Sly
New member
Since I got my Dtech 204 AR a little over a year ago I have tried several different sights/scopes trying to find the right combination that would work well for the type of coyote hunting I do here in Arizona. The type of AZ terrain that I hunt in (mostly washes and semi-thick cover) almost always results in shots at 100yds or less with an occasional 200yds opportunity.
The first scope I tried was a Nikon 4x12x42 IRT which had a laser rangefinder built in. The scope was awesome but with 4x being it's lowest power it was sometimes difficult to get the scope on target quickly and I lost several coyotes because of it. The Nikon glass was exceptionally clear but at 26+ ounces with battery it was a little on the heavy side.
The next setup I tried was an Eotech 552 with a 4x Flip to Side magnifer. This setup worked exceptionally well and a few coyotes and this cat met their fate because of it's ultra quick target acquisition. The bad side was that it weighed about 29 ounces and made offhand shooting an impossible task for me. I don't shoot my AR in offhand mode but several times after finishing my stand and walking back to my truck I have spied a coyote standing in the brush presenting a decent shot. With the extra weight of the Eotech I was unable to hold the sight seady enough to make a successful shot.
Decided to lighten up my AR as much as possible to make offhand shots a decent possibility. Got rid of my 3 point sling, put on a lighter buttstock, bought a carbonfiber free float hand guard and last but not least switched to an ACOG TA31 ECOS scope which had an integrally mounted Doc red dot optic. The glass on the ECOS is absolutely perfect and the reticle was the best of all the ACOGs for hunting. At $1500 it wasn't cheap but at 16 ounces I thought I found exactly what I needed. Unfortunately in the field it didn't perform very well for me. The biggest problem was the 1 1/2" of eye relief which left me with a bloody half moon ring above my right eye the only time I shot at a coyote with it. It was the slowest of the bunch for quick target acquisition even with the Doc mounted on top and I never killed a coyote with it. While the Doc optic provided quick acquisition I had a hard time transitioning from the Doc sight picture to the ACOG 4x view.
About a month ago I started looking for another scope that would be lightweight, provide quick target acquisition and have plenty of eye relief. After a lot of research I settled on a Nikon Monarch Gold 1.5x6x42 with a 30mm tube. The scope is a shade over 11" long and weighs a little over 17 ounces. The shorter length and the 30mm tube gives the scope a cool beefy look. Most every web site that had the scope in stock listed it for $599 and above. I lucked out and found one site that had it with the German #4 reticle for $465 shipped. Received the scope and Nightforce Ultralight extra high 30mm rings(which I bought from another site) in less than a week after ordering. Extra high rings are required when mounting on an AR to get the scope to the right height for proper eye alignment and quick target acquisition.
Mounting was quick and easy even though I had to acquire a torque wrench that measured in inch pounds. I was very impressed with both the quality of the Monarch Gold scope and the Nightforce rings. The scope is rugged and well built with bright crystal clear glass right out to the edges. It has a quick focus ring on the eyepiece that lets you quickly adjust the reticle sharpness to match your eye. The power adjustment ring has a rectangular raised knob that lets you change power easily and serves as a reference as to which power it is set on. I chose the German #4 reticle over the Nikoplex reticle because it doesn't clutter up the sight picture and still guides you to center the crosshairs on your target. This scope unlike it's bigger brothers doesn't offer any parallex adjustment and is set at 100yds but for it's intended use it is well suited for the job. I would feel comfortable shooting accurately with this scope out to 400yds which is way beyond the range I shoot coyotes at 99% of the time.
Zeroing in the scope was a breeze and only took a few rounds. The windage and elevation caps are well constructed and the turrets have hand turn adjustments which is a nice feature. Each turret also has an indicator which you can set to mark your zero for windage and elevation. After zeroing I test shot at 100yds one 3 round group with results about the size of a nickel off a wobbly rest. Not bad for a low power scope without having a decent bench to shoot from.
The Nikon 1.5x6x42 is considered a dangerous game scope and is one of the main reasons I chose it. My thoughts were that if it quickly let you target hard charging dangerous game that could kill you it would work equally well for quickly targeting finicky coyotes that often only offer a fleeting target before disappearing into the brush. I also prefer crosshairs to the illuminated red dot of the superb Eotech setup. I put the scope to the test this week on the first coyote I saw since zeroing and unlike the ACOG it was instantly on target allowing me to make a quick kill. This was in part due to the generous 4 inch amount of constant eye relief(regardless of power setting) being only one of the features that makes this scope an outstanding performer. Even under low light contitions the view is exceptionally clear. I highly recommend the Nikon 1.5x6x42 to anyone who has lost an opportunity because they couldn't get their scope on target quickly enough. For calling I feel it is one of the best scopes in the sport and an absolute bargain at $465.
