How good is the Leopold vx-r 4-12x40 firedot 4?

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MesquiteBob

New member
I understood most scopes are clear during daylight dawn/dusk hours,but how good is this scope for night time use on coyotes, how much moon is needed to have effective identitification out to 200 yards?

Scope will be on either a 788/22-250 or older 700/243 and it'll be used on my property.
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I've run several different VX-R configurations and have settled in in the 3-9x40 Firedot duplex on my Tikka 22-250 and 2-7x33 on my 6x45 AR. I tried the Firedot 4 in a 2-7x33 VX-R and the reticle was too thick for my liking. I've tried a lot of different reticles for night hunting and the Firedot duplex seems to be the best that I've found so far. I just wish the thin part of the duplex was a bit narrower.
 
Bob, I have a VXR in 4-12x40 Firedot duplex (not the 4) and the scope provides more than ample clarity at night when used in conjunction with a red light--regardless of the moon. However, if you plan to use the scope unassisted (without a light), you will be hard-pressed to ID critters much past 50 yards with the light of a full moon. The scope is simply not designed for that.

IDing coyotes at 200 yards at night and shooting them are two different things. Every situation is different and circumstances certainly dictate the shot. Personally, I like to get them in a tad bit closer at night.
 
I'd have a hard time believing you could effectively ID coyotes at 200 yards with ANY rifle scope with just moonlight. You probably could sometimes if they're holding still and the background is just right and there's enough contrast between the fur and the ground and the moon is right.

It's often tough making a positive ID with the aid of a powerful light, depending on conditions.

I used a VXR 3-9x49 and switched to a 2-7x33 for my calling AR. Great scopes!
 
Thanks for your replies, I try to keep the range grass cut out to 200 yards in places, tha's why I threw out the 200 yard number. I've also had night time mountain lion encounters, plus black bears.

I've been thinking about mounting a wicked 403ic light on top of a scope or side of an AR depending on situation.

So many choices.
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Thoughts?
 
My observation: bright moon light seems to hinder positive ID with a spotlight, not help. I prefer dark moonless nights because the spotlight looks brighter and it seems much easier to see critters because of the contrast, meaning the illuminated fur stands out better against a dark background.

200 yards is pretty far at night. I have several kills around 250 yards on flat farmland in good night conditions. But sometimes you just can't ID that far away, like if there's dew or mist or fog in the air or a layer of mist hovering over the warmer ground on a cold night. If you want to be SURE it's a coyote and not the neighbor's dog, you better wait till you're 100% sure what you're shooting at.

Using moonlight alone is CRAZY lame if you can use spotlights. You'll never see 90% of the critters you call in without a light. If you're sitting on a bait pile, moonlight might work, never tried it. But for calling, chosing to forgo the spotlight is crazy.
 
Idealy, you want TWO lights, because scanning with a gun mounted light is heavy, cumbersome, difficult, less effective, and unsafe. One light should be handheld (or mounted to a hat) and used to scan quickly back and forth continuously to spot the eye reflection of predators approaching. With a handheld light you can very easily swing the light 270 or 360 degrees with minimal head/arm movement. Try doing that with a light mounted on your 8 pound rifle for a 20 minute stand and get back to me on how stupid an idea that was. You'll be able to spot eyes 300-500+ yards away with a decent light. As the predator approaches to around 100-150 yards you may be able it ID with your scan light, maybe less, maybe more.

Somewhere in there you switch over to your gun mounted light, which is typically the brighter of the two lights, and use it to positively ID and shoot.

If you only plan on buying ONE light, or if your area prohibits gun mounted lights, then just use a handheld light to both scan and shoot. It isn't terribly hard to hold the light against the rifle forearm as you shoot. That's what I do, works fine.
 
I sell firearms and scopes for a living and have come to this conclusion - there is almost always more than one right answer. As an example a previous poster stated he prefers the Firedot reticle. I have a VXR 2-7 with the Firedot 4 and prefer it. And I prefer my Meopta 3.5-10x44 with a #4 reticle for hunting with a spotlight over my VXR. For my eyes the Meopta has better lowlight glass than the VXR and I don't need any illumination to see the reticle when using a spotlight. I find the IR most useful early and late in the day when it isn't quite dark enough to use a spotlight.
 
I ordered the vx-r and will put it on the 788/22-250. Air quality/clarity here is world class, probably one of the reasons there are so many observatories are located in this part of Arizona. Dew points are very low, rarely do we see mist or fog during dry seasons, anything goes during the monsoon season.
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Thanks all for your insights.
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