Ideal predator calling scope.

Quote:Funny, I think of a coyote as a large target and a 300 yard shot a failed calling stand.

I love my 1-4 scopes on my combo guns and all are more than capable on 300 yard shots. I just returned from the PM hunt and shot my 25-204 bolt action with a 1-4x20mm Leupold and it was a great scope for the hunt, my closest shop was 10 yards and my longest 40 yards, I gave all the long shots to my nephew with his 2.5x10 on his 22-250, his longest at 276 yard which would have been more that doable with the 1-4.

I find myself using and preferring my 1-4 power and straight 6x scopes lately. I rarely shoot past 150-200 yards and almost never past 300. I doubt most people "here" could hit a coyote in the preferred 4" kill zone past 300 yards under field conditions. With unknown range, bullet drop/drift, wind speed, mirage, and other conditions, 300+ yards may not be as easy as some think.

However I know guys (gov't trappers and such) that do shoot further and have success.
 
Well I thought I was gonna be crazy saying a 4-16x50 or something among those lines. First focal with Mildots. I have irons for the close stuff and make a good few long shots. 300-500 is common and I dunno how many guys have actually seen a coyote at 500 but even my 12 power was lacking a bit. Could tell it was a coyote laying under an old wood fence but that was about it. Though I'll admit, I shoot over more coyotes than under.. also, side parallax adjustment is a must. Building my 22-250 so hopefully I'll have another 600 yard gun and there's a killer deal on a vortex 6-20x50. Might be cool for p-dogs and coyotes.
 
One of my 5.56 ARs has a Burris 1.5x6 MTAC on it which I really like for calling.
Another 5.56 has a 3x9 Bushnell Elite something or the other, nice scope.
My 6.8 SPC has a 2x10 Weaver on it, I'm not sure of the model but I like it better than the Bushnell by a little bit.
Finally if I'm going somewhere that long, long shots a possibility I take my Ruger American Predator in 6.5C and I have a Nikon Buckmaster 4x14, its one of the older ones.
 
I used to think you needed a higher power scope for hunting, thanks to my uncle who had 6-24x and 8-32x on pretty much all of his rifles. He spent a lot of time shooting paper, which is about the only thing those scopes are good for.

After I started calling more, and had coyotes come rushing in close, I learned quickly that those high power scopes aren't useful. Since then I've used a lot of 3-9's and 3-12's. Most have been combo calling/deer rifles. If I were to setup a rifle for calling only, it would likely where a 1-6 or 2-8. I also have a Bushnell 2.5-16 that covers everything.

A lighted reticle would be really nice as well.
 
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I've been thinking this over a bit and the Ideal Predator calling scope for me would be a 1-8x24mm scope with heavy duplex with a locking exposed elevation turret and zero stop. With a 100' FOV on the bottom end and 8x on the top with the abillity to dial your drop for 500 yards. It would just about cover any calling situation.

Now building a rifle to take advantage of it would be just about as difficult, fast handling at 10 yards yet be steady enough for pin point accuracy at 500 yards plus a cartridge that won't blow them up at 10 yards but reliably drop them at 500 yards.

I think I'll stick to what I've got and keep them under 300, it works for me.
 
Originally Posted By: AWSI've been thinking this over a bit and the Ideal Predator calling scope for me would be a 1-8x24mm scope with heavy duplex with a locking exposed elevation turret and zero stop. With a 100' FOV on the bottom end and 8x on the top with the abillity to dial your drop for 500 yards. It would just about cover any calling situation.

Now building a rifle to take advantage of it would be just about as difficult, fast handling at 10 yards yet be steady enough for pin point accuracy at 500 yards plus a cartridge that won't blow them up at 10 yards but reliably drop them at 500 yards.

I think I'll stick to what I've got and keep them under 300, it works for me.

Well if you ever want that dream scope all you have to do is sell a kid or two.

https://www.swarovskioptik.com/hunting/rifle-scope-z8-i-1-8x24-c20050801/Z8i-1-8x24-L-BRT-I-p5265639
 
So I've been using Trijicon Accupoint optics since 2009-ish. They're fairly lightweight, decent cost budget wise, fairly clear glass quality, and are very durable in my experience.

I started shooting 3 gun in 2009 and went with the Trijicon TR24-3G 1-4x24 optic with German #4 green dot crosshair. I had tried my brother's triangle reticle and absolutely hated it. It might be 'fast' up close, but I had difficulty at 'precision' stuff. Maybe practice could have solved that, but I'm impatient. I absolutely rocked the German #4 and had no problem up-close or at further 3 gun distances, once I figured out my hold overs.

When I got serious about coyote hunting around the same time, I went back to Trijicon. This time with the TR20-2 Accupoint 3-9x40 with Amber dot mil-dot reticle. It's weight is good, it's clear glass, price was ok (on sale around $650 iirc). The amber dot wasn't my first choice, would have preferred green but the green wasn't on sale. I like the mil-dot crosshair because it's a bit thinner to me than the German #4, its thinner further out from the center, and to me the center dot seems smaller than the German #4 center dot.

