Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 4X Scope Practical Hunting Distance

How far out would you feel comfortable shooting coyotes with a 223 bolt rifle topped with a 4X scope? Thanks.

350-400 yards, same as I'll shoot deer and elk with my 30-06 and a 4x Leupold.

I think that varies based on skill and practice. How far can the Rifleman hit six inch steel/targets from field positions would answer that question.

I've killed coyotes to 350 yards with a 4x scope and never felt handicapped.

He ask about "you", not the general hunting population. Personally I would not use a fixed anything except binos.

I have killed groundhogs at 300 yards with a 4X scope and I am as blind as the proverbial bat.

I would not encourage "the general hunting population" to attempt to test their marksmanship.

I've shot a deer at 435 yards with a 4x. I think I would struggle to hit a coyote at that distance unless he was in the open with a background of snow.

But half that distance would not be hard at all. Basically, the "point-blank range" of a 223 on a coyote (about 225 yards) would be quite doable with a 4x.

I think they're good for at least 300 yards.

The rule of thumb is 100 yards for every increase in power. So a 3X is 300 yards, a 6X is 600 yards. In my area of hills and thick trees a 100 yard shot for deer is tough to find. Again I am biased, but wind drift, bullet drop, and judging distance is a difficult task for most guys. So 4X is OK, because most guys should never shoot beyond 400 yards. Seeing a coyote at 400 yards is probably not going to happen around here, maybe 200 at best. Could I shoot a kill zone the size of six inch plate at 350-400 yards in a slight shifting wind with a 223, the answer would be not really. I have shot rifle silhouette for 20 years, and I know my limits. Static targets, at a known distance, from a bench rest, is very different from leaning a against a tree as a coyote bobs in the brush.

People over-think this scope stuff. I know of several wives that have shot elk at over 35 miles from the living room with nothing more than iron sights...

woods_walker,



"you" still didn't answer his question.

As far as the .223 will effectively shoot flat. Around 300 yards.