I was thinking either a Leupold Dot, Target Dot, or Fine Crosshairs?

I have a mildot on my Pdog gun but I don't think the mildot is necessary for coyotes...or is it?

I use all kinds of ballistic reticles for coyotes, but i'm trying to get some of them when they're way out there as well, as i'm a spot and stalk hunter mostly these days. FCH and simple dot reticles r fine but don't help much with holdover when ranges stretch and u need to get a shot off quickly. Even the simple plex reticle can perform triple duty as the simplest of ballistic and rangefinding reticles, in fact more than it's original intent--to draw the eye to the center in low-light conditions, IMO.

you would be surprised on how well a turkey plex "style reticle" works...even for long distance shots...

the key is how well it works for quick target acquisition...close or near...

it is normally on lower powered shotgun scopes tho.. but a 2 x 7 or 3 x 9 would work out just fine.. it is especially easy for fast moving targets at longer distances... a lot better than a cross hair, or dot.. as I have both of those on scopes also,

a German # 4 from Leupold is also an unconventional reticle, but is very hand for fast moving game at longer distances.. as you have a bigger aiming point and a more uncluttered field of view...

even a heavy duplex cross hair is excellent compared to regular duplex.. for distance game moving quickly.. your eyes focus faster on the target...

Ended up putting my 4-14x40 Leupy with the LRD on it


...had the scope sitting around NIB so I figured I don't need to spend more money on another scope

Nikon BDC.

quote:

Originally posted by Buglemintoday:
I was thinking either a Leupold Dot, Target Dot, or Fine Crosshairs?

I have a mildot on my Pdog gun but I don't think the mildot is necessary for coyotes...or is it?

My $.02....

In my actual experience the Target Dot (on my 6.5-20 Vari X III) is too fine/small to show up well in contrasting shade-cover-leaves etc.

Saw the thread and had a completely different picture in mind. Hunting them up north involves calling at night with a moon and some snow to give background. We sit rockbreaks and watch large fields in moonlight for coyotes that respond to our rabbit in distress wails. Some guys sit in blinds and watch over bait but the calling is more fun.....and mobile. Takes a pretty bright scope and a good heavy reticle to make it work usually....pretty warm clothes are a plus also Not trying to hijack your thread......just neat how things vary from area to area.

Dave

I prefer the long range varmint reticle on my leupy

I'm partial to the KISS principal, so I have a bunch of fine crosshair scopes, and a few with Lee dots. I pick the one that would be appropriate for the purpose. A 2 minute dot on my 2-7x would be my choice. When the dot is the same size as the dog, it's too far. It's not, of course, but it takes a little care. My coyote hunting is from a call, and the rifle is a wildcat .250.
If you shoot mostly longish ranges, you might go to a .5 minute dot, and after a while get used to judging from THAT size. You get experienced at judging quickly, rather than counting the "dots" on an animal. You would also choose a flatter-shooting cartridge.
Have fun,
Gene

Standard duplex, if hunting at night with a spotlight an illuminated duplex is useful.

Simpler the better, scope is usually set at 4x while calling and rarely goes above that.

You've gotta practice for the oddball shots you'll get in varmint calling. Practice from sitting, swiveling to shoot from extreme left or right. Shoot offhand, start from a sitting position and rise up and shoot. Shoot right handed, left handed. Etc, etc.

Practicing that at home by dry firing helps too.

Coyote, bobcat or fox silhouettes cut from 3/16" sheet metal on swinger racks placed at various ranges makes it more fun. blow too many holes through em', just pop rivet another piece over it and paint it.

I use old appliances, a stencil and a plasma cutter to make silhouettes.

For night hunting I am required to use a handheld light with self contained batteries so that must be practiced too.

Leupolds varmit reticle can be shot at 200,300,400,500 yards with no field adjustments, it has windage marks for each of those yardages at aprox 10 mph and 20 mph. In my opinion it is the most advanced shooting system to date.. You can adjust the drop sequence for your own velocity and balistic coeficent by moving the power setting where it works for you.. There is a large triange and small triangle, but you can personally set it in between those.. dave

I am completely sold on my Nightforce scope with the NP-2DD recital. With the 1/8 min. dot you can truly aim small and not miss. You can still see the PD's out around 1000 to 1200 yards. It has points that can be used to adjust for drop and wind.

On my get serious coyote rifle which is a remington 700 in 25-06 I have the standard leupold duplex.
On stand I have it set at 5 power because for the majority of shots that is plenty and if I have to take a poke way out there then you usually have time to turn it up.

The key in reticle size for daylight hunting is how easy they are to pick up in a hurry against any background or furry target.
A fine dot is great for PD's but silly for yotes.
I have friends that swear by the dang silly little things, and I kill the ones that they are missing because I keep it simple.

No bipods... shooting sticks instead, bold easy to see reticle, set on no more than 5.
patience, stillness, awareness, playing the wind, shooting straight and staying calm and clear headed and you will whack em.

For coyotes and most varmints, I have found that the standard duplex works best for me: not too heavy for daylight, and not too thin for night. I have found the dot and varmint reticles too thin for low light. I have never seen a heavy reticle in a varmint scope.
Lou

On my Nikon scopes, I prefer the standard Nikoplex reticle for coyotes. For day or night calling, it works just fine.

The Burris ballistic plex reticle is my favorite for both day and nightime hunting. The 4.5-14 FFII (normally @ 4.5 power) on an AR is powerful predator medicine. Seldom need the BP feature, but once in a while one hangs up far enough out to be useful.

Regards,
hm

I have a Burris Ballistic Plex Illuminated in 3x9 on my 223 for coyotes. Works very, very well for me. I've found the 9X works fine as 52gr bullets get pretty skatey in the usually windy winter conditions I generally fine myself calling in. Anything over 300 yds and I feel "really special" if I hit it on the first try. For pre-dawn and dusk, the illuminated reticle is fantastic especially if the animal is up against a dark background, even at close range.

The Nightforce NP-1RR reticle has a series of rangeing stadias and circles that correspond to 8" and 18" objects at the given ranges. It's very quick and simple to use, and a coyote fits nicely into 18".
You get 300 400 500 600 700 & 800 yard references, which is probably a bit nore than you need, however you can look at that as being 150 200 250 300 350 & 400 if you double the refenerce scale (or half the magnification). Simple and instant feedback.

http://www.nightforceoptics.com/RETICLES_OVERVIEW/RETIC...reticles_detail.html

I would have to agree that the varmit reticle would not be the best for very low light shooting, but during half hour before sunup, half hour after sundown its fine unless clowdy etc . If i wanted to shoot at predawn, or after sunset i would set up a gun for that, with a scope made for those conditions.. Ive done enough hunting and trapping at night to know that it poses some problems/dangers that im not exiceted about getting back into.. If your in a safe spot as evening falls and you know your shooting areas that are safe, i can see where the low light scopes would be an asset.. At that point i would want a different scope altogether tho, not grouping the varmit scoped gun in with the low light predator scoped gun .. dave