Hunting coyotes with an airgun?

I would go as far as 150m at a stationary coyote with my R5 .30 long and 62gr (59FPE at 150m). I wouldn't have shot any further even with my power tuned MKII with 43.5 .25 slugs. The accuracy is definitely there, but the time of flight just gets too high for what I consider ethical chances of a fatal shot.

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You probably know this, but for everyone else's benefits, the time in flight to 150 yards is real close to 1/2 second at a 950 FPS starting velocity. 

Just from experience a .22 hitting around 35fpe is not fair to the coyote. First shot was a head shot at about 20yards coyote flopped like a fish stood up another head shot fell over. Got up and twisted his way under a big bush hit him again and one more time to make sure. .25 or bigger for me. 

This is great information. I was wondering if anyone has shot any Coyotes. I shot 1 with my streamline at 30yrds from a tree stand. It took him down but I am looking for a more powerful airgun. 

Here was a hunt I did with Nick Nielsen himself using the .25 cricket. Video a bit crude but he shows what he used. Close range shot, yote didn't make it far.



https://youtu.be/Llih04O8pWg

The terminal velocity of a slug vs. a pellet is crazy. If you are worried about FPE in the .25 @ 50+ yards I would suggest a variety pack of slugs from Neilsen Specialty Ammo and see how they fly down range. Energy retention in the slugs is many times better than any pellet due to the BC. Find which slug flies best in your gun and go with that for the yotes. 

One time I shot a Coyote offhand and hit it in the spine with a 17 cal centerfire 130Y behind my property. Rather than making another loud bang I grabbed my 29fpe 22 cal PCP using 18 grainers to dispatch it. I shot the yote in the head at 30Y and it writhed in pain, then went up to 15Y and shot it in the head again, that knocked it out. I walked up to it and the animal woke up and freaked out. I put the barrel to the head and finally the pellet went into the brain. Upon inspection the first two shots didn't penetrate the skull??!! I felt bad even though I don't like coyotes!!! 

I've shot them with broadside chest shots with 22rf's and some still ran off.

For me personally I would want a very powerful slug shooter to shoot coyotes again, or use a centerfire.

I have shot a lot of hogs with my air rifle and a good general rule is 1fpe per pound of body weight at the point of impact. I wouldn't consider any gun less than 50fpe at the muzzle. You want to dispatch the Coyote but do it in a responsible manner. Now, I'm basing this on North Texas coyotes that can reach 50 pounds and not the 15 to 20 pounders out in the desert.

One time I shot a Coyote offhand and hit it in the spine with a 17 cal centerfire 130Y behind my property. Rather than making another loud bang I grabbed my 29fpe 22 cal PCP using 18 grainers to dispatch it. I shot the yote in the head at 30Y and it writhed in pain, then went up to 15Y and shot it in the head again, that knocked it out. I walked up to it and the animal woke up and freaked out. I put the barrel to the head and finally the pellet went into the brain. Upon inspection the first two shots didn't penetrate the skull??!! I felt bad even though I don't like coyotes!!! 

I've shot them with broadside chest shots with 22rf's and some still ran off.

For me personally I would want a very powerful slug shooter to shoot coyotes again, or use a centerfire.

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Their skulls are tough. One winter when I was around 16, I asked our very senior neighbor to teach me how to trap. "Neighbor" being that he was the closest house and was about 2 miles away. We would dispatch critters with .22 long rifle to the head. Had a coyote that we thought I'd missed on the first shot. Shot him again and he died. When skinning, I found that first shot, right under the hide, mostly flattened against his skull. 

That was from around 15 yards away, and not the quiet, reduced velocity rimfire. So, in that case, the roughly 100 fpe wasn't enough to penetrate, at least not that first shot. 

Good info Franklink.

Bobby told me a story of Robert hitting an exotic deer in the head with a slug at 80fpe and it bounced off! 

With the right placement head shot, a 22 calibre shooting 18gr at 70 yards with 18 fpe at target will drop a coyote on its spot. Yes, it can be done.

Placement of the shot is the name of the game. 

I have harvest one coyote with 25, one with 30 and one with 357.

Brain shots for coyotes are recommended. 

I have hunt all my life. 

The more efficient shot I made to a deer was with a 357 Air Rifle. Absolutely switch off. Show you the placement:

Vulcan 2, 30 Cal placement shots in jabalina:

I have been recently shooting .357 slugs and I came across some 148 grain hollow point wad cutters.

They have a low B.C. similar to pellets but since they weigh 148 grains.Im getting 161ft lbs muzzle and at 100 yards it still has 140ft lbs muzzle.

My round nose bullets are making 212ft lbs and retain about 175 ft lbs at 100 yards.

I would not make long shots with slugs if I had neighbors close by.Within 50 yards I'd stick with a .25 at 60 for muzzle at minimum.

With a 26fpe .22 I have dispatched a coyote at 30 yards headshot.Used a barracuda hunter extreme.

Very hard and pointed.great penetration.Since I now have .357 I'd use that with the wad cutter.Use chicken bones as bait.As AMember on another forum uses and stated they have to stay put to chew the bones and while the are crunching the bones it muffles the hearing since crunching bones is loud.

I don't recommend anyone else to use a .22 cal to shoot coyote, but I have shot my first and only one coyote last year.

I was using my Crown .22 shooting the 18.1gr at 32 ft-lb, 70 yards head shot. This was a rare and unique situation in which I had lots of time to take the shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mHpbNJy8Os

im turning my condor ss into a coyote gun... i only really use any slugs in my gun tho..

I got 11 coyotes last yr , 6 with my R5 30 cal with slugs in the 47 to 52 gr ,90fpe ,and other was R5M .22 long at 69fpe

I know for a fact a ,22 cal kills coyotes clean out to 100 yards 1 shot in the lung heart, I am talking solid slugs not hollow points , I am using my R5M 22 , and shooting 69fpe with a BC of ,141 . So weather you shoot them at 10 yards or 100 yards it doesnt matter with same shot placement , You only lose about 6fpe at 100 yards ,

I do have videos on some of them , Out of the 11 coyotes I have taken only 1 ran off and he was hit with 90fpe with a hollow point , this was the last time I will ever use a hollow slug for a coyote in my PCP GUNS . Now with centerfire I prefer hollows for coyotes but they are moving faster and are harder , I prefer to hit heart over a head shot ,

I would not use a pellet unless it was a .357 pcp here coyotes are about 50 pounds and pretty tough

LOU

I took this deer with .457 caliber and a 405g slug. Every deer I have shot run for about 60-70 yards, I get them right in the heart or lung. All of my shots have been at 80 yards. I would really like to go hunting for coyote, I just haven’t had time. I have an Airforce Texan.