How many fpe is required for coyote?

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MongooseV8 said:
Because the animal's life does not belong to me, I didnt create it. I dont think the animals were created just to serve us. I believe we were charged with dominion over animals, which includes the respectful care of them. Sometimes that means deciding to end one, to preserve another. So in all cases I do everything possible to have maximum effectiveness. Doing the bare minimum is not defensible in my opinion, no matter what you believe in. Even in your emergency scenario, being chased by a bear or whatever; be as fair and effective as you can. I dont see what is wrong with that? I think anything else is lazy. Might sound elitist but its not an idea I just made up on my own. It has been passed down father to child, for many generations. And your quoted reference can be seen as both the quickest, and healthiest way.

My dad told me many times when I was little: "You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats animals."
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I didn't plan to engage on this topic again but there is a book you most likely refer to that I have read most of and to the best of my knowledge it does not teach the lesson you propose. As a matter of fact it has examples of quite the opposite such as cutting an animals throat so that it's blood can be smeared around a door frame to protect your child from a ghost. Anyway we can't discuss circular logic here.
Rest assured I treat animals very well.
My point was on being realistic. As I said before... Kill when there is need and let live otherwise.
In other words if you're not going to eat it and it's no threat you should not be killing it. Others are free to think and do as they please, I'm only sharing my opinion.
 
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2L8 said:

OP​

"How many fpe is required for coyote?"​

...
I believe this has gone way off topic.

Patrick
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I agree that it evolved but I didn't direct my opinion to any particular person. People tend to read things and apply it to themselves. I'm just one man and my opinion carries no more weight than any other's. My apologies to the OP.
 
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Thank you all for chiming in. Yes the discussion seems to get off track somehow. But I do appreciate the feedback either way.

To answer my own question that I posted 3-1/2 years ago, 32 ft.lb with an 18gr pellet at 70 yards can drop a coyote with the proper placement shot to the temple. Would I shoot another coyote with an 18gr pellet? The answer is NO. But with three more coyotes I have successfully taken with slugs with head shots, I will continue to my hunt with slugs moving forward.

As I have said previously, I would not squeeze off the trigger if I don't have a clear head shot and I would try to keep the distance as close as possible. I do agree with others about using higher power/calibre, but nothing is 100% guaranteed. We all make mistake sometimes, but hopefully we make the right choice and be as humane as possible when dispatching these pests.
 
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It is said that 30fpe is all that's needed to kill a coyote but why limit yourself to that? Have some fun, build up a rig just for coyote's. I actually just got my backyard/backdoor coyote rig in yesterday. An M3 Compact in 30 cal and I'm throwing FX Hybrids @ 900fps. That's 80fpe and the longest shot I'll be taking in my backyard is 25 yards. I look at all of the talk of ethics and morals and humane this and humane that in regards to putting coyote's down and all I can say to that is, if I see a coyote in my back yard, and I don't have a rifle in my hands, I will try to kill it with a brick! Coyote's are not nice animals! They will show no second thoughts or hesitation in killing your little dog, cat, live stock, or even taking a crying baby right out of a stroller (this happened in California one time when I was vacationing).
 
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@abqjoe. I have tuned my FX Impact 2 to shoot the new H&N gen2 27gr at 52 ft.lb. I am hoping to get my next coyote(s) with this set up. I have heard terrible stories from farmers how they lost their livestocks to vicious coyotes. And I have seen the body of one lamb after it was mulled by the coyotes. Yeah I don't have any soft spot for these pest.

@Privateer. Sorry to hear about your cat. Take down any many coyotes as you can.
 
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Well I think the table posted by Big Mike says 50 fpe and 30 caliber for coyotes. I think that table is optimistic for squirrels so I would assume it is for coyotes too. But I also don't think the table is limited to very precisely placed head shots either. If you want to be able to take a body shot if that is all you have or all you are comfortable you can make, then I think 50 fpe and 30 caliber minimum is if anything low. If you are really good and will limit yourself to low wind and good presentations for head shots, then as others have reported, it can be done with less.
 
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@JimD. Thank you for your input. Yes my experience with the 4 coyotes I tagged showed that with proper shot placement, it was possible with 32 ft.lb .22 calibre. But obviously the larger and more power gun would be idea and better. I don't and wouldn't suggest body shot as I have never done that before. So I will only attempt at a coyote with a head shot with slugs and if that shot is not available then I will pass and wait for my next opportunity.
 
