Red dot for coyote ?

Keith Karr

Keith Karr

Well-known member
I’m setting up a shotgun for coyote hunting and was wondering how many of y’all have used a red dot on your shotgun.

I’ve talked to one of the members here and he’s had good luck with one.

I’m going to pattern and try different chokes first and see how it shoots before I would ever put one on.

I would like to hear from some other folks that use a red dot on their thoughts……specifically is it harder to hit a moving Yote with the red dot or not.

Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated !
 
Kieth, I have Burris fast fires on my turkey side by side and my coyote 870 and think they are great. Turks are always standing still and coyotes are never more than a walk so can’t agree or disagree with old cat Joey.
 
I've tried a red dot and a holographic sight on my 870 and have found them to be to high and have gone to a 1.5-4x20 Leupold freedom w/pig plex. My drilling 16ga/16ga/6.5x58R wears a Leupold VX-II 1-4x20 shotgun scope. Indo have holographic sights on my boss as they don't require a good cheek weld.
 
jmeddy said:
Kieth, I have Burris fast fires on my turkey side by side and my coyote 870 and think they are great. Turks are always standing still and coyotes are never more than a walk so can’t agree or disagree with old cat Joey.
Click to expand...
I can't agree with the part of your statement that coyotes are never more than a walk. When coyotes come in multiples and you take one out with the first shot the rest almost always leave with the afterburner kicked in!
 
I recently added a RDS to one of my SG's... I've used the same RDS on Glock pistols to shoot running hogs successfully out to about 25-30 yards, so while I've yet to use the SG under a running target situation, I have no doubt it will perform as expected... which is pretty darn good.

Some folks like RDS's, some don't.



Five slugs at 50 yards from the bench...

 
Had a sig romeo 5 on my turkey/yote shotgun, liked it for still shots but not wing shots.
moved it to a big revolver, but then replaced it with a burris fastfire.
the romeo 5 is going back on the turkey/yote gun.
do like the optics and wake-up feature of the romeo 5.
 
22mag, back here the only place i use the scattergun is in the thick woods so it is a one shot and done-they are out of sight if there was more than one, which has only happened once that l remember in 12 yrs.
Hi viz type front bead worked for me until l hit 68-69, then l needed illumination at low light situations even with a full leaf canopy.
Fast fire on the 870 sits on their base tapped into the receiver and tapped into the rib just ahead of the chambers on the sxs. Both sit about 1/4” above the ribs, l just built up the cheek piece with leather.
 
I tried using a Red Dot sight for hunting coyotes thinking that it would help me in low light conditions. When I first tried the red Dot it was on a foggy day and when a coyote ran in on me I couldn't see through the Red Dot because of all the moisture on it, so the coyote got away without a shot being fired.
A few days later just before dark a coyote was heading my way at about 30 yards, when I raised my gun and looked through the Red Dot all I saw was the bright Red Dot. I couldn't see the coyote in the low light. All I could see was the bright Red Dot. So I had two coyotes get away that I would have got with out the Red Dot.
Some of the coyotes I have shot were probably running 40 mph and they took a lot of forward allowance lead to hit them. I have killed three different fast running coyotes that I can remember where I saw my pattern hit the ground behind the coyotes and lead them about 10 feet farther and killed them on the second shot.
Most of my coyote hunting a semi-auto waterfowl shotgun works much better than a turkey hunting shotgun with a pistol grip and a Red Dot sight.
Watch the below video the second coyote that Al shot, I missed on the first shot I doubled the lead and dropped it on my second shot at about 68 yards away with TSS #3 shot. I think the amount of lead was right at 15 feet.


If you can kill flying birds and break Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays targets with out a Red Dot sight on a shotgun I don't think using a Rd Dot sight for coyote hunting is a good idea.
 
