Best SFP Scopes UK

Buying Advice

Second focal plane (SFP) is the more common design overall, and for good reason: the reticle stays a fixed size regardless of magnification, which keeps it bright, thin and legible at every zoom setting — the reticle simply doesn't compete with a shrinking or thickening image the way an FFP reticle does. The trade-off is that any mil or MOA subtensions on an SFP reticle are only mathematically accurate at one specific magnification, usually the top of the zoom range, so holdovers taken at a different power require you to do the maths yourself or return to that one calibrated setting.

SFP is the right default for hunting, general-purpose and LPVO use, where a fixed simple duplex or basic reticle at whatever zoom you're comfortable with matters more than subtensions that scale with magnification. It's a poor fit for long-range, tactical/PRS or any discipline built around holding over at varying zoom — for those, FFP is worth the usually-modest extra cost, since SFP's fixed-magnification requirement becomes a real limitation the moment you vary your zoom setting mid-session.