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Killing anything all depends upon where you hit it not necessarily the caliber or bullet energy. To provide field expereince, I'll tell you about mine. Most hunters shoot for a heart or lung shot. I have never had that shot be a lethal one shot drop dead kill. I have had high sucess with head shots and neck shots.Head shots depend highly on the skull thickness and curature, High velocity bullets will rickocett off a skull more easily than slower bullets.Bullet velocities can not crack the skull or continue into the brain causing high hydraulic pressure to explode the circulatory system to cause immediate death. Large animals with thick skulls such as bears, buffalo and wild cattle can receive a head shot and survive. Personal expereince shows me a correct neck shot will instantly kill a 1500+ pound buffalo.The deadly neck shot target is actually the spinal cord. A shot into the neck muscles may not be fatal or instant. A shot hitting the spinal cord sends increased hydraulic pressure into the brain's blood vesels instantly killing the animal, cuasing all muscles to loose strength and instanly dropping the animal to the ground where it stands. A local slaughter house typically used a 22 caliber pistol shot to the spinal cord to kill animals before the use of lead was outlawed.

A 22 caliber pellet can penetrate a coyote neck into the spinal cord causing instant dead BUT can the shooter place that pellet into the spinal chord? numerious factors come into consideration about a kill shot such as:
1) Is the rifle accurate to the range of the target? A 1 MOA accurate barrel at 100 yards only places a bullet within 1 inch circle at 100 yards. I guess the spinal cord of a coyote is about 5/16th of an inch diameter. A 5/16th circle only covers 10% of the areaa od a 1" circle (MOA Accuarate barrell. SO a miss of the spinal chord is highly likely.​
2) The arc of a pullet is affected by its ballistic coeficient, the muzzel velocity and the target diastance. The slower the velocity, the lower the balistic coeficent, greater the drop from the line of sight aim point. If the distance was off 5 yards , the pellet will drop more than the spinal cord size. ( ie a miss)​
3)The accuracy of the shooter is probably the biggest element. How many times when you fire a pellet do you hit a 1" bulls eye at the distance you think the coyote is away from you??​
4) How good is the sight picture you use to aim? If you use open sights, the sight picture is not very clear, especially as the shooters eyes age . A scope will improve the sight picturer but how good is the scope? Is it accurately sighted in? Is the target outside of the scope's parralex setting?​
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As you can see there are many factors in a clean shot kill. Pellet rifles have a higher handicap compared to center fire rifles becuase the projectile velocity is considerable slower. The bullet weight is condierably lighter, Most pellet rifles are not as accurate as centerfire rifles ( but many are more accurate if you spend enough $$).​
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Morale of the story, Take a head shot if you think you can really hit the coyote BUT unelss you are within 50 yyards using an accurate rifle with a scope and you shoot well using a prone of sitting position, pass it by. I have shot s coyote at long range hitting it on the head to the point the animal had a concussion, runing in circles allowing me to approach it closely to finish it off with another head shot.​










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@Buffaloman. Thank you for your input and dug this old thread up again, lol.

Yes, an old thread that got quite a bit of conversations and arguments. But all in all, a very positive discussion nevertheless.

Just an update, I have now taken 6 coyotes with my slug shooting Impact MK2 with H&N 25gr slugs at 52+ ft.lb since my first coyote shot with a 18gr pellet using my FX Crown. You can watch these videos under my Coyotes Playlist if you like. Youtube: Air Rifle Pestings.

I am currently trying to get my Coyote#8 and I had so far failed a couple of times. My failure wasn't due to the performance or the power of my Impact. It was the timing of my shot release and how lucky(my excuse) this same coyote was. I thought it would be easier each time with shooting these coyotes, but far from it. The adrenaline and excitement when seeing the target thru the scope view is overwhelming, at least it was for me. The term "Buck Fever" never made sense to me as I never hunted deer in my life. But I think I understand it now.

Anyway, hopefully this reply would not stir the pot again...
 
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I just wonder why the same "ethical" rules don't apply to two legged predators or fish or roaches. Is bow hunting unethical? A million years before man had guns was spear hunting unethical? I think it might be one of those urban myths like "fighting fair."

If you're killing something because it's a danger to you or your property you kill it or incapacitate it by any means. A coyote will never extend the same ethical courtesy.
 
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Max115 said:
@Buffaloman. Thank you for your input and dug this old thread up again, lol.

Yes, an old thread that got quite a bit of conversations and arguments. But all in all, a very positive discussion nevertheless.

Just an update, I have now taken 6 coyotes with my slug shooting Impact MK2 with H&N 25gr slugs at 52+ ft.lb since my first coyote shot with a 18gr pellet using my FX Crown. You can watch these videos under my Coyotes Playlist if you like. Youtube: Air Rifle Pestings.

I am currently trying to get my Coyote#8 and I had so far failed a couple of times. My failure wasn't due to the performance or the power of my Impact. It was the timing of my shot release and how lucky(my excuse) this same coyote was. I thought it would be easier each time with shooting these coyotes, but far from it. The adrenaline and excitement when seeing the target thru the scope view is overwhelming, at least it was for me. The term "Buck Fever" never made sense to me as I never hunted deer in my life. But I think I understand it now.

