FFP vs SFP

Yeah I know there's a optics section but I thought I may get a little more action from the LR guys in here.

I am buying another scope and considering making the change to FFP. What are the benefits of FFP other than ranging with the reticle if you dial windage? I know most of you guys hold wind but I don't shoot matches and have had great results dialing wind and elevation. I don't want to change my optics unless there is a clear advantage to the FFP. I had the rifles built exactly the same except for the caliber.

The mildot is always a true value no matter what magnification you are on. But I guess if you intend to dial everything. I'm not sure there will be a ton of benefit.

I recommend stopping dialing wind. There's plenty of days that if I told you to make a wind call, dial the wind, and make the shot holding center, without ever touching the wind knob again, you'd miss. I dial wind when I'm unsteady and the target is large enough. So 90% of the time I hold wind. If there is a lull or a gust I can correct immediately. Ask everyone that has had me spot for them, and calling wind. We're both on scope on the target and I am saying (for example) hold point three for wind......now point five.....now point three....gust! hold one Mil. This can happen in ten seconds.

For my purposes I almost always want FFP. As mirage gets bad I can back down and my reticle is still correct for holding wind. As I am unsteady I can back down and the reticle is still correct for holding elevation or wind. Even on my SS 1-6X I have FFP. On 1X I am basically running a shotgun bead, on 4X, or 6X I have a real distance reticle.

There is one scope magnification I would be fine with SFP, and that is the 2-10X. With FFP on the lowest magnification the reticle can get lost at 2X if it is fine enough. And if I were going to be shooting distance I'd most likely be at 10X anyway, where the reticle subtends properly.

I have been shooting using a kestrel with applied ballistics so I typically have captured the wind at lull and at gust.I realize it would probably be faster to hold the wind but having a bracket has made it easy to make windage adjustments on the fly. Not to say that's the best way, I am still relatively new to the long range game. I need to take a closer look at the subtensions in my reticle, I think the crosshair is like 2moa floating. that kinda makes it tough to hold the wind with any accuracy.

I've got the same Kestrel, but almost never use the wind meter. Holding the meter where you are is not the same wind as where the target is. I use mirage, grass, shrubs, and trees to tell me what the wind is doing at the target. Based on that I get a wind direction and a SWAG on wind speed, then hold in Mils accordingly.

SFP may be better for target shooting. For hunting, I wouldn't want it.

And I wouldn't dial for wind, either.