I have both the NF 12 - 42 benchrest and the S&B 12- 50 PMII in FFP. For target shooting, either will do a fine job. S&B clarity is better below and up to 42x but it does degrade just a tad at 50x. I have not seen anything better at that power, though.
For hunting or tactical, the S&B wins hands down because of the FFP (first focal plane) option and the crosshair is finer. With the NF the drop chart changes with every magnification. The drop chart is always the same at any magnification with FFP scopes. All of my long range varmint rifles now sport FFP scopes.
Another problem that is eliminated by FFP is crosshair tracking changing with magnification. I have had second focal plane scopes in the $200 range that were terrible about having the point of impact change just by changing magnification. The better scopes like Leupold and NF don't have that problem as bad, but it is always there to some degree. FFP scopes eliminate that problem completely.
For hunting or tactical, the S&B wins hands down because of the FFP (first focal plane) option and the crosshair is finer. With the NF the drop chart changes with every magnification. The drop chart is always the same at any magnification with FFP scopes. All of my long range varmint rifles now sport FFP scopes.
Another problem that is eliminated by FFP is crosshair tracking changing with magnification. I have had second focal plane scopes in the $200 range that were terrible about having the point of impact change just by changing magnification. The better scopes like Leupold and NF don't have that problem as bad, but it is always there to some degree. FFP scopes eliminate that problem completely.
