Nikon Coyote Special

[predatorkiller034]

Has anyone used the Nikon Coyote Special scope? How did it perform and would you recommend buying one?

[625]

http://www.opticstalk.com/nikon-coyo...046_page1.html

http://arealmansreviews.blogspot.com...x40-scope.html

Found these two reviews quickly after using Google. I'd guess there are more.

I love Nikon scopes. Just got a Prostaff for Christmas. Also have a Monarch and VSD red dot. Both have been great so far.

[hesserdude07]

i have a brand new Nikon buckmaster (BDC) on a brand new remington 700 .308. Brought home 2 big doe this season...

I love my scope, and i know its the exact same as the coyote scope. 100% recommend!!

[bman940]

I am also a big Nikon fan but I do some work for them so what do you expect?
Of course I have only worked for them for 6 months and I have been using their scopes for 16 +years so going to work for them was an easy decision. When you work for a company that makes products you believe in and use it is easy to relay my experiences on to others when they ask a question.
I have the Coyote Special 4.5-14 and I love it. It is on a DPMS AR in .243
It is a scope that will let you go out and make that quick running shot on a coyote at 400+ yards if need be. I encourage you to go to Nikonhunting.com and click on the Spot On logo in the upper right corner and then register to use this site. It'll make shooting so much easier and it's all free!
You can print a field reference chart to put on your stock as well.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Bart
Nikon Pro Staff

[Tomcat088]

I am also a big Nikon fan but I do some work for them so what do you expect?
Of course I have only worked for them for 6 months and I have been using their scopes for 16 +years so going to work for them was an easy decision. When you work for a company that makes products you believe in and use it is easy to relay my experiences on to others when they ask a question.
I have the Coyote Special 4.5-14 and I love it. It is on a DPMS AR in .243
It is a scope that will let you go out and make that quick running shot on a coyote at 400+ yards if need be. I encourage you to go to Nikonhunting.com and click on the Spot On logo in the upper right corner and then register to use this site. It'll make shooting so much easier and it's all free!
You can print a field reference chart to put on your stock as well.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Bart
Nikon Pro Staff

I agree that the scopes are nice, and work well. They have good glass, and the reticle system works well for quick hold overs. I still think that there's some BS'ing and exaggerations being made in your post, and I'll mention why.

The reticle system is accurate and subtends properly for coyotes on the model you mentioned, at 14x. If you want it to work at other magnifications, some mental adjustments and corrections have to be made, AND it has to be dialed EXACTLY to the power where those corrections are correct. As a long range shooter, even 400 yards under field conditions and in a rush, isn't exactly an "easy" shot. It's not a hard shot, but it's far from a slam dunk, especially for the average shooter. Most wouldn't shoot at a coyote, or even see a coyote at 400 yards, unless it was sitting still. So most people aren't going to outright shoot at a running coyote at 400 yards, so again, he's sitting still. Most of those people are going to dial their scopes up to the highest power so that they can see him a bit better at 400 yards. So let's say they shoot and miss, and that's why the coyote is running. I don't know about everybody else, but I actually HAVE shot at running coyotes at 400 yards, and I dang sure ain't going to be doing it at 14x. I've done it at 12x, but most of the time I prefer to be zoomed out even a bit more. This gives 2 options, the person can attempt to shoot at the magnification that they're at, and probably fail miserably. The second option is that they can attempt to PERFECTLY dial down to some other magnification that they know the reticle adjustment for, and get back on target of something moving 30mph or faster. You have to get on target, do the correction in your head, and take the shot before the animal takes cover, or gets to an even greater distance where your hold for 400 yards doesn't matter anyways.

I'm sorry, but most people aren't going to make the shot. Most people either won't get on target, or won't dial down perfectly to the other magnification, or will just forget what the subtension adjustment value was. If those were the only factors to consider, that would be hard enough. The truth of the matter is, they're NOT. Brad, how many times have you shot at a coyote on a dead full run, 90 degrees to you, at 400+ yards? For those that aren't familiar with the leads, even with a 75 grain .243 bullet going 3,500 fps (a fair load) at 30mph (sometimes faster), it's over 5 ft. WITHOUT any correction for wind. Then you'd have to adjust that amount for more or less depending on which way it's running relative to the wind.

