Coyote hunting scopes, looking at suggestions

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MartyK2500

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My buddy's dad just bought a huge land, lots and lots of acres. He will be starting coyote hunting in november 2014, since the land is infested with them and putting numbers down will help him for deer.

So here that time, i will have to get hunters course (i have rpal and regularly practice ipsc but never hunted) and my gear up and running.
I got my clothes purchases lined up, hunting equipment, rifle etc... Only part stalling me is optics.
I have something in mind, but will let some of you guys chime in to see if it's in line with what i had in mind.

Rifle will be rem 700 sps tactical, .223 20" threaded barrel 1:9 twist
Ammo will be my match loads used in armalite national match, 69gr sierra match bthp
Will install a stock, which is not necessary but will get me behind an A2 stock and postol grip, for familiarity, it's the MDT. TAC21

With all this in mind, what optic and mount would you personally use? Bearing in mind, 1000$ budget for optic/mount before taxes. Post your setup if revelent!
 
First off , open land or heavily wooded, If you have a lot of open land to hunt as the like here In Alberta some magnification may be in order.
My long range coyote rig is a 6-284 Remington twisted for light bullets. I am running 70 grainers, I run a Leupold 6.5-x 20.
Now if you are heavily wooded area and your shots are going to be close in for the most part say up close and personal like 10 yards in bush and out to say 250 yards in some open area's 2.5 x 10 would probably be a good set up. Your .223 is pretty much a 300 yard + or - range gun depending on your skills and moral compass.
There are many good choices with ballistic reticles calibrated to the .223 so fist you need to determine the terrain you are going to be hunting.

I have shot Coyotes from a calling perspective from 15 feet to my personal best of 836 paces. Which is why I have a number of Coyote rifles set up for different area's that I hunt. We have such a broad terrain conditions out in the west.

Oh yeah , because calling/hunting Coyotes often requires a lot of walking to find good calling spots and you should be at least half mile between stands, when calling you may want to reconsider your rifle choice, heavy barrel rifles get real heavy when your slogging through the snow. Heavy barrels are great for gophers when your heating it up but you will seldom get a second shot at a coyote that isn't more of a hail mary than a real second shot unless you catch them in the open.
 
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MartyK2500 said:
My buddy's dad just bought a huge land, lots and lots of acres. He will be starting coyote hunting in november 2014, since the land is infested with them and putting numbers down will help him for deer.

So here that time, i will have to get hunters course (i have rpal and regularly practice ipsc but never hunted) and my gear up and running.
I got my clothes purchases lined up, hunting equipment, rifle etc... Only part stalling me is optics.
I have something in mind, but will let some of you guys chime in to see if it's in line with what i had in mind.

Rifle will be rem 700 sps tactical, .223 20" threaded barrel 1:9 twist
Ammo will be my match loads used in armalite national match, 69gr sierra match bthp
Will install a stock, which is not necessary but will get me behind an A2 stock and postol grip, for familiarity, it's the MDT. TAC21

With all this in mind, what optic and mount would you personally use? Bearing in mind, 1000$ budget for optic/mount before taxes. Post your setup if revelent!
Click to expand...

Nikon M /P 223. 3-9x42

Purpose built for the 223 55 grain Cartridge - priced right and does what it says on the can - all the way out to 600 yards with one revelotion of the turret.
 
Ditchdogger, the terrain will have very huge open fields (500+yds) as a few bush areas. I plan on parking myself in the open, but time will say if that makes any sense. As for barrel weight, i did not research if rem has got some light barreled 1:9 twist. I don't even want to know into getting in the less twist barrels. When i shoot 69gr. out of my NM ar15 it makes a huge difference compared to 55gr., 69 gr. will accept a bit of bad weather, while 55gr. will quickly degrade in accuracy.

Kudu, thanks for the suggestion, i will write it down my research list. I will not shoot any 55gr. as lowest i will go would be 62gr. in a pinch.

Rotaxpower, i agree, 6.5x at 20yds will give me nausea!
 
