Nikon Coyote Scope

Well, I'm with the majority it looks like. I was really looking forward to this scope but I'm not very impressed with it, I'd take my 2.5-10x42 Monarch over one of those any day. If they had better magnification options, different reticles, and illuminated reticles then I would be interested. But from what the website says, I'm kinda disappointed in it.
 
I too am a bit dissapointed, but who knows maybe they'll offer more options later. Could just be testing the waters a little bit to see if its be a hit. I think alot of people will just buy it cause its the coyote edition scope....
 
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they had better magnification options, different reticles, and illuminated reticles then I would be interested.



I'm in complete agreement on that. Nikon needs to put out something like this:

Millett

With a version of this reticle, so you can estimate wind drift.

Varmint_Hunters_detail.gif


I'd buy something like that.
 
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Could just be testing the waters a little bit to see if its be a hit.



Well, tell 'em what you would like, they ain't stupid. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I saw the scopes there with Gary.
They are good scopes. I would have the 3-9 version. It was clear & had good reticle focus.

I have some other NEW predator dedicated stuff that I found at the ShotShow as well, from other companies. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

I'll write these up. with pics & post them for review here.

BTW, Gary & his wife are super nice people. We enjoyed them.

I think Gary has some further input on this scope when revisions are being made that might effect the ultimate outcome of the finished product. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Barry
 
Perhaps I can explain what we were trying to do when we started working on this project.
Since our average shot at a "called in" coyote is 70 yards, we wanted to keep the reticle very simple. There is no need for windage and rarely do we need to worry about elevation. My primary concern was to reduce target acquisition time...hence the open circle or loop. Most competition speed shooters are familiar with "loops".

We did want to employ a system similar to the BDC for the occasional 200-300 yard shot. This required a complete change of the reticle for the previous BDC scopes were based on a bullet traveling 2,900 fps. The new systme is based on a bullet traveling 3,700 fps. The typical BDC has 2" circles and is used primarily for big game. Since predators are smaller targets we decreased the size of the circles, the farther the shot.

The .204 and .223 do not recoil enough in most rifles to cause you to loose bullet impact. When shooting this open circle, I will see bullet impact and if it is where it should be, I forget about this target and am quickly searching for the second.

As of yesterday, the catalog displayed on their site was last year's model. The 2009 catalog has the specs of this scope in two different configurations, 3-9x40 and 4.5-14x40. They also have rings in Mossy Oak Brush and Advantage Max 1.
 
Gary in your own words: "Since our average shot at a "called in" coyote is 70 yards, we wanted to keep the reticle very simple. There is no need for windage and rarely do we need to worry about elevation."

Then why in the world is the lowest magnification 3X??? Not trying to be disrespectful, but it seems like a total brain fart to not offer a power setting lower than 3 power. Last Saturday I shot a coyote at 20 feet and my scope was set on 2.5X, and it would have been better if I could have set it even lower. Now a 1X-10X would really be something...and yes, the technology is there to make such a scope.
 
Ursus21
I don't disagree with you. But Nikon is in the business of selling scopes and while you and I may not agree with the higher magnifications, most hunters (perhaps inexperienced) want the bigger magnifications. If you notice in the catalog they are offering the Coyote in a 4.5-14x40 as well as the 3-9x40.
You will also notice that the reticle is not cluttered, very simple. If you are asking me to help on a project for predator hunting, I am going to keep it simple, perhaps this is due to my simple mind.
 
I agree with Gary in that 3-9 is by far the more common scope powers. I personally will not buy a 2X7 scope, maybe im not good enough of a hunter but i find them pretty much worthless for long range shots. I have 3-9 and 4-12 and would like to have somthing higher than 12. I think they chose the two most popular combos for the scope. I think you'll see more upgrades to the scope as time goes on.
 
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I agree with Gary in that 3-9 is by far the more common scope powers. I personally will not buy a 2X7 scope, maybe im not good enough of a hunter but i find them pretty much worthless for long range shots. I have 3-9 and 4-12 and would like to have somthing higher than 12. I think they chose the two most popular combos for the scope. I think you'll see more upgrades to the scope as time goes on.


Well, I guess there are differing opinions on the issue of scope magnification and predator hunting. Personally, I am not surprised Nikon came out with 3x9 power versions of their coyote scope. This does seem to be Nikon's bread and butter of hunting scopes, and as Gary stated, they are in the business of selling scopes.