I'm sorry, but whether or not you're at 14x, holding 5 ft. in front of a target moving that fast is difficult to measure. A little circle that helps you know how much drop the bullet has is NOT going to help you with the lead. So someone ends up trying to hold that little dot, out in the middle of space over 5 ft. in front of the target (which is not easy), or you're just looking out into space on the horizontal and trying to keep the circle's height mark on the coyote. There's no horizontal measurement or stadia to help you much on the lead. It's a good system, especially for shooting at stationary targets, at reasonable distances. All this other talk about it being a scope that will let you be ready to take a shot at a running coyote at 400 yards is HOGWASH. Someone who is consistently making that shot at 400 yards, will do it with whatever scope they like, and it has NOTHING (or very little) to do with the scope or the reticle. Someone who isn't used to making that shot, will not make it statistically any more often than if they got lucky with a duplex, target dot, or any other reticle. The scopes are nice, and the software is helpful for people not familiar with making these types of corrections or using other reticle systems.

I'm not trying to take this whole discussion off topic, but I felt like this is necessary. Come on man, be honest, don't fill these people full of bullcrap. You're exaggerating and trying to sell a product, but pretend that you're not. It's bullshit, the reticle is NOT going to help you take a shot at a running coyote at 400+ yards, trust me, I know. I just bring this point up because it's something I want the OP to understand. The circles mainly help you with the elevation value, and only slightly with the wind value. Shooting relatively small sized targets at 300 yards or more WILL require adjustments on your windage. So it's not as simple as just holding the circle over the target and firing. You WILL have to hold the circle some amount off center to account for the wind. There is no other reference point to help you in this value except for the edge of the circle, and the place where it goes to a thicker stadia. Come on people, don't buy into all the hype and marketing. It's a good reticle and it will help for certain things, but you gotta shoot with it and practice with it at those distance. It's not going to make you much of a better shooter at 400 yards, if you don't use it often at 400 yards. This reticle isn't going to really help you on movers going at some unknown distance, or 30 mph at 400 yards. I'm sorry Bart, but you trying to feed this drivel to people is an insult to their intelligence. Either you think they don't have any, which is sad because you're taking advantage of them; or you think that they know better, but just won't say anything. That is just a bunch of marketing hype. Seriously though, have you ever shot at coyote not running directly away from you at 400+ yards? If so, how often?

[Fr0sty]

I had this big response typed up and I killed it for this. One of rigs would look like this on that shot.

Range: 400yd (assuming a ranged target)
Wind: 10mph left to right

Adjustments:
Elev: None (Zeroed @ 200y)
Wind: 2 Minutes left

Moving?

I wouldn't take the shot with the little knowledge I have of coyotes.

[bman940]

PK, I am very surprised you did not get any replies to your post.
Nikon had a Predator Week in Jan. and there were a huge number of replies and many from Pa. I guess you have to look pretty hard to find some place that doesn't have coyotes. I have used the Coyote Special scope and I like it. No, not just because I do some work for Nikon but because it has the BDC style reticle and it lets you easily pick up your target and make a lethal shot. I always tell guys to check out Nikonhunting.com, click on the Spot On logo, it'll take you to a free site That will let you enter everything from your scope to your ammo and give you the corresponding distances for each of the circles on your Coyote Special/BDC scope. It is a pretty awesome program. Defintely you'll need range time to get used tot he scope, it's not a fine target style reticle, it's designed for shooting predators.
Check out nikonhunting.com and the Spot ON site and let me know what you think. Many of my friends in Mn. are just now able to get out and start predator hunting because of all the snow and bitter cold. Down her in N. Tx we have only had to stop for a week or 2 because of ice and yes snow, now we are back into the 70's.
I hope this info. helps?
Bart
Nikon Pro Staff