When you describe your rifle and load, that lets me believe you already shoot target and likely have a good target scope/setup. Personally i would not change your target rig. Typically i drive close to a set up, walk a few hundred yards and use a E caller, so the issue would be weight to pack back and forth. The only issue may be the lower end of your variable scope, it is not uncommon to have a coyote get to bayonet distance unseen. When that happens a 6 or 8 magnification lower end is pretty useless, all one sees is hair with no reference on the animal for shot placement. Often a shotgun rather than a lower variable is the answer. Any shotgun, it does not have to be anything fancy, even a single shot. Here in BC min projectile size needs to be OO buck which is .33 cal, counter intuitively modified choke works best.

If i was you i would save the money you would spend on a different scope and buy a good e caller, camo, comfortable ground pad/chair. Perhaps since again i assume you load, play around with different projectiles. Many "varmit" loads result in grapefruit sized exit holes, i like to save the hides and this makes them un useable/worthless.

Just read your post better. IMO optics have really improved, for even half of your $1000 budget you should have many quality brand scopes to chose from. Considering the limitation of the 223 balistically and energy wise to ethically kill a coyote, something like a 4-12 range seems about right. By this i mean the 223 is used for long range matches, but paper is easier to kill than a coyote. While they are not hard to kill, one has to limit oneself to ethical distances. Most called coyotes are rather close anyways, so a giant magnification like 8-32 seems overkill. See above about too high a bottom magnification.

Just my $5 worth...2cents plus inflation
 
I like what you are saying about ethical kills, like i have said i have never hunted, but i wish to keep this humane, even if yotes are varmins.
My current target rig is well set up. But has a fixed 4x magnification, and is bolted on a carry handle. Classic trijicon acog. Right now i will admit your suggestion got me a bit mad again against our firearm laws. Using armalite 20" HBAR, 1:8 with wylde chamber. I have personally grouped 3/4"@100yds and 2-1/8"@200yds. Sierra matchking bthp 77gr.
This would be, my go to coyote firearm if i we're american.

At 500$ like you say, i would either buy a vortex viper or a leupold mark AR, if that makes any sense.
 
I recently got a Vortex viper Hs 2.5-10 in a trade from another member. Have not shot it yet but seems good glass. There are a great number of very good scopes for $500, and since recoil would not be a issue even budget models like diamondback in Vortex, or Legend in Bushnell.

Seems like you have good ...make that expensive taste in guns and optics. I would see you wanting to match quality of optic with gun. No Yugo's on Cadilacs or vice versa. Dont see a real need for a big money optic for a calling rig though. That rifle/scope combo has to live in the real world, take dings, endure mud and snow, get scraped by brush.

At this time of year there seems to be a lot of sellers on the EE, people paying Christmas bills. You might want to keep an eye out on the hunting and precision EE, your rig might be offered at a fraction of retail.
 
I personally use a Sightron S3 6-24x50mm LRMOA FFP on my Savage 12 .223 for coyotes.
Costs about 1K$
Best scope I've owned, it is exceptional.

Ive used 40 and 60grain vmax, depending on the distance. Both work very well. Ive also used some 50grain and 55grain soft points.
Im currently doing load development for some 55g double hollowpoint Calhoons I bought.

Ive taken coyotes from 15 yards to near 450 or so.
Down here in Southern Alberta, terrain ranges from brush encrusted creeks, usually with long straight-a-ways for visibility, cliffs and wide open spaces. Coyotes are very forgiving in that if you dont get them all, they usually return within a short period of time.
MY KIT:
Savage 12 BVSS .223 Single Shot 1-9"
Bolt Lift Kit
Pillar+Glass Bedded
MPOD
Sightron S3 6-24x50mm LRMOA FFP
Burris Signature Zee rigns
Weaver 0MOA Rail




 
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All I can say is use something with a bullet drop reticle and not a bullet drop dial. I have both and i do not enjoy adjusting a dial to a set range when i need to be still and quiet. When the coyote is coming and your excitement level is up. You wont want to be pissing with 'Bullet drop custom dial system'. The reticle is fast, and accurate. The bdc turrets are great and have a place, but I feel like they arent for hunting. Just my 2 cents. Everyone prefers different things.
 
nowarningshots, money is often an issue even if i like speaking of high end rigs. Let's just say while some of my buddies have easily got 10+ firearms, i never had more than 6-7, as i tend to like the high end ones. Right now, since i already own a restricted target rifle for the range, i am considering going with something budget minded for the hunt. As i a coming to realize i might not even like the hunt. So at worst i would sell rig at end of season and take a 25% loss, which would hurt less on a lower costing rig.
Nothing set in stone, but now considering mossberg MvP with 500/600$ vortex for first season. So we could say 1200$ rifle/optic combo before taxes. Mossberg does have the 1:9 i like, but many reviews call it cheapish feeling.

