Scopes for Coyote Hunting

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 3/6/2019 | M Collins

[w1n1]

What should you top that AR-15 with?
Scope selection varies by region, usual range to target, time of day you're afield. Hunting a natural predator can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience. There's nothing quite like hunting something that can be just as clever and canny as you are.
Coyotes fit this bill nicely. They're smart, fast, tough creatures that also happen to be destructive to livestock and other game animals like pheasant and quail. All of this combines to make coyote hunts a popular and enjoyable pastime.

That is, if you can actually hit the sneaky suckers. Coyotes are a challenging animal to hunt. They're smarter than a lot of common game animals like whitetail and even turkeys, and they’re stealthy and cautious at all times.
If you’re looking to go after this wily creature, you better make sure that you and your gear are up to the task, or you’re sure to go home empty handed.
Today, we’re going to be talking about one of, if not the most important piece of gear for coyote hunting: your optic. Coyotes are small, fast, and sometimes like to hunt in low light around dawn and dusk, so you’ll need all the help you can get if you want to down some song dogs this year. A good optic is a strong step in the right direction, while a poor one will definitely leave you hanging out to dry.

OVERVIEW
There are so many different high-end choices out there these days that choosing just one to mount on your rifle is somewhat of a daunting task. How do you pick one scope from the thousands that are out there? Well, first you need to define your needs.
A 40x target scope and a 3-9x hunting scope can both be perfectly good scopes, but for dramatically different types of shooting. You will likely be hunting varmints from a distance, so you won’t have a need for a red-dot sight or a high-priced optic like a holographic EOTech sight.
For coyote and other varmint hunting, here's what you need.

Magnification is the most contentious, and also most subjective, part about choosing any scope, and that almost goes double for choosing a predator scope for coyote hunting. The magnification you need is going to vary wildly based on your environment, your rifle, and even your personal skill level. Read the rest of scopes for coyote hunting.

[MrEdd]

AR15?
Use a Barrett .50 for coyotes.
Get them just as they cross the border.

[Lurker]

“or a high-priced optic like a holographic EOTech sight.”

Yet there’s an ACOG on the rifle in the picture. They run anywhere from $900-$1,500. This is absolutely the worst shooting blog ever.

L

[Travis McGee]

I know the story is about coyote/varmint hunting, but I live in the SE where thick woods are the norm.

This is what I have on my ARs: Burris 332s, and I'm a "satisfied customer." (Two of them cost less than one Trijicon.)

[Travis McGee]

See 4.

[Osage Orange]

Wish there were 5 k of you....

[ManHunter]

I put a Nikon M223 mount and M223 4-16X scope on my FN DMR and I like it/them a lot.

[Vaquero]

I’ve noticed a switch to scopes adjustable in the field to help dope the wind etc. they have turrets that can be adjustable and a button to go back to zero.

I have shooting acquaintances that have these and seem happy with them. I tend to hunt within my abilities. 200 yd maximum Of course I live in the NE where most shots are usually 50-60 yards in dense forests. At the range I dope the wind and use Kentucky windage to compensate. I try to buy decent brand scopes but have done real well with scopes like a tasco that I purchased about 1982 or so. I could put it in the safe mounted on my Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. And for 6-7 hunting seasons take it out and it would be dead on and my rifle would print sub-moa groups. Lately I’ve bought lower priced Leupolds and find them excellent. The prices of some scopes are ridiculously high, but hey, I suppose they perform, so good luck to those who buy and use them

Variables is pretty much what I own. 2-7. 3-9. I keep them set at the lowest setting and have never had to raise them. But none the less they are available if I need them.

[yarddog]

I can remember when I lived in Western Kansas, a friend and I were hunting in the Finney County Wildlife area. At one time it had been a lake but was dry.

We both had deer tags, me a doe tag and he anything including fawns which we would not have shot. We watched a bunch of coyotes for nearly an hour. They were just walking around not paying attention to us or anything else that we could tell.

Now I am back home in the Florida woods. Last year I was standing at my bathroom window looking out at my pear tree. There were a few on the ground. Suddenly a flash, a pear gone and the flash went back in the bushes.

It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened. A coyote had darted from the bush, grabbed a pear then disappeared all within a second.

I could not have shot him even if I had a gun ready and already aimed. I hear them sometimes but seeing them is almost impossible.

I have seen them at night crossing the road tho.

[Carriage Hill]

I use an old 2003 Trijicon ACOG 4 x 32; haven’t missed yet.

[Lurker]

Those look nice. We opted for Aimpoint red dots. We got two for the price of a single ACOG. And they do just fine out to 300 yards or so once you figure out the drops.

Sadly my town frowns upon shooting coyotes. Which is a shame because they’re thick around here. On garbage nights there will be 2 or 3 prowling the suburban block we live on picking easy meals out of the cans.

One morning a neighbor’s boy was sitting at the school bus stop when one strolled up to him and snatched his bag lunch right out of his hands. Mom was watching him through the window when it happened.

Boy did she freak.

L

[Hot Tabasco]

I can remember when I lived in Western Kansas

I pheasant hunted around Logan KS a few times. Every time we spotted a coyote it was after it had spotted us and high tailing it out of the area. Watched one run full speed for about a half mile before it stopped and turned around to look at us then took off running again......

The farmer who would let us hunt his property hunts coyotes with greyhounds

[yarddog]

Western Kansas was good territory for shooters. My shooting and hunting buddy was friends with Alvin Dewey who caught the criminals of the “In Cold Blood” book.

We would plink and hunt rabbits within sight of the Clutter house. It was across the dry Arkansa River from Dewey’s property.

[Mogger]

https://www.atncorp.com/x-sight2-hd-day-night-rifle-scope-3-14x

[onona]

Thanks for the tip Travis. I will check them out when I pick up my M4

[Lurker]

That’s mighty fancy. Not sure how much abuse it would take in the field, though.

L

[T-Bird45]

Interesting that you observed one just dart in and out to grab a pear. I had two coyotes linger for quite a while under my persimmon tree to munch up anything left behind by the deer. They also spent some time marking the territory with urine to keep the deer away from “their” persimmons.

[Travis McGee]

I’m very happy with mine. I do fine in carbine drills up close, and it’s pure gain (especially for older eyes) from 50 yards to 500.
BTW, it has a permanent etched reticle, so even with a dead battery, it still works. (Unlike pure red dot sights.)

[kaintucky]

I hunt heavy cover with some open fields. I use my twelve gauge with 3 1/2 magnum loads with 4 shot. Mounted a rail with a dbal I2 for night shooting and open sights for day.

Am building a 22-250 on a Remington 700 action with a remage barrel. Got a leupold mark IV 4.5 x 14 and will give it a try for ground hogs this summer and maybe yotes next winter. Should work well on an out West prairie dog shoot.

[Mogger]

That’s mighty fancy. Not sure how much abuse it would take in the field, though.

Just as rugged, if not more so than an optical scope.