Specifications:
Finish: Matte
Actual Magnification: 1.55x-5.82x
Objective Diameter: 42mm
Exit Pupil (mm): 28-7
Eye Relief (in): 4.1-4
FOV at 100 yds (ft): 64.7-17.3
Tube Diameter: 30mm
Objective Tube (mm/in): 50/1.97
Eyepiece O.D. (mm): 43
Length (in): 11.4
Weight (oz): 17.3
Adjustment Gradation: 1/4 MOA
Max Internal Adjustment: 120 MOA
Parallax Setting (yds): 100
The first scope I tried was a Nikon 4x12x42 IRT which had a laser rangefinder built in. The scope was awesome but with 4x being it's lowest power it was sometimes difficult to get the scope on target quickly and I lost several coyotes because of it. The Nikon glass was exceptionally clear but at 26+ ounces with battery it was a little on the heavy side.
The next setup I tried was an Eotech 552 with a 4x Flip to Side magnifer. This setup worked exceptionally well and a few coyotes and this cat met their fate because of it's ultra quick target acquisition. The bad side was that it weighed about 29 ounces and made offhand shooting an impossible task for me. I don't shoot my AR in offhand mode but several times after finishing my stand and walking back to my truck I have spied a coyote standing in the brush presenting a decent shot. With the extra weight of the Eotech I was unable to hold the sight seady enough to make a successful shot.
Decided to lighten up my AR as much as possible to make offhand shots a decent possibility. Got rid of my 3 point sling, put on a lighter buttstock, bought a carbonfiber free float hand guard and last but not least switched to an ACOG TA31 ECOS scope which had an integrally mounted Doc red dot optic. The glass on the ECOS is absolutely perfect and the reticle was the best of all the ACOGs for hunting. At $1500 it wasn't cheap but at 16 ounces I thought I found exactly what I needed. Unfortunately in the field it didn't perform very well for me. The biggest problem was the 1 1/2" of eye relief which left me with a bloody half moon ring above my right eye the only time I shot at a coyote with it. It was the slowest of the bunch for quick target acquisition even with the Doc mounted on top and I never killed a coyote with it. While the Doc optic provided quick acquisition I had a hard time transitioning from the Doc sight picture to the ACOG 4x view.
About a month ago I started looking for another scope that would be lightweight, provide quick target acquisition and have plenty of eye relief. After a lot of research I settled on a Nikon Monarch Gold 1.5x6x42 with a 30mm tube. The scope is a shade over 11" long and weighs a little over 17 ounces. The shorter length and the 30mm tube gives the scope a cool beefy look. Most every web site that had the scope in stock listed it for $599 and above. I lucked out and found one site that had it with the German #4 reticle for $465 shipped. Received the scope and Nightforce Ultralight extra high 30mm rings(which I bought from another site) in less than a week after ordering. Extra high rings are required when mounting on an AR to get the scope to the right height for proper eye alignment and quick target acquisition.
Mounting was quick and easy even though I had to acquire a torque wrench that measured in inch pounds. I was very impressed with both the quality of the Monarch Gold scope and the Nightforce rings. The scope is rugged and well built with bright crystal clear glass right out to the edges. It has a quick focus ring on the eyepiece that lets you quickly adjust the reticle sharpness to match your eye. The power adjustment ring has a rectangular raised knob that lets you change power easily and serves as a reference as to which power it is set on. I chose the German #4 reticle over the Nikoplex reticle because it doesn't clutter up the sight picture and still guides you to center the crosshairs on your target. This scope unlike it's bigger brothers doesn't offer any parallex adjustment and is set at 100yds but for it's intended use it is well suited for the job. I would feel comfortable shooting accurately with this scope out to 400yds which is way beyond the range I shoot coyotes at 99% of the time.
Zeroing in the scope was a breeze and only took a few rounds. The windage and elevation caps are well constructed and the turrets have hand turn adjustments which is a nice feature. Each turret also has an indicator which you can set to mark your zero for windage and elevation. After zeroing I test shot at 100yds one 3 round group with results about the size of a nickel off a wobbly rest. Not bad for a low power scope without having a decent bench to shoot from.
The Nikon 1.5x6x42 is considered a dangerous game scope and is one of the main reasons I chose it. My thoughts were that if it quickly let you target hard charging dangerous game that could kill you it would work equally well for quickly targeting finicky coyotes that often only offer a fleeting target before disappearing into the brush. I also prefer crosshairs to the illuminated red dot of the superb Eotech setup. I put the scope to the test this week on the first coyote I saw since zeroing and unlike the ACOG it was instantly on target allowing me to make a quick kill. This was in part due to the generous 4 inch amount of constant eye relief(regardless of power setting) being only one of the features that makes this scope an outstanding performer. Even under low light contitions the view is exceptionally clear. I highly recommend the Nikon 1.5x6x42 to anyone who has lost an opportunity because they couldn't get their scope on target quickly enough. For calling I feel it is one of the best scopes in the sport and an absolute bargain at $465.
Specifications:
Finish: Matte
Actual Magnification: 1.55x-5.82x
Objective Diameter: 42mm
Exit Pupil (mm): 28-7
Eye Relief (in): 4.1-4
FOV at 100 yds (ft): 64.7-17.3
Tube Diameter: 30mm
Objective Tube (mm/in): 50/1.97
Eyepiece O.D. (mm): 43
Length (in): 11.4
Weight (oz): 17.3
Adjustment Gradation: 1/4 MOA
Max Internal Adjustment: 120 MOA
Parallax Setting (yds): 100
