. It is one of the few FFP scopes that I consider an effective hunting scope. While it looks quite large at 18X, at 3X the donut is just large enough to be effective in most hunting situations. Another FFP scope with a very similar reticle is the Athlon Helos BTR Gen2 2-12 and I think there is a reason that it is such a popular hunting scope.
When it gets dim or dark the Optika6 w/ MRAD1 reticle also has illumination but only the very center hashes inside the donut are illuminated. At 3X power with illumination on it is basically like using a red dot; very nice for dim/dark situations.
This scope truly does almost everything that I need a scope to do with the possible exception of being a bit heavy(31 oz). Nevertheless, I've not purchased/kept many a good scope because it offered no significant advantage over what I felt the Optika6 could do.
I've concluded that FFP scopes(particularly those with a christmas tree reticle) do have a place in hunting/pesting situations where targets may show up suddenly at unknown distances and/or move suddenly to unknown distances. Wouldn't it be nice if pests would just hold perfectly still for a long time? How often and long the pests that you hunt do hold still may determine whether or not you should use FFP or SFP. A good FFP reticle offers efficient...1) range 2) adjust the focus and 3) hold over and windage via the reticle. This obviously eliminates the step of dialing that a SFP scope would require HOWEVER....a good SFP reticle with a max magnification that isn't too high(10X-16X) and that has correct holdovers at that max magnification could theoretically do the same thing. I decided this wouldn't be ideal for me because...1) I don't know of any SFP scopes that have Christmas tree reticles which wouldn't allow for very effective windage holds at farther distances and 2) there is a certain peace of mind that comes with a FFP knowing that my reticles hold overs are always accurate. One less variable in the system...
Still, if I'm honest with myself I realize that dialing doesn't really take that terribly long and many times when air gun sniping the target is relatively stationary. There is a reason SFP scopes are popular with hunters. There's is almost nothing more frustrating than not being able to see your reticle. The quandary is this: FFP means my holdovers are always accurate(but my reticle may be hard to see) and SFP means I can always see my reticle really well(but my holdovers are not always accurate). For me scopes like the Optika6 w/ MRAD1 reticle and Helos BTR Gen2 are the solution.
