I'm a big believer in low end variables for fast sight acquisition and the Leupold would be dandy for what you have in mind. I wouldn't concern myself with seeing the barrel. I've used mine on .22LR squirrel rifles with great results! Keep your focus on the coyote and just completely forget about everything else! That's what I did with squirrels and it worked perfectly.
There IS one major advantage of a 2x-7x that hardly ever gets mentioned. The OPTIMUM magnification (much better than 4x) for low light shooting is at 6x or 7x (depending on the individual scope. If you're doing alot of shooting in low-light situations, this may a consideration.--- Mike
