Which schmidt and bender pm2 5-25x56 should I go for?

2506min

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Hi guys going to purchase one of the above shortly but not sure weather to get 1st or 2nd focal plane? And which reticle is best?? Any advice on this?
 
Hi guys going to purchase one of the above shortly but not sure weather to get 1st or 2nd focal plane? And which reticle is best?? Any advice on this?

Depends whether you want to be able to use the reticule markings to measure distance/size/holdover/hold-off etc with... if you do then you want 1st focal plain as the markings increase and decrease in size as you zoom in and out thus keeping their scale, bear in mingd the crosshairs will also get bigger as you zoom and some find them to obscure the target at full zoom. You can still measure with 2nd FP but only at a specific zoom setting.

If you just want crosshairs or don't want to be able to measure, then you may be better with 2nd focal plain as the thickness of the crosshairs will remain the same throughout the zoom range. Although to me, that sort of misses the point of a PMII..

If its to go atop a stalking rifle I would say you'll possibly regret the weight after a while... been there! Mine were used for target shooting mainly, out to 1,200yds.. transplanted one to the top of my stalking rifle for a while and soon took it off.. Also too complex IMHO for stalking.. by the time you've got your ballistics computer running, got a solution, set the parallax, dialled the elevation and windage in..... damned deer has gone!!! much prefer the simplicity of point and shoot nowadays! lol

Great scope mind... if it is for very long range and/or target then I would say you can't get much better...

If I was to buy another one it would have the MSR reticule in the 1st focal plane, available from finnaccuracy.com
 
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Thanks for the reply mate.i want to use it ontop of a sako trg for long range shooting won't be stalking with it and hopefully would just be dialling it in from data so probs would not be using reticle for compensating.
 
Thanks for the reply mate.i want to use it ontop of a sako trg for long range shooting won't be stalking with it and hopefully would just be dialling it in from data so probs would not be using reticle for compensating.

Perfect scope then... although bear in mind that after the first shot from the solution obtained from your ballistics computer, the last thing you should ever do is chase the wind.... use the scale on the reticule to hold left or right for wind..

It is personal preference but I think 2nd focal plane is a waste if your reticule has any kind of scale on it... defeats the object completely. and straight forward crosshairs will be pretty much useless once the distances tart creeping up beyond 400..
 
What do u think about the nightforce beast ?? Seems to be a good scope should I go for this instead?
 
What do u think about the nightforce beast ?? Seems to be a good scope should I go for this instead?

Personally I don't like Nightforce.. to heavy by far, very bulky, engineering rough round the edges... look at what the military use and then decide 80% plus PMII
 
first focal plane , metric reticule and adjustments , it's the easiest all round and most intuitive to use particularly under pressure.
 
first focal plane , metric reticule and adjustments , it's the easiest all round and most intuitive to use particularly under pressure.

I totally agree with the above, however at high magnifications the reticle on a FFP scope can become slightly cumbersome. This may not be an issue if you are stalking but for shooting tiny groups the SFP might be a better option. You can do all the ranging operations with a SFP scope but you just need to use a particular magnification. I have a 5-25 PMII on my 6.5x47 and for my scope it needs to be on 25 power for the mil dots to be calibrated correctly. Awesome scope though
You probably aren't that far from me, let me know if you want a look through mine before you buy. I'm hoping to be at the BDS stalkers shoot on 6 September if you are going then you could have a shot
 
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I totally agree with the above, however at high magnifications the reticle on a FFP scope can become slightly cumbersome. This may not be an issue if you are stalking but for shooting tiny groups the SFP might be a better option. You can do all the ranging operations with a SFP scope but you just need to use a particular magnification. I have a 5-25 PMII on my 6.5x47 and for my scope it needs to be on 25 power for the mil dots to be calibrated correctly. Awesome scope though
You probably aren't that far from me, let me know if you want a look through mine before you buy. I'm hoping to be at the BDS stalkers shoot on 6 September if you are going then you could have a shot

I know how to range with the reticule but never do , I always use a rangefinder but it's handy to know how to use the reticule in case the rangefinder ever fails ?

having the reticule and adjustments the same makes it childs play to measure your fall of shot and correct instantly on your turrets , being metric makes the sums easier and more accurate.

if tiny groups are your thing then use another part of the reticule (like the gap between the centre illuminated bit and main ret) this won't obscure your target.

if your looking for an all round scope for stalking/targets give the 4-16 PM11 a look , in my humble opinion it's one of the best scopes S&B have ever made!
 
I know how to range with the reticule but never do , I always use a rangefinder but it's handy to know how to use the reticule in case the rangefinder ever fails ?

having the reticule and adjustments the same makes it childs play to measure your fall of shot and correct instantly on your turrets , being metric makes the sums easier and more accurate.

if tiny groups are your thing then use another part of the reticule (like the gap between the centre illuminated bit and main ret) this won't obscure your target.

if your looking for an all round scope for stalking/targets give the 4-16 PM11 a look , in my humble opinion it's one of the best scopes S&B have ever made!

Totally agree with that too as my hill rifle wears a FFP 4-16 pm11, unfortunately with a nonsensical moa based ret and metric turrets which is a bit poo but but ho hum!! I will get round to changing it to a mil based ret at some stage. When I bought my 5-25 there was only SFP left and I did wonder about how well it would suit what I do, but after using it extensively I think the SFP suits my needs better than the FFP that I originally wanted. Best thing is to compare side by side.
 
Is the pm2 with the locking turrets all tan coloured? I've seen a pm2 1st focal plane and msr reticule. Is is black in the pic but when I look on the schmidt an bender website they are tan ?
 
You don't need locking turrets, the double turn turrets are perfectly good, the locking ones cost more too... S&B produce the PMii in tan for the us forces in the middle east.. if you order one from finnaccuracy you will get a black one with double turn turrets unless you start specifying extras
 
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