Nikon's "Coyote Special" scope review

I have the same reticle, well almost, (only two circles) on an old Redfield LE 3x9x50 scope I have on my Savage tactical 308. The scope has always been clear and I have no problem shooting groups with it off the bench. I just center the circle and line up the vertical and horizontal lines with the lines on the target. The Redfield has two circles, center the top one with 308 match loads, and the second circle is dead on at 200 yards. I bought this scope more than 15 years ago, liked it so much, I never looked for anything else.
 
Double CK,

Thanks,

Stiffneck,

No this is not a gimmick. It is simply a new reticle design. While I have no problem with a regular crosshair I can see potential with the circle reticle. The three coyotes I took with the scope in the post above were all taken at between 100 to maybe 130 yards. I had the scope about half way up and easily took all three very fast with three well placed shots. These reticles won't make a poor shot a better shot. They are simly designed to help you get centered on target faster. As I said your minds eye will quickly find the center of the circle. At 100 yards even on three power the circle is no larger than a coyotes chest. By simply putting the circle in the center of the coyotes chest and pulling the trigger you will have a dead coyote. Is this concept better than traditional crosshairs? Maybe, maybe not, but I do believe it can be faster.

I just got my example and look forwrd to using it this fall. In fact I may mount it on a bigger gun and shoot some hogs with it over the summer. I could give it a real workout mounted on an R-25 (308) and a group of 20-30 hogs.

Good Hunting, and God Bless,

Byron
 
wow am i late on this one
(i don't visit equipment very often)
i shot a nikon (monarch) for awhile
and i have to say
i love it at 100 yds
but
the circles are of much less value to me outside of that range
uh
at 200 you have to place the target in between circles and the crosshairs are outside that ( like you stated byron, your eye is naturally drawn to the intersection of the crosshairs)
***i actually center my rifle and loads at 200 yds which creates other complications but i digress***
so now at 200 yds you have to train (for me it was retrain)
your eye to center the target on the middle of an 8

at 300 yds, the next circle you sight...
i found that at that distance the circle becomes intrusive
and covers much of the target unless the magnification is really increased
i think it is very useful on a much larger target such as elk
and believe that this type of reticle was designed for long shots in big open country with big game
i live out west and do have shots at 200 yds and on rare occasions 300 yds
(i actually find that MOST of the time i have a scope on 4x and actually do a lot of snap-shooting at around 100 yds)
and most of my shots at 200 yds are at 4x
(when a coyote "hangs up" on me at 200 yds i am reluctant to make the movement to adjust a scope)

i have found that crosshairs which reduce in the center to very fine lines with hashmarks for extended ranges are better for me

and actually my dream scope for coyotes (which i don't own)
would be 50 mm objective (lots of light) fixed at 4x for a large field of view (i shoot a rifle with both eyes open...i know...weird) and heavy crosshairs reducing to fine lines with hashmarks for different ranges

thanks for the great review pard
first class
just like everything else you do

guero
 
Well I probably should just keep quiet on this scope, but I guess I can't. First, I want to say that I am impressed that Nikon would take the time to try and cater to the predator hunter market. That is very cool and I hope other optics companies will consider doing the same. Second, while I think the retical is an interesting concept I still do not think they have "nailed it" and it would not surprise me if they change it eventually. Third, Byron wrote a fantastic review and I really appreciate him taking the time to do so. Heck, it almost made me reconsider the scope and half tempted me to buy one, just for curiosity sake if nothing else. However, I think I will still hold off for a bit. So Byron, when you start hawking your Leupolds to replace them with Nikon Coyote scopes let me know. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
If you can group like Byron did, smaller animals aren't an issue.

You might have trouble with prairie dogs out at long ranges, but that's not what the scope was made for. They have their own niche products.

Don't believe they have an illuminated dot for the circle either.

As someone that has shot competition using military sights, I can tell you that your "minds eye" finds the center of a circle without problem. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Hope that helps some, SC.
 
Quote:
You might have trouble with prairie dogs out at long ranges, but that's not what the scope was made for. They have their own niche products.




