Getting within 5-15 yards of a coyote is rare but not impossible. I wouldn't hunt coyote with anything less than a 30 cal 100 fpe here in N.Y.
Upvote 0
Pellets or slugs close range coyote?
- Thread starter Backstop2025
- Start date
If theyre that close I also might recommend some scheels wire snares or leg traps too. That is an investment in time and making sure you don't get any pets tho. A pellet could dispatch a caught yote
Upvote 0
IMHO!!
Pellet . No worries at all with it being that close range and .30 cal .
You are golden Sir.
Pellet . No worries at all with it being that close range and .30 cal .
You are golden Sir.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I prefer slugs for several reasons. I use 150-grain boat-tail slugs, as pellets do not come in that weight. The 150-grain slugs travel at 990 fps, while pellets are unstable at such speeds. With over 300 ft-lbs of energy, I am confident that a lung shot—being an easier target—will penetrate both lungs, and at distances of 170 to 180 yards it' still doing heavy damage. It's always best to be overpowered than underpowered when it comes to coyotes, they are very smart and tuff as hell.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Just my opinion, again, but I wouldn’t use an air rifle of any kind on a coyote, especially that close. AR-15 or 10, a good 30/30 or a lever gun n .357 or .44. I don’t want a coyote close to me at all, especially if it’s aggressive.
Rick H.
Rick H.
Upvote 0
I’ve seen a doe killed with a 65fpe .25 Heavy mk 2 to the head at just shy of 80. The person was told not to shoot, the person was warned they would become persona non grata and reported. The person shot. The deer died on the spot, the shot could not have been a more perfect brain shot.
I killed a coyote with a .25. 30grn hp slug at 58fpe. Anything capable of penetration of the skull and hitting any vasculature will kill, the more energy you’re capable of dumping the better. study some anatomy and aim for the low brain.
Try for a flank on or head down about an inch over the brow basically visualize a path through the middle of the brain following down the spine. If face on low between the eyes. Or into an eye
I killed a coyote with a .25. 30grn hp slug at 58fpe. Anything capable of penetration of the skull and hitting any vasculature will kill, the more energy you’re capable of dumping the better. study some anatomy and aim for the low brain.
Try for a flank on or head down about an inch over the brow basically visualize a path through the middle of the brain following down the spine. If face on low between the eyes. Or into an eye
Upvote 0
My comments about slugs and pellets performing about the same on brain shots comes from testing in mdf. No man made material is a great simulation of animals. But I think mdf is a consistent hard material reasonably consistent with bone. I have a block of 1/4 inch mdf spaced about half an inch apart. I shoot it at 25 yards and the see how many layers were penetrated. The pellets are distorted as are the slugs. My <20 fpe guns go through 1 layer. My 30 fpe guns go through 2. My >40 fpe guns go through 3. So I am guessing some but it is based on tests.
Upvote 0
That is correct, all head shots with my air guns Crown and Impact .22 cal. My first coyote was shot with my Crown using an 18gr pellet at 32 ft.lb of energy at a distance of 70 yards. I wouldn't recommend anyone to try this. I just got lucky with the perfect shot placement to the head. The rest of my 8 coyotes were dispatched using my Impact MK2 with 25gr slugs at 50-54 ft.lb. The distances were 30-70 yards.
Again, I don't recommend anyone to use .22 cal air rifles unless they are able and willing to only take the head shot when it was available. Coyotes move around a lot so a critical placement shot is a must to humanely dispatch them. Yes, pellets or slugs can get the job done but a higher calibre should be used instead. But it still requires good marksmanship to be a success.
I am currently waiting for a .25 cal conversion kit for my M60B. My hope is to tune the gun to shot 28-34gr slugs with 60+ ft.lb or more. If I can get it to shoot accurately out to 75 yards, then it will be my designated coyote gun moving forward.
Here is my Youtube channel if anyone is interested to see my coyotes hunt.
Air Rifle Pestings
Welcome to Air Rifle Pestings. I started this channel back in Jan 2019 with the sole intention of sharing my pesting videos with my friends and family. I started shooting air guns in my teens and I didn't fall into the rabbit hole till 8 years ago. I began with break barrel air rifles and...
www.youtube.com Upvote 0
I have popped many coyotes with my hot shooting 30 calibers shooting 44.8 pellets at about 40-60 yards and they drop like stones.
Upvote 0
If I was lucky enough to be in that situation, I'd use my .357 Benjamin Bulldog with the 81 grain Hades pellet.
Upvote 0
Brother at 5-15yards the ammo really doesn’t matter that much. With a .30 cal you’ll be good to go… MUCH MORE IMPORTANT is what are you going to use to film the hunt?!?!? We wanna see the those dirty dogs catch a fat chunk of lead! 
Upvote 0
Between an AR-15 in .223/5.56 and the Texan .308 launching a 150gr boat tail flat nose at 990 fps, the Texan has the better anchoring potential—especially inside 150–170 yards.
Here’s why:
- AR-15 (.223/5.56): It’s fast and flat-shooting, but the lighter bullets (55–77gr) rely on fragmentation or yawing to cause trauma. If the bullet zips through without hitting bone or doesn’t fragment properly, a coyote might run—even fatally hit. It’s not uncommon to see runners unless shot placement is perfect.
- Texan .308 (150gr @ 990 fps): My Texan delivering a heavy, subsonic slug (pure lead) with a flat nose—designed to dump energy in the target. Even at 170 yards, you’re still carrying over 240 FPE. That kind of mass and frontal area tends to anchor coyotes more reliably, especially with a center-mass hit. The wound channel is wider, and the energy transfer is slower but deeper.
Upvote 0