Do coyote hunters tend to be over-scoped?

IMO, depends on the rifle the scope is mounted on and the kind of terrain you hunt. If you hunt heavily wooded areas only, with an occasional opening in the timber, you probably won't have much need, if any, for a higher powered scope. It also depends on how good a quality scope you are going to shell out your $$$$$ for. There is a world of difference between the cheaper 4 x ? x ? and the better quality scopes. I am not talking about Zeiss or Swarvoski either, but high end Burris, Bushnell, and similar. A Burris 4-16 x 50 Black Diamond with Ballistic Plex reticle is excellent throughout the whole range of power settings so you are ready for the job at hand.

If you are an accomplished long range shooter both on the bench rest, your shooting sticks, or your knees, the better scopes even on the lower power settings are a big advantage on a big old male standing there, thinking he is safe, at 350 yds. or so. I like to shoot 'em up close as that is a true rush, but it also floats my boat to drop one at long range, DRT.
 
Originally Posted By: AWSWhen a lot of us start out we think coyotes are a long range target, and as we get more experience at calling we are getting shots closer and closer. As the experience grows and confidense increases we start hunting in tighter cover as it is easier to call coyotes in there.

nice rifles BTW... i agree with you to a point, but experience doesn't play a "complete" role in getting coyotes closer and closer... each animal has its own brain, and its own way of thinking, some being more educated than others, some you can "fool/coax" right into ur lap... others that have had their run once or twice, you might get to come within shooting range by trying different tactics ie. calling @ different times or using a different set of calling sounds/sequences... and some dogs you aint gonna get, regardless of how experienced you are in the field of predator hunting... but like i said, i do agree with you to a point.
 
I have a 3-9 on a 6.8 and a 4x12 on my .223 ars.

I like the 4x12 power better on the .223 round. The bullet flies farther and I just like having the extra power on the scope. THe 3x9 is a perfect match for the 6.8 due to its ballistics.

I personally hate the 4 power scopes. I had one on my .223 and it sits very comfortably on my S&W MP-15 .22lr.
 
i'm totally addicted to 1-5x24 or 1.1-6x24 First Focal Plane scopes and standard eotechs/aimpoints with 3x magnifiers. Won't have anything else from now on. all my shots are under 250 yards so no issue.
 
I've shot coyotes with everything from a 4MOA dot Aimpoint, to a pocket 1-4x FFP USO, to a beastly 5-25x56 with exposed turrets. Anymore, there is no right or wrong to scope selection. What I feel IS important, is not what scope you need for coyotes, rather how one might pair a scope to a specific rifle & the cartridge's capabilities. They should compliment each other & work as a system...

When you've got your rifle/scope happily married, then grab the rifle that will best cover your terrain & possibly shot opportunites. Only you can figure that part out!
 
I hope I don't come off as sounding arrogant, but does it really matter what power a guy chooses for his scope? Everybody has a different view on what they need for a coyote hunting rig and what they choose is up to them. That is half the fun of this sport! Trying to decide what works best for me is where all the fun is! IMO, scope magnification high or low, still won't put the fur in your lap. There are far to many other things to be considered to make someone more consistent at taking coyotes.
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I run a 7x21 scope and love it when hunting dogs and coyote.
I pride my self in pin point shots. the only way you shot 1" group at 200 yards is power.popping heads on coyotes that hold up way out there. Having said that I run a small Bushnell red dot at a 45 for the one's that surprise me and jump out at 25 yards.
 
I went from a 6-32 last season down to a 1-4 this season... I think something in the middle is a much better choice.
3-9 is probally about perfect!

I set up a AR with a 1-4 and I find I almost always have it cranked up to 4x leaving me nothing more when I want it. I guess I have been hunting more open ground than I thought I would be with that rifle though.

I will say the 6-32 was WAY too much scope, I almost always had it at 6x and often wished for less.
 
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Well over this last weekend I went elk hunting and was able to put the sneak on them to get within 50 yards of the heard. I ended up shooting the elk at 38 yards (lasered) with the 4-12 scope on 4 power. I never even took the scope off of 4 power. I think a 1-6 scope would be ideal if you could get a true 1x on the bottom end and a reticle that worked for both 1x and 6x
 
As I believe I stated earlier on here, I use a Sightron SIII 8-32x56 on a 308.
Killed these two dogs recently, first was shot at -20 yards directly downwind, second was at pi$$ing distance, turned to trot into the standing corn about 10 yards behind him, and I shot him on the move at about 8 yards, maybe. Again, this guy was directly downwind of me.

So even at extreme close range, on a moving dog, my 8-32 power scope didn't create a situation in which I couldn't find and harvest the dog.

Now, would a lower power scope have helped, I suppose, iron sights or a shotgun would have been ideal, but, I get it, I get that 8 power wasn't exactly needed here, however, I like higher power, and if you're comfortable with your setup, it doesn't need to be something that handcuffs you.
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I'm at the point between groundhog rifles and calling rifles I have everything I need.

Myself 1-4, 2-7 illuminated dot reticle will take care of my calling rifles. I really like a small 1/2 MOA lit dot reticle now.
 
for my personal use in calling from the grounds, I got rid of the 1.5-to what evers and the 2-8's and up graded to a 3.5-10 leupold and stayed there for years.

Later on as my shots increased in distance, I went for the 3-12 burris signature, the 4-12 Leupold, and the 4-14 Leupold.

People that have never been involved in shot gun sports may not have developed the hand/eye coordination to use a little higher power'd scope.

For the vast majority of the people, a 3x9 will suffice. As scope manufacturing has advanced, the 2x to 16x would be a great scope.

One thing about a varmint rifle, very few hunters limit their shots to coyotes, but opt of targets of opportunity such as crows, turtles, beavers, musk rats, chucks, ground squirrels, what ever....

Never forget that scopes vary greatly in how they gather light and field of view...another whole can of worms.

I tried a 6.5-20 leupold and it was too much for close in shots and I do have great hand and eye coordination. I also tried open sights on a Rem 700 in 22/250 and could not see crap in dim light, early or late.
 
Quote:people that have never been involved in shot gun sports may not have developed the hand/eye coordination to use a little higher power'd scope

I think that's a lot of it. I grew up jump-shooting jackrabbits with a scope and after enough time doing that, I got real good at throwing the rifle up and having fur in view, unless I'm on real high power.

So the more you practice, the higher magnification you'll be able to use effectively.
 
Don't know about over-scoped..... but I do know there are a whole lot more coyotes getti'n shot-over... than under-shot...

Lack of magnification leads to more "high-misses".. than any other factor I can think of...
 
quality of glass and accuracy of the internal adjustments becomes a lot more important when one starts turning the magnification ring from low to high.. great glass with good resoltuion and brightness lets one shoot longer distances on lower power settings.Shot a lot of coyotes over 400 yards on 5x with no desire for turning more maginification in.
 
1.5x-? or 2x-? is what I have found works best for me. I much prefer the wider field of view over details at 500. And I have fantastic eye-hand coordination- haven't knocked over a dinner glass in years.
By the way, I think most coyote hunters shoot more non-coyote targets than coyotes and prefer the higher magnification. Just been my experience anyway.
 
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