I put one on my turkey gun 7-8 years ago and wouldn’t trade it for anything. To get used to it, I took it on a dove hunt just to get used to mounting the gun with it on and make sure I find that sweet spot on my face for it. I knocked down half a dozen and then went back to a “normal” shotgun. I’ve shot rabbits with it as well. Just like everything else, it takes a little bit to get used to it, but you’ll never want to run beads again on dedicated guns.
I use a Burris FFIII.
 
derbyacresbob said:
I tried using a Red Dot sight for hunting coyotes thinking that it would help me in low light conditions. When I first tried the red Dot it was on a foggy day and when a coyote ran in on me I couldn't see through the Red Dot because of all the moisture on it, so the coyote got away without a shot being fired.
A few days later just before dark a coyote was heading my way at about 30 yards, when I raised my gun and looked through the Red Dot all I saw was the bright Red Dot. I couldn't see the coyote in the low light. All I could see was the bright Red Dot. So I had two coyotes get away that I would have got with out the Red Dot.
Some of the coyotes I have shot were probably running 40 mph and they took a lot of forward allowance lead to hit them. I have killed three different fast running coyotes that I can remember where I saw my pattern hit the ground behind the coyotes and lead them about 10 feet farther and killed them on the second shot.
Most of my coyote hunting a semi-auto waterfowl shotgun works much better than a turkey hunting shotgun with a pistol grip and a Red Dot sight.
Watch the below video the second coyote that Al shot, I missed on the first shot I doubled the lead and dropped it on my second shot at about 68 yards away with TSS #3 shot. I think the amount of lead was right at 15 feet.


If you can kill flying birds and break Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays targets with out a Red Dot sight on a shotgun I don't think using a Rd Dot sight for coyote hunting is a good idea.
Click to expand...

I agree with Bob 100 percent.
 
Just curious what kind of red dot sight y’all are using with so many issues.
FFIII come with either 3MOA or 8MOA…your preference.
They also have 3 different brightness settings. Real low for those early mornings/ late evenings or real bright for bright sunny days.
Sights are made to be shot with both eyes open, not one eye shut. You should be able to see where you hit whether you have a sight on or not.
Again, if you get one, practice before hunting, lol.
 
Depending on where and when I run both a red dot or just the bead. If I’m in thick cover during the day I like a regular old bead. If at night I use a red dot.

So to elaborate a bit, before NY allowed rifles at night, our options were shotgun or rimfire. I always carried a shotgun. Red dot with red light worked fine for fields and open terrain. During day hunts in heavy cover I prefer the more instinctive style of a bead.

Turkey guns have worn red dots since the mid 90’s
 
No optics on my shotguns. There are special circumstance in which some hunters may specifically need and be more successful with an optic on the shotgun. If there is some physical problem or deformity of the shooter that prevents proper gun mounting an optic can be helpful. If the shotgun doesn't pattern the point of impact to coincide with the point of aim, then an optic can be beneficial. Otherwise, I think it is unnecessary and "may" be more of a hindrance to success than an asset. If you really want an optic on the shotgun buy a few cases of light target loads and shoot the heck out the gun/optic combination to get good with the dot. I shoot dots on AR15s and handguns a lot and it takes a bit of gunpowder and lead to become really good with the dot. I like an enclosed emitter, rather than the older open emitter type sight. With the open emitter types fog, mist, and snow can be problematic. And there are a few other issues that can occur with an optic that might render them unusable immediately. Rifles and handguns equipped with dot sights usually have open iron backup sights that co-witness with the optic in case the optic is unusable for some reason. You won't have that option on a shotgun. For the most part, a high-end dot mounted solidly is a tough rugged piece of kit and can withstand amazing amounts of abuse. Trijicon, Aimpoint, and upper-end Holosun units are all good to go if you decide that is what you want to do. Know that you will need a comb riser kit to get a solid cheek weld behind the higher-mounted optic.
 
Last edited:
hunt0168 said:
Depending on where and when I run both a red dot or just the bead. If I’m in thick cover during the day I like a regular old bead. If at night I use a red dot.

So to elaborate a bit, before NY allowed rifles at night, our options were shotgun or rimfire. I always carried a shotgun. Red dot with red light worked fine for fields and open terrain. During day hunts in heavy cover I prefer the more instinctive style of a bead.

Turkey guns have worn red dots since the mid 90’s
Click to expand...

And turkeys ain't coyotes. Such is the problem.
 
Back
Top