First Coyote of the Season

6mm06

6mm06

Well-known member
Well, I officially began my coyote hunting for the season on the 22nd. I have been staying at the shack a few nights, mainly for the fun of it, but also hopeful a coyote might show up. It had been about a month since I had seen one. Around 0230 in the morning the alarm sounded. A coyote was at the 60 yard bait site but would not commit. She trotted off, up into the hay field and tall grass. I took the shot and dropped her at 122 yards with the Ruger American Predator 6mm Remington and a 55 gr. Blitz King at 3720 fps. The scope is my newest ATN 4k Pro digital, 5x20x. I really do like the 4k Pro despite ATN's reputation. This scope has been a good one, considering digital.

There was zero wind that night and as usual with digital scopes and no breeze, the white-out effect was bad and didn't allow me to see the coyote fall. I had no idea if I killed her or if it was a miss or wounded. I found her the next morning in the tall grass. There was no sign of her rolling around, and apparently she dropped on the spot as is usual with the 6mm. In usual fashion the Blitz King did not exit on the broadside shot. I hit her on the right side, just slightly high. I was sighted dead-on at 75 yards, so the bullet impacted just a tad bit high at 122 yards.

I got video but it was not good. I may add it to hopefully a future kill or two at a later time.

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Off side - no exit

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Bullet Impact at arrow. Barely visible.

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Ruger American Predator 6mm Remington, ATN 4k Pro 5-20x digital.

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I admit that I am still not used to this new forum format. I posted this in a separate topic without realizing. I guess I'm an old dog and having a hard time learning new tricks. As well, I have had nothing but problems this evening with Flickr too. New format and having to learn all over again.
 
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Well sir, congratulations on the first kill! Your pics came through fine. Old dog did fine! Nice start to your season!
 
Thanks guys. As to the pictures, I never know how large to size them and wonder if they look one size on my computer and maybe a different size on someone else's computer. So, are the photos sized right, too large, too small or what?
 
I haven't night hunted due to optics, but I have been looking at these ATN's. Has it worked well? Is it worth the money?
 
Well done David;-)

Looking forward to seeing many more from you and your Shack;-)

ATN makes a decent product, I think their (bad) reputation comes from very poor customer service and follow through.
Just my visual experience.
 
Sprinkman, this ls only one man's opinion - mine, but I like the 4k Pro scopes. I first got the 3-14x model and then later the camo 5-20x. The 3-14x has locked up on me a few times, but a hard reset by holding down the power button for 15-20 seconds cures it. I read that a few others had similar issues and the hard reset always cured it. The 5-20x is the one I prefer and it has worked great, with maybe locking up one time. I have used it quite a bit. I like it. The view is very good with a good 850nm illuminator, slightly better resolution than the 3-14x in my opinion.

The scopes have color daytime mode which looks very good. It has onboard video recording with sound. I like the ballistic calculator which works very well. In my opinion it's a good option for night hunting and while not necessarily cheap, it's one of the cheapest options in night vision. My experience with customer service has been good. ATN gives a discount to veterans so I purchased both scopes directly from them. I have phoned them two or three times and all my calls were answered promptly. I think they have come a long way with customer service from the earlier reports that were prevalent back in the day. The company has a relatively new CEO who admitted at shot show a few years back, that ATN had some issues and that they were trying to address them. It was an acknowledgment and a move in a positive direction. I was glad to see that since I had really wanted the scopes to work well. Might sound like I'm an ATN salesman, but I'm not and have no affiliation with them at all. The scopes are not without occasional bugs, but have worked well for me. Others may have a different opinion. I can only speak for myself.

I have taken numerous coyotes, and some hogs with them, plus a few skunks and various other critters. The biggest issue with digital (all of them regardless of brand) is the bloom, or white-out effect at night with IR illuminators when shooting. Depending on the weather, the view can be good, or as in the case the other night, more like what you would expect from a muzzleloader. For me personally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if I wanted another digital scope.

DDW, I think you are right in general that CS has been ATN's biggest issue. Also, from what I have heard, their return rate or failure rate is higher than some other brands. Having said that, I can't think of a single night vision scope brand that hasn't had issues of one kind or another. Even the famed Pulsar had some serious issues with high dollar Trail models not holding zero. What a company does to address problems is where it's at.
 
Great post! Congrats on kicking off the season. Those 55 SBK kill like lightning and amazingly fur friendly if you're saving hides. Looking forward to your thoughts/review on that Bolt TL35.
 
Wildflights, I am waiting anxiously for my Weatherby Vanguard 25-06 to return from the factory. I have some 70 gr. Blitz Kings that I am hoping will shoot well. Once load developing is done, my plans are to mount the Bolt TL35 to it for use on coyotes this winter. Initial results show a very nice image.
 
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