I will tell you that my calling bolt gun (model 700) wears a 3x9 power scope. With a bolt gun, I like the opportunity to "reach out and touch" something. If Nikon had these scopes out when I was outfitting this rifle, I probably would have bought one. Now that I have an R-15 with 18" barrel to mount a scope on, I am looking to keep things lighter and magnification lower, as this is to be a short to medium range predator rifle. This is why I inquired about a 2x7 power scope.

I think making a blanket statement that a 2x7 power scope is "worthless" for longer range shots is a little too far though. I have seen high power shooters put shots in the 10 ring at six hundred yards using AR type rifles and nothing more than iron sights.

Everyone has their own preference.
 
I just said that I think they are... I know theres alot of guys on here that shoot 2X7 and love them. I personally can't shoot very good with them. I don't have all that great eye sight so maybe thats part of it, I don't know. But I won't buy anything less than a 3-9.
 
Hey guys,

I saw the scope at the Shot Show too and it looked pretty good. I believe Gary did a great job. Would I have done it different? Maybe, maybe not. Thing is I applaud Gary and Nikon for making the effort. In this or any business what I have found is that it is impossible to make everyone happy, and one size rarely fits all.

Gary has as much experience calling coyotes as anyone out there and of course Nikon is not a new kid on the block either. If I was to try and design a scope Gary would certainly be on my short list of people to consult with. Gary is not only one of the best callers in the country but has also taken untold numbers of guys calling with varying degrees of shooting ability. This gives him a unique perspective on features likely to aid predator hunters. He knows the importance of fast target acquisition as well as the value of having a reticle with the ability to quickly find the reticle and MAKE the shot. I can see where this design different but my guess is this scope wasn’t designed with sniping coyotes at great distance in mind.

Now to my opinion ,(don't we all have one)? At first glance, I too was disappointed not to see at least some fine crosshairs or an aiming point in the center of the circle. After discussing my concern with a representative of Nikon I decided to give it a try in the real world before coming to a final conclusion. He agreed to send me one when they become available. Regardless of my conclusion I still understand that what I like may not be what you like. Thank God for choices and kudos to Gary and Nikon for giving us yet another.

As to the magnification options this scope comes in....the 3-9 would be my choice and feel this is about right for 99.9% of any coyote calling rifle. For those that feel they need more the 4.5-14 fills that need nicely. I have lots of rifles but don't own a scope over 10X (especially on a calling rifle).

Good Hunting, and God Bless,

Byron
 
I'm not disputing the upper end of the magnification spectrum. It's the lower end I think they missed the ball on. Seriously Byron you like 3X as your lowest setting for calling? I make do with it, but I don't like it, especially not on close moving targets.
 
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I just said that I think they are... I know theres alot of guys on here that shoot 2X7 and love them. I personally can't shoot very good with them. I don't have all that great eye sight so maybe thats part of it, I don't know. But I won't buy anything less than a 3-9.


Fair enough. It sounds much better when you put it that way.
 
To anyone who may be interested...I just emailed Nikon and requested them to put a picture of their Predator BDC reticle on their website.

With all this interest generated a want to see it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
URsus21,

I currently use a 2.5-8x VX-III and I usually have it set on 2.5. I like the ability to turn it up to 8X to pick out predators hung up in the brush. There isn't much difference between 2.5 and 3 so I don't see it as a problem. I have MUCH trigger time behind both the 2.5-8X and 3.5-10X Leupolds and with either, fast, close target aquisition have neve been a problem. With this said, I do like the lower powered scopes as well and feel that most people use more magnification than needed. In my mind 2-7, 2.5-8 and 3-9 are just right for most senarios I encounter. The reason I've settled on the 2.5-8X on my go to calling rifle is the weight savings and size over the larger 3.5-10X.

A littl off topic but somewhat pertenant.

Over the last couple of years I've been using the EOTechs more and more which have no magnification. At first I just put them on my shotguns and they, IMO, work better than iron sight with tight chokes. I love the "circle dot" which almost exactly mimics the pattern my shotgun throws. Plus it works beautifully at night, low light, or in brush where iron sights (even fiber optics) can wash out. EOTech recently came out with a 3X magnifier that fits behind the EOTech sight that effectively make it a 3X scope but retains the benefits of the illuminated "circle dot" of the main EOTech sight. A cool feature with this set up is that the magnifier is mounted with a flip to side feature that flips the magnifier to the side if not needed.

Didn't mean to sidetrack Gary's original point in making this post. I will also say that once you get behind this new Nikon scope in an actual calling envirionment I believe many of you will like it. I know I'm anxious to get behind one and try out it before I even think about discounting it out of hand.

Good Hunting, and God Bless,

Byron
 
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