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smallest caliber to kill coyote with a body shot?

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Most people seem to think 30 cal, or a HP 25 cal. No experience personally with it, but with firearms I would stick to a 223 up.

And very important....how BIG are the coyotes around where you live? Coyotes can very a lot in size East vs West North vs South thus you have to compensate accordingly.

Here is this link below for guidelines (conservative on side of caution):

https://www.airgundepot.com/vault/articles/basic-airgun-hunting-guidelines/
 
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thank you. hard to say how big they are. i live outside of DC in Maryland. Just started getting eyes on them.. at first i thought they were big grey foxes. then i realized they were coyotes. 30lbs? fair to say a .22 with 32 fpe of energy could do the trick with a well placed shot to the head?

can it be anywhere on the head or should it be just behind the ear? im hoping my new benjamin akela 22 will do the trick 

thanks for the help. 
 
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Yeah but those energy levels given in the list are at the target not from the muzzle. Even with a slug, my .22 cal impact I don’t feel would be up for it, MAYBE my 25 cal Taipan. But for a body shot you need down range energy and as I have myself learned, larger / heavier is better down range for delivering a clean kill, in addition to shot placement.
 
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In my experience, I've killed them w a .30 cal slug and .30 cal pellet, 101 yards w the slug ( through and through) 75 yards w the pellet, both body shots. The 75 yard pellet went completely through, entering behind the lungs as it was quartering away, and coming out near the front shoulder on the opposite side. 

940 fps w a .44 grain pellet and 880 fps w a 49 grain Nielsen. 

Not sure I'd take those shots with my .25 Vulcan. These are California yotes, 20-25 lbs. 

Head shooting only, for me, w the .25 cal. I can't have a wounded animal going onto another property and dying.

I've been setting coyote stands recently and using a shotgun, to make sure they drt. Not as fun, but they need to be thinned out. 
 
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You can kill almost anything, with almost anything. If it's a pest, and you want it gone, and aren't especially concerned with a clean kill, then shoot away with whatever you have. I would not use an air rifle unless circumstances almost demand it. If you are buying a rifle for it, get it big and powerful which, remember, is not really very powerful if we are limited to an air rifle. Then take the best placed shot you can, within the limits of shooter and rifle. I would probably choose a HP .30 caliber. A brain shot is effective, but it can be a tricky shot. A good heart/lung shot may not drop him on the spot, but it should be a quick kill, and less likely for a slight movement to cause a miss, or bad hit.
 
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This question has been asked many times. Some have said they would never shot any coyote less then a .30 cal but I've killed many coyotes with my .25 cal air guns. My longest kill on a coyote was at 75 yards with a 52 ft-lb .25 matador. Pellet almost did a clean past through at that distance. I've watched Matt Dubber's videos and he says his .22 impact is a 72 ft-lb monster and I have no doubt his gun will easy kill a coyote. Of course shot placement is king for all these shots. A 3,000+ ft-lb .308 powder burner won't kill a coyote if you shot the tip of the tail.
 
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You are right we see this ask many times and everyone has an opinion. Many of us have a selection of guns to choose from. That makes a difference. Guns are like hammers. You could drive a spike with a tack hammer if you had to. I personally don’t think an air rifle (unless it’s specifically designed for the job) is a good choice for most game larger then a rabbit (in my hands) but I’m willing to concede that my restrictions don’t necessarily have to apply to all. Having said that the average guy or the guy asking the question probably should go bigger . If you have to ask.... says something.
 
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