Most of us hunt deer with pretty flat-shooting rigs, and don't shoot farther than 300 or 400 yards, so the amount of bullet-drop correction is not going to be huge. Let's say you lasered (or estimated) your buck to be 400 yards out, with no wind. You have to know what the drop is at 400 yards. Let's say your crib-card taped to your stock says it is 4 moa. True, with your FFP scope you could then just hold 4 hashmarks (assuming they are 1 moa apart, as most moa are) high, at any magnification, and nail your buck.Many shooters do appreciate second focal plane designs because the sight picture is always consistent. However the most significant disadvantage of SFP scopes when compared to FFP is that any advanced features like bullet drop compensation and ranging can only be calibrated to be accurate at one magnification setting. With very few exceptions, BDC and ranging in SFP scopes are calibrated to be accurate at the highest magnification setting. It makes sense; the highest power magnification is likely where you’ll be taking a long-range shot anyway, so that is where those features are most useful. However, if you have ever lost the opportunity to take a good shot because that trophy 10-point ducked under some brush while you were fiddling with your optic, you can understand the potential upsides of being able to range estimate and account for bullet drop at any magnification.
However, I don't like holding over like that. Many of my hunting scopes have wonderful little glowing dots at the crosshair junction, and I want to be able to use that, and at low light when most deer are shot, it may be critical that I be able to use the glow-dot. I can't do that if I'm using the 4th line down from the glow dot.
And, it takes me about 3 seconds to reach up and dial my E turret 4 moa c-clockwise. Then it does not matter what power I am on, I'm good to good.
But there isn't time! you say. Okay, I can also use the animal to scale my shot. I know I need 4 moa. I know 4 moa at 400 yards is 16" (going on 17", but either will work fine). I can easily put my glow-dot or crosshair junction on the spot 16" above the buck's heart by holding right over his back. I'd rather do that than try to hold the 4th line down on his heart, because it is too easy to use the wrong line when, as you said, you are rushed RUSHED.
I learned all this shooting p-dogs, btw. That is frequently done in strong but variable wind, and if you're trying to put the 7th line the right on the dog, you will no sooner get it there than you realize the wind just died and now you need to be on the 3rd line. You no sooner get the 3rd line on him and the wind gusts up again, and you need to be on the 5th line, and on and on.
Screw it. I can ignore those lines and just quickly dial the elevation I need and then use the dog as a reference for the wind correction, and get my shot off very quickly, just reading the wind and then INSTANTLY moving and shooting before the wind changes again. And with a few thousand rounds of practice doing that, you can get damned good at it, with AT LEAST as much success as the guy trying to put the 7th line on the dog . . . oops, no, now the 3rd line, no, dang it, now the 5th line, etc.
It's called Kentucky windage, and there is nothing faster. It isn't quite as accurate IN THEORY, but it makes up for that in the real world in other ways, principally speed and lack of confusion, by always using the junction.
As far as I am concerned, FFP is good for ONE THING only, and that is trying to shoot stationary targets at varying but including very long range. IOW, the precision rifle game. For BR targets (including p-dogs) or hunting, I will take SFP every time, and gleefully.
YMMV
Last edited: