Twenty years of using scoped rifles and two wars of operating as a sniper makes me a firm believer in a first focal plane (FFP), Low Power Varible (LPV) with true one power for optics on a carbine. In my opinion the best setup for engagements from CQB distance to the capability of the caliber is a true one power to four or six power for 5.56mm and eight power for 7.62mm.
Years ago I helped develop the U.S. Optics SR4-C. It has a mil reticle on the first focal plane and a Aimpoint like, daytime visible red dot on the second focal plane (SFP). This is important to note for two reasons;
One, by having the reticle on the FFP- any range estimation done with the reticle will be true no matter what magnification your on. With a reticle on the SFP your ranging has to be done on full magnification to be true. This is huge for lo-vis or urban work where having a laser range finder may not happen, and using less than max magnification is done routinely. Additionally, I teach holds on a mil based reticle almost exclusively and they remain true no matter the magnification with a FFP reticle.
Two, by having the red dot on the SFP, the red dot will remain the same size no matter what magnification your on. With this you can use the red dot on max power for far shots at speed and this makes the LPV able to be used in CQB distance on one power with only a minimal increase in split times or first shots from the ready when individuals first swap over to it from a common red dot sight. Typically, I see nothing more than .15 of a difference compared to a traditional red dot on first shots from the ready and .05 on splits. Next, I’ll go over how to get rid of the time differences on first shots and splits compared to red dots.
Kyle Defoor is one of the world’s most committed and passionate shooting instructors. Literally growing up with a gun in hand he took his talents into the military where he was combat decorated as a SEAL assaulter and sniper. Kyle helped to create and define modern training while along the way personally teaching thousands of military personal and civilians from around the globe. His shooting prowess led to appearances on multiple TV shows including Shooting Gallery, Tactical Arms, and Tactical Impact, and guest appearances on History Channel. Kyle’s outdoor athletic lifestyle includes shooting, ultra running, stand-up paddle surfing and climbing. He is a sponsored athlete of MultiCam and runs his own company, Defoor Proformance Shooting, which offers tactical training, wilderness navigation, TV and film consulting, and motivational speaking.
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Thanks for the info, wish I could take one of your classes sir….but there’s this lil thing called a “business” I gotta run, which is similar to a small child with a soiled diaper!
I’ll have to check your class schedule if and when you are here in Texas
Confession: I really enjoy it when people don’t understand how blogs/forums work and instead use them as answering machines to leave weird nonsense messages to celebrities.
Badass. Very hard to find a good scope that has all the right features (mil/mil, FFP, hashes, etc). Nice to see that US Optics is working with some pros to put out good stuff.
Not that Defoor would agree with every thing that SEAL’s sniper committee* did, but SEALs were big proponents of SFP, while the SF’s SOTIC committee wanted FFP. This is goes back to mid-2000s.
I’m out of the loop now so don’t know anything about current thinking and who likes what, but it appears the FFP proponents eventually won out.
*I dont know what SEALs call their sniper cadre/leadership. On the Army side it’s the ‘committee’.
Vortex has the market wrapped up on this type of scope. 1/6 with the Jerry Miculek reticle. HD lenses. It’s not cheap but truly the best out there.
BDC is not the same a mil hash reticle.
I just noticed his scope position on the top rail. I have a 1/4 on a rifle but I have the scope positioned just in front of my rear BUIS and it seems Defoor has his just even with the charging handle, or is the angle of picture showing that?
Is there a set rule to position or more like what works for you placing?
eye relief dependent I think would be the best answer, the 45° angle sights like the dueck defense rts is one solution people use when the scope is that far back for a normal back-up iron sight option