Scope Power for Coyotes

hello, i think it's fairly well agreed the wider f.o.v. ( field of view ) provided by a lower powered scope seems to work best on a calling rifle. to have the ability to get on a close up coyote to me far outweighs having the high power to get up close on long range dogs. meaning that you have to sacrifice f.o.v. to get the higher magnifications 6x18 power ect... like doyle i also use a 2x7 power leupold. however to do again i would probably go with a 3x9 to maybe provide more versatility for target shooting,sighting in, it would be nice to see the orange dot on the target a little better at 100 yards. however this certainly isn't a make or break situtation. good luck....
 

When calling coyotes with the anticipated range from very close to 150 yds, my "go to" rifle is often a 223Rem topped with the Leupold FXII, 4X. It has enough fov to allow quick acquisition of coyotes/bobcats and its excellent resolution and clarity does the job each and every time.

Too, it is a lite scope with excellent light transmission. It replaced a 6X42 Leupold and, IMO, is a better and more useful scope.
 
I'd say a lot has to do with how much time you have with the scope/rifle combination. I spent a LOT of time in SE Idaho shooting jackrabbits with variable power scopes, and it's a tradeoff between being able to pick them up as soon as you have a cheek weld and not being able to find them. At first, I didn't find a lot of them, even at 4X. As you get more experience with the weapon, you can raise your power a little and still get a quick acquisition. It takes a lot of practice to get on a running jack with a 6X scope at close range, and a running yote ain't much less of a challenge, even with my awesome skillz /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif That's why it's difficult to say "you want an X power scope" without knowing someone's experience level. I wouldn't want to be on stand with anything much over 4X. Add the fact that a running jackrabbit/yote requires quite a bit of lead, and at a high power, they'll be out of your FOV. If you see a 200+ yd. dog you most likely have time to dial the power up, but if you see a 20 yd. shot and you're at 12X, good luck finding them before they bolt. Even if you can't dial the power up, you have a decent chance of making the shot. I've found that shooting at very high powers (20X and up), I can see the crosshairs moving on the target and it tends to make me try for the 10 ring a lot more, and I delay my shot. They're great for competition shooting off a bench, but I personally think for game, you're better off with a good 3-9 or 4-12, or a 6X fixed-power scope. If you try a combo that you want to use from point-blank to 300 yards, it's easy to make the mistake of too much scope and you might wish you had a lower setting instead of that 20X you only use from sandbags. I've seen that a few times with 6.5-20 and 8.5-25 Leupolds, they're beautiful scopes for 300 or 400 yards, but they suck for brush shooting. It's painful to realize you have a $650+ scope that isn't doing what you want. If you're going to compromise, I'd say stick to the low end of what you think you'll want and you'll be more likely to kill a lot of dogs.
How's that for a long-winded bunch of B.S.? I outdid myself. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Well- I'll know tomorrow.

I pick up both my Nikon scope and Howa .223.

The Nikon is 5.5x16.5x44, and I know it's gonna be right on the border line with the low power end.

But I worked with my Mini-14 today. It's stock, with a B-square mount that has a 2.5x10.40 rainguard that works very well. And I drilled out the peepsite to make it more of a ghost ring, and it's very fast to get on target.

It's got a 1 in 9" twist, and so far I'm getting about 1" groups at 50yds with 68gr Hornady Hollow points. 22grs of Reloader 7 is giving me an average of 2850 FPS.

The trigger has creep clear to New York, and I think with a trigger job it may prove to be a real good shooter. THat'll work for them close woods coyotes.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
After reading back through this I do have to take exception with one poster who suggested not spending any extra money on a lower powered scope if the shots are going to be withing 75-100 yds. Using ChiliRojo's example of a 1.5x6 powered scope (which he may be right that it is the perfect calling scope) I would want the absolute best scope in that power that I could afford. Clarity, low light visibility, durability being among the many reasons as to why I don't like to consider lower powered scopes to be cheap or inexpensive. I am sure that if I were hunting in Africa and had a rhino charging at low light I would want the best 1x4 scope humanly made.
 
I’m a strong advocate of keeping the scope on the lowest power possible, and agree with the poster who said that you almost always have time to dial it up if the dog is out there a ways, but almost never have time to do much but shoot if he is close.

I am pretty good at predicting what direction I will shoot the coyote but not so good at predicting distance. I have laid the rifle on a rest, pointed where I expected the coyote, and had the dog in the scope when I leaned forward to grip the rifle, without any movement. That extra large prime coyote was 35 feet away. I’ve had called coyotes within touching distance, and a good number that came in so close that I couldn’t focus on them with 2 power, when calling wide open spaces. On a grassy prairie one belly crawled up to me and then pounced. Scared the daylights out of me. I'll never foget the shock on that coyote's face as it slipped down trying to reverse and slid toward me with its feet churning for traction on the slick matted grass right in front of me. I'd predicted a long shot on the open grass. I missed.

Most of mine have fallen to a 2-7 Redfield, then a Simmons 3x9 and now Leupold 3x9. I keep a scope set on the lowest power, always, till I start to mount the rifle to cheek. The best coyote shooter I’ve ever known used a fixed 4 power on a heavy barreled .243. He shot five out of a pack of five while standing in place one morning, then picked up two more a few minutes later the next valley over.

Calling style and set up has as lot to do with how close you draw in called critters. I started calling as a bow hunter so I know my set-ups are often conciously designed to be close when the action starts, even with a rifle. If you call from a Texas tower, they won't as likely be in your lap. Come to think of it, it's a hunting style across the board: Moose, too close to focus with 2 power; bear, too close to focus with 2 power; elk, powder burned (4-6 inches?); deer, 8 feet, and a 176 scoring muley at 35 feet. I didn't shoot it but my partner shot a very nice Stone ram at about 8 feet range, with a .338. Be ready for the surprize close up shots, and you'll have time to dial up for the long ones.
 
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