Madmarty, thanks for sharing experience and setup. I like seeing the most coyote setups possible before spending.

Side8urnz, thats a good point, i will research to see what i can find in terms of BDC. Putting an acog or an elcan would be out of place on a bolt, but i could probably find regular style scopes that have these.
 
Ditchdogger said:
I have shot Coyotes from a calling perspective from 15 feet to my personal best of 836 paces. Which is why I have a number of Coyote rifles set up for different area's that I hunt.
Click to expand...

^ +1 here on multiple rigs which not all of us have the luxury of, but sure helps.

3-9, 3.5-10, 4-12 or 4-16 with a 50mm objective would be good choices. Alot of shots are around that first/last light time frame, so the added light gathering of the 50mm objective really helps. Only other thing I'd suggest is a side parallax adjustment over an AO. Easier in the field to manipulate & keeps movement to a minimum when a 'Yote is coming in to the call.
 
I'd buy a Zeiss Conquest HD5, in a 4-12. I have a Conquest 3.5-10x44 on my dedicated coyote gun and its great but an HD5 is even better, looked at one yesterday. They start around $1000 and go north from there.
 
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On larger farm fields and the somewhat call shy, harassed coyotes, I use a Bushnell Elite 6-24x50 mildot on a .223 10 FCPK or a .243 Stevens with a 6-25x56 Millett mildot.

For the unmolested, not call shy, usually under 150 yd type calling, I use a .243 BAR with a Burris 1.75-5x24 or a Loopy 3x9, currently it wears the 3x9. The less you have to diddle with an optic the better off you will be.

They can come in faster than you can dial magnification or clicks. A mildot reticle and the correct choice of scope magnification can minimize getting handcuffed.
 
Rapid Z Varmint reticle in the Zeiss line.

Calculate your magnification for bullet trajectory and go hard.You have a very fine reticle with drop and windage hold offs.No need to dial in your cross-hairs.

If your shots are going to be almost all under 300 , then a basic 3-9 with quality glass for evenings/mornings is all you need.

Gonna be shooting further, go for the ballistic reticles.I like 4.5-14
 
I know i saw the exact rig you were describing on the EE. If you are not sure if you like hunting bad doggies...IMO buying a better quality rifle used over the Mossberg would be safer money wise, should you resell. A 5-600 scope will find another home, works that way for me anyways.

Sounds like you already enjoy paper punching. If hunting ends up appealing a multi purpose caliber might be worth considering. Say 243, 260, or 25-06. Not having two 223's and no deer rifle.Then you would not necessarily be having this same conversation next year as you prepare for deer season.

Maybe i have just been really fortunate, never completely burned buying used. Note to self never buy a used 10/22 selling with multiple banana clips. Semi's, other than shotguns should always be bought new.

Bryan
 
First of all your never gonna get rid of coyotes........The more you shoot,the more your gonna have next year!! Lol its true,they just breed more,they are very diverse animals,and won't ever get rid of them! The better food sources you have,and ravines the more coyotes are gonna channel in there!! Man we Shoot and Trap +200 here 15 miles radius, 4 of us,you'll will never get rid of them.....BIG PLUS LOL
 
quentin wipf said:
First of all your never gonna get rid of coyotes........The more you shoot,the more your gonna have next year!! Lol its true,they just breed more,they are very diverse animals,and won't ever get rid of them! The better food sources you have,and ravines the more coyotes are gonna channel in there!! Man we Shoot and Trap +200 here 15 miles radius, 4 of us,you'll will never get rid of them.....BIG PLUS LOL
Click to expand...
I personally love the BDC reticles on fast moving prey........they take alot of time to get dialed in,but will be very rewarding in the end!!
 
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