Revamped my predator setup this year

[grampy]

On 1/20/2017 at 8:20 AM, WNYBuckHunter said:

The UPS guy stopped at my place yesterday and dropped off my Wicked Lights set. I got it all rigged up on my rifle and lined the gun light up with my scope. I have to say, this setup is super nice now. I can see my crosshairs way better than I was able to with my hand held spotlight, and at full magnification on my scope and the light intensity at its max, I can see every little blade of grass at 200 yards, and would be able to ID an animal at 250 to 300 yards with no problem at all. I wouldnt shoot that far at night, but 100 to 150 yards will be no sweat. The scanning headlamp is great as well, very adjustable, light weight and comfortable.The best thing about the lights is they each have a rheostat switch, which allows you to dim them. Not just a couple of high/low settings, but fully dimable. The only complaint I have is the gun light mount. It has windage and elevation adjustment knobs on it, but no type of set screw or anything, so when you focus the light, it moves a bit, which takes the center of the beam out of the center of your scope. Im going to look for a different mount for it at some point to get rid of that issue. Overall though, its a sweet setup. Ill get some pics of the light output tonight when I go hunting.

 

Does this set up seem top heavy at all? When sighting does it want to roll side to side. Probably sounds like a dumb question, but I've never shot anything like this, so I'm curious. And by the way, I love the looks of your set up and I'm sure it is the nuts for predator hunting!

[WNYBuckHunter]

4 hours ago, grampy said:

Does this set up seem top heavy at all? When sighting does it want to roll side to side. Probably sounds like a dumb question, but I've never shot anything like this, so I'm curious. And by the way, I love the looks of your set up and I'm sure it is the nuts for predator hunting!

Not at all. It's super steady especially on the bipod. I was wondering that as well but it's good. 

Thanks, I think it looks pretty good as well. 

[TreeGuy]

Nope. Scope stays the same on this gun. I saw your posts over on the predator forum. I replied to you about the Crossfire II. With this scope I can see a long way at night. The higher end glass like the Viper line does better at light collection so you don't need a larger diameter. The scope you have will most likely be what I put on my AR build though. Unless I go with a night vision scope. Not sure on that yet. Thermal is really nice but too much for me to lay out for a good setup. You're talking 5k plus. I can get an IR setup for less than a grand. I'll probably stick with conventional optics. My insides hurt a bit for what I've spent on predator stuff this year lol. 

Ha ! So many forums, so little time. The illuminated reticle sold me ( and the price tag, my insides hurt too) Not sure what area your in but if you wanted to "test drive" on a flat top, pm me. I'm in Erie county. Always wish I could test stuff prior to purchase !

[TACC]

Nice set up.
My question is with the ported barrel has it negatively affected second shots capabilities in regards to your vision with the gasses coming in more of a vertical direction?

Sent from my 9006W using Tapatalk

[chas0218]

17 hours ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Nope. Scope stays the same on this gun. I saw your posts over on the predator forum. I replied to you about the Crossfire II. With this scope I can see a long way at night. The higher end glass like the Viper line does better at light collection so you don't need a larger diameter. The scope you have will most likely be what I put on my AR build though. Unless I go with a night vision scope. Not sure on that yet. Thermal is really nice but too much for me to lay out for a good setup. You're talking 5k plus. I can get an IR setup for less than a grand. I'll probably stick with conventional optics. My insides hurt a bit for what I've spent on predator stuff this year lol. 

Nightvision? You living in the 90s still? haha If you're going to drop the coin go thermal/flir.

[WNYBuckHunter]

9 hours ago, TACC said:

Nice set up.
My question is with the ported barrel has it negatively affected second shots capabilities in regards to your vision with the gasses coming in more of a vertical direction?

Sent from my 9006W using Tapatalk
 

Yes, the flash from the brake blinds you. Found that out this morning.

[WNYBuckHunter]

48 minutes ago, chas0218 said:

Nightvision? You living in the 90s still? haha If you're going to drop the coin go thermal/flir.

$1k vs $5-6k? To shoot foxes and coyotes with pretty much zero payback? No thanks lol

[chas0218]

20 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

$1k vs $5-6k? To shoot foxes and coyotes with pretty much zero payback? No thanks lol

Think of the versatility! haha Give it a few years when it isn't a brand new technology they will come down just like Night Vision I remember when the Gen I were close to 3k for a nice scope. Now like you said 1k for something top of the line.

[WNYBuckHunter]

1 hour ago, chas0218 said:

Think of the versatility! haha Give it a few years when it isn't a brand new technology they will come down just like Night Vision I remember when the Gen I were close to 3k for a nice scope. Now like you said 1k for something top of the line.

Maybe someday when it drops in price, bot for now I will probably just be sticking with regular optics and lights.

[turkeyfeathers]

1 hour ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Yes, the flash from the brake blinds you. Found that out this morning.

Dead coyote as result ?

[WNYBuckHunter]

52 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Dead coyote as result ?

I will find out when I get home from work. Took a quick look after the shot, if I hit him I think he went into the thick stuff below our pond.

[TreeGuy]

Good luck on recovery.... As far as thermal I'm with you on hoping that tech becomes cheaper. I cannot get a thermal and keep my wife....

[WNYBuckHunter]

So I found a bunch of hair where the coyote was when I took the shot. It rained a bit yesterday so no blood. I covered about 30ish yards of thick stuff nearby, but no luck.

[grampy]

41 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

So I found a bunch of hair where the coyote was when I took the shot. It rained a bit yesterday so no blood. I covered about 30ish yards of thick stuff nearby, but no luck.

I'd bet that there is one less yote running around your property today. Too bad, you didn't find him right there though.

[Lawdwaz]

Last night in a dream I got two shots off at a wolf. Hit him with the first shot and the bolt didn't pick up the second cartridge from the magazine.  I had to manually thumb it into the chamber.  No steady rest for the first shot or second.  He was hit with both rounds but then I woke up and had to pee.  Weird huh?

Funny thing about it is the wolf thing came from one of the posters in the thread about Dream Hunts elsewhere here and the failure to chamber a round had to come from that same scenario with Dad's Kimber this past fall. 

Sorry for the derailment of a fine thread. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

So I got back from a week long work trip yesterday and checked my bait pile cam. Looks like I hit the coyote last week for sure, must have nicked him. Hes sporting a limp now, but seems to be getting around just fine. Hopefully I can bust him out there again and finish what I started.

 

 

[PREDATE]

They sure can be tricky to kill sometimes. I once lost a coyote after thumping it with 2 rounds of buckshot.