I started off with the BSA Essencial (note spelling!) 6-24x50AO http://www.bsaguns.co.uk/?ID=53&ProductID=638 and it has bright clear optics, accurate PX, and closer 'mil' dots which are ideal, both for accurate POI calculation and for bracketing targets for rangefinding in HFT.

Just divide the kill zone diameter by the number of dots across and multiply by two and you have the yardage. This only works on 11x mag but that's ideal for HFT. (or 12x exactly if you measure distance in metres).
For instance, if you're aiming at a 40mm kill zone and, say, three dots cover its diameter, divide 40 by 3 then multiply by 2, and it's 27 yards away or if a 25mm kill zone is 2 dots across, divide by 2, multiply by 2, and it's 25 yards away.

Rather than the 6-24x50, the 4-12x44AO would be ideal for HFT as it's lighter, has better depth of field so things far and near stay more in focus as you can't adjust that in HFT, and max mag is often 12x in HFT anyway.
I tend not to adjust my 6-24 over 11x mag anyway as all my POI's would shift!

At 11x mag you can easily see where you've put a pellet in a paper target up to 40yards.

My Hawke SR6 is good too but it's unusual reticle means you either love it or hate it - I love mine but it retails at £140.

The BSA 6-24 was £80+post from BAR as part of my Pro Sport kit and two weeks ago I bought the 4-12x44AO again from BAR and LLoyd did it for £60+£5 post. Used it for the first time last Saturday and did a 58/60 with the Pro Sport!

Don't underrate them and think "that's too cheap" - they're a really excellent bit of kit!