This is a subject I know a little about. I have used practically every Leupold, and they are generally adequate, depending on the rest of your setup. Hunting lights are important. If you are using a pot to control intensity, or a flipper light with red and amber lenses, or just a straight red light, and the distances are modest. You can also build a light with a one ohm resister and a two pole double throw switch for the two different functions, using one aircraft landing light, which has the advantage of lite weight. The light I prefer is a dual superposed light, a little heavier, with a red flat fog over a white 100 watt pencil beam. The trick is to use bare minimum illumination for "hunting" and a good tight spot for the "burn" light; which is necessary for ID and the shot. The scope you need is determined by the sophistication of your lighting equipment....speaking of the visible spectrum. Coyotes are the most light sensitive, and bobcats are the most tolerant, but either is a possibility, so you should use a bare minimum amount of light, and know how to use it.
The best scope I have for most night hunting situations, hunting spooky coyotes with very dim red light; is a 3X12X56 Kahles. The 4.5X14X50 Leupold is also a very good scope, for my type of hunting, in open country. But, depending on the quality of your eyes and your scope, you may only require a little additional light to acquire your target. This can help you, and sometimes hurt you, under a hundred different scenarios. In other words, you can brightly illuminate gray fox and bobcat and shoot them with a cheap Bushnell Banner, once you understand what's involved. Coyotes, on the other hand, can be easy, and they can be difficult. You need good optics and dim intensity to really do well on coyotes. That is what is needed to bring them within range, but you still need adequate light to see the body, so you had better learn how to construct a decent hunting light, and also learn how to use it. Best all around color is red, but amber is very good for everything, except it is second best for coyotes. In other words, a good scope and rifle is only part of the system. BTW, a dot reticle is the worst possible choice, and I have never used a lighted reticle.
Good hunting. LB
edit: resist buying high magnification variables, no matter who makes them. You do not need over twelve power for 99% of your shots, and most shots will be taken at 5 or 6 power. A 6X24 scope is a bad choice, regardless of the tube and the objective diameter.
[ 10-03-2004: Message edited by: LB ]