With the Accupoint line, they're always illuminated except for a couple of specific circumstances that I'll explain. No batteries required, the illumination comes from tritium when it's complete darkness, I still haven't figured out why anybody would be shooting in complete darkness though. I mean I want to see my target so a weapon mounted light is enough illumination for the fiber optic to take over, even the moon or a street lamp will cause the fiber optic to over take the tritium. Maybe for night vision use? I have no experience with that so maybe.

The illumination will not work if shooting from inside a structure to outside bright sunny daylight however. Something about the image of outside being brighter than the source light going through the fiber optic. It just won't illuminate, the crosshairs are still there so it's not like the scope quits working. So from a blind to outside the illumination won't work unless it's early (dawn) or late (dusk). Similar setups will also cause the illumination to be less than ideal, but the optic itself still works great.

The durability is outstanding in my experience. I had my TR20-2 for about two weeks when I fumble f'd and dropped my rifle onto a gravel lease road, landing on the scope first. I was shooting 3 feet high after that. Sent it back to LaRue where I had bought the scope and mount as a combo. Austin personally called me and wondered how in the [beeep] I managed to bend a LaRue mount. I told him what happened, he didn't believe me, going so far as accusing me of bending the mount on purpose. I think he was half joking but it didn't matter, they replaced the mount, did a box test and the scope was fine. I've been using the same optic ever since but have switched to the lighter weight Aero Precision mount.

The 3-9x40 is the perfect power to me. I can take shots on coyote sized targets pretty confidently out to 250y and as close as I let them get. The blazing center dot really makes it easy for me to put the shots right where they need to be. The bright dot naturally draws my eye to it and I can look at the target and the dot at the same time without thinking, it just naturally works. I've done plenty of shooting in 3 gun that it just naturally transitioned over to my coyote rifle. I've since switched my TR24-3G to the TR25 which is 1-6x power with green MOA reticle. I like it a lot.

With my 6.8, I'm within 5 inches from muzzle to about 260y. So I can pretty much hold center coyote out to 250y-ish. If I'm confident the range is further than that, I might lay the crosshairs across his back. I've shot over more coyotes trying that though so lately I've just been holding on and not worrying about it. I don't like exposed turrets or anything like that. Just simple, durable, reliable. The TR20-2 does it all for me.
 
"Funny, I think of a coyote as a large target and a 300 yard shot a failed calling stand."

Well, I guess that depends on the terrain. Where I hunt, the terrain is wide open, the vegetation is sparse, and the dogs don't often come too close before getting antsy. I typically place the call 80-100 yards away, and my lifetime average shot has been 159 yards. Quite a few have been in the neighborhood of 300.
 
Quote: I typically place the call 80-100 yards away, and my lifetime average shot has been 159 yards.

I usually place the caller about 50-75 yards closer than you. I believe my shots are generally in the 40-80 yard range. But I have only hunted antelope in WY. Could be different there.
 
I plan on anything from in your lap to 300 yds in general. That's about the visual limit near the house. However, as I have mentioned before, we can go longer in the river bottom crop fields.....

All that being said, I like something in 4-12, 6-18, 6-20x with 40 or 50mm Objective or so with either and AO or side focus. I have become fond of the MOA Mil dots but still shoot duplex X hairs also. I am comfortable with the 6x as my lowest power because I have used that power for so long.

Personally, I have been all Leupold for a long time. However, I do have an addition to my stable in an "Original" Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20x50 with their "duplex" set up. This is one of the clearest scopes I have ever used. Its going to be mounted on a Ruger #1 in 6mm BR. It seems like a good choice for yotes and paper on this gun. The turrets are big, distinctly locate/index, are easy to read and function well even without a "0" stop.

Just some thoughts.
 
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The VX-6 2-12 has been a great scope for coyotes but I rarely target called coyotes beyond 160 yds and I usually don’t go beyond 6x when hunting them. I also have the VX-6 1-6 that I use when targeting daytime hogs and it would be a good scope to use as well but not as good in dim light as the 2-12.
 
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Eithor a 3-15vx 5hd or a 4-24 vx6hd with illuminated moa reticle spending on what rifle it’s on. I have had more coyotes 200 plus yards then close ones. But they are very educated and in open country we’re i live.
 
Depends on where you hunt. Guys back east will probably like lower power scopes and guys in the west will generally like higher power scopes. Can you see a coyote at 400 yards in a 9x scope, of course but its an easier shot with 16x scope. Late in the year it ain't so easy to coax them into your lap so be prepared for anything. I like a 4-16 or 3-18.
 
3.5-10 is what I have on all my coyote rifles.

If you want less magnification they are probably in shotgun range. If you want more, that's just personal preference. I have shot many coyotes in the 350 to 600 range, never thought I needed more magnification.
 
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