That is an excellent point Barry...

It seems the trend toward 'specializing' guns for specific duties has become more the norm these days than the "one gun to do it all" rifle/calibers of the past...

The amazing array of quality game specific bullets on the market has been mirrored by custom barrel makers and 'smiths willingness to turn out top notch products and tailored wildcats for maximizing their effectiveness on ____fill in the critter____

Up until recently, the optics industry has been slow to keep track in developing a game specific optic. Yes, the good ol' 3-9x40 duplex works for anything, but why not have a scope designed for aiming & hitting an animal that compliments a hunter's special recipe bullet/load from his custom built rifle? It only makes sense...

That said, I think it's GREAT to see a big name scope manufacturer get 'into the ballgame' with a game specific optic designed for predator hunting. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif Kudos to Nikon, Gary Robinson & Byron South for bringing us lowly predator hunters some recognition with a scope designed just for US... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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Quote:
Well I probably should just keep quiet on this scope, but I guess I can't. First, I want to say that I am impressed that Nikon would take the time to try and cater to the predator hunter market. That is very cool and I hope other optics companies will consider doing the same. Second, while I think the retical is an interesting concept I still do not think they have "nailed it" and it would not surprise me if they change it eventually. Third, Byron wrote a fantastic review and I really appreciate him taking the time to do so. Heck, it almost made me reconsider the scope and half tempted me to buy one, just for curiosity sake if nothing else. However, I think I will still hold off for a bit. So Byron, when you start hawking your Leupolds to replace them with Nikon Coyote scopes let me know. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif



I am seriously thinking about taking the plunge on this scope for my R-15. I would still like to see an aiming dot or an illuminated dot. I agree with Ursus in that there may be some modifications before the final product hits the market in force.

I am going to wait on it though, probably until the fall. I would like to see if there are indeed modifications.

I also would love to hear some more stories of this scope in actual use in hunting situations.

Thanks for all the interesting comments. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Yeah, I think the optics zone may have underpriced them initially. The new price structure they show is the same as most others have had them all along.
 
Hello

I just came across this thread and wanted to let you know that I purchased this scope in the 4.5x40 configuration.

I had just ordered a remington Model 7 Predator chambered in 17 furball and since that particular gun came in Mossy oak brush I wanted a scope to match it. The only one I could find was this scope and it was so new that I had to wait about 3 weeks to get it.

First impression- The first thing that I noticed was that the color on the gun and the scope were very different. In the images from Byron there was a very good match between the gun and the scope but mine are not all that close. Of course the question is whether the die lot was off on the scope or the gun.

The scope was priced at 289 dollars, which I feel was a very decent price. If you want the matching mossy oak rings, though, you will need to part with an additional 43 dollars, which is quite a bit higher than the standard black ones.But I guess if you want to hear the music....

After all was said and done, I got the scope mounted and sighted in this past weekend. I haven't gotten to get out and do a ton of shooting with it, But I did run a box of shells through the gun onto paper and I did get to take out a few striped gophers with it on Saturday.

I would have to agree with the assessment that anyone looking to try to group bullets on a target would be better served with a different scope. The center circle at 100 yards is much bigger than most bullseyes and you end up trying to center a circle inside a larger circle, which is not as effective as lining up crosshairs on the target. Out at 300 yards with a 3 inch bullseye much the same happens and IMO this can limit the ability to really dial in the gun on paper before going out unless you dedicate to using more bullets to get the feel for how the reticle works. So for that I am not enjoying the new reticle.

But OTOH when out trying out the 25g v-max's on the local gopher population, I do agree that the circle can really help you to locate the target and I am looking to get more time in with real live situations to see if the circle format works. I am also curious how those circles will transpose on the vital areas of larger game at different distances and using the three different circles.

IMO unless you are sitting still and hunting stationary targets the lower circles may hinder things if anything as you are trying to decide whether to hold at the top of one circle or the bottom of the other etc.

One thing that I feel could make this scope a real winner would be to add a razor thin crosshair into the center circle. Something that would not fill up the circle but that would help to find absolute center for the times it is necessary.
 
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