Anyway, hopefully this reply would not stir the pot again...
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Max what caliber and velocity does your rifle shot to obtain 52+FPE?
 
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Max115 said:
Sorry I was late to follow up with this old thread. Thank you all for your opinions and advises.

First of all, I don't recommend anyone to shoot any coyotes with any calibre and power, especially with an 18gr pellet at 32 ft.lb. I did managed to drop a coyote with a (lucky) perfectly placed head shot to the temple at 70 yards. It was a very rare and unique situation for me to pull that shot off partly because the coyote was sitting still and not much movement when I finally squeezed off the kill shot. It was my first coyote shot with my Crown with an 18gr AA pellet.

My question was "would this power and calibre enough to kill a coyote with a perfectly placement shot?" Absolutely. The coyote's skull is very thin and if you are able to hit anywhere in the head/temple area, the pellet will penetrate the skull and impacting the brain.

Please watch this video where I showed the damage of the two coyote skulls with pellet vs slug. Since I have shot three coyotes with slugs, I would never use pellets again. The slugs would cause more damage and more energy dump into the brain with a head shot.


Obviously, there are many variables and potentially bigger margin of error to hunt coyotes using a .22 calibre gun like I am using. But my argument is that if I am confident with my ability to hit a small target at any set range and if the opportunity is there to do so, then I will take that shot; Otherwise, I would just reject the shot and wait for another opportunity.

So far I have gotten 4 coyotes (70 yards being the furthest) with my .22 calibre air guns, all with a head shot. I agree that higher calibre and more power would be better, but the end result is still depends on the placement shot by the person behind the trigger.

Thank you all for your comment.
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Max115: I am reminded of the best centerfire bullet I have used. It was Nosler Ballistic tip 7mm 140 gr. fired at about 2850 fps. Killed three antelope art ranges between 50 and 250 yards. In all three cases, the animal was pushed over dead in its tracks or dove nose first dead upon hitting the ground. I all three cases the inlet bullet hole was a perfect 7 mm while the exit wound was between 2 and 4" diameter blowing rib bones apart. Gamco makes a red tipped pellet that I haven't shot yet but if it performs the same, I'd use it regardless of weight and FPE
 
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The difference is the 22 is being used only for head shots. It takes significantly less fpe to kill with a well placed brain shot (I agree neck shots that hit the spine are also very effective). I killed a small raccoon with my P35-22 which is only 32 fpe. I hit it right between the eyes which is not the thinnest part of the skull but it got through anyway.

If you want to take body shots, a 30 or 35 is probably not a bad idea. One relatively inexpensive option available in both calibers is the SPA M60b. Airgun, Archery Fun is a good place to get one.

With respect to quick kills with body shots, I would add that I have had DRT performance on a couple dozen squirrels with body shots. I shot them with the same 32 fpe 22 or with an equally powered 25 caliber. With the 25 only two ran at all and they were hit in the front of the chest (and traveled the length of the squirrel). With the 22, none have run. All 9 just dropped. I've looked at the surface area of the animal versus the cross sectional area of the projectile to try and make sense of effectiveness of body shots. A 22 caliber pellet damages as much of a squirrel as would a projectile over an inch in diameter on a deer. Maybe that explains why deer often run some after impact from even a large center fire rifle a lot of the time. My guess is you would need something like a 45 caliber airgun to have a good chance for DRT result on a coyote with a body shot. You have to drop it's blood pressure very, very quickly for it to give up right there after a body shot. Even a 25 caliber airgun tuned up around 50 fpe should shoot through a coyote shoulder and get to the vitals but it's a question of how much it will bleed how quickly. It might run a long ways with a 25 caliber hole through it's lungs. But it won't run at all after a 50 fpe 25 caliber impact to it's brain or spine.
 
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@Buffaloman. As JimD has stated, I only go for a headshot on coyotes with my .22. If that shot wasn't available, then I would refuse it. It is a lot harder to dispatch these coyotes with a .22 this way, but that is all I have as I don't have any higher calibre guns. Maybe someday I will get a .25 or .30 cal.

Body shot is effective with PB in my opinion. I am sure 25 or 30 cal airgun with enough power would drop a coyote on its spot. But I have not had the experience so I couldn't say. However, I have shot 7 coyotes now and the head shot to the brain worked just fine.

Is my method of dispatching coyotes using only a .22 calibre shot to the head effective? Yes, it is effective but not ideal because I am limited to shoot only at a much smaller target area instead of a body heart/lung shot. This limits my chances for sure, but I have plenty of patience to wait for the right shot to come along.

I am dispatching these coyotes at farm locations where dead calves (or baits with rats) were present from time to time, so I didn't have to look for them in the open field. They come to the bait area and I just need to get lucky to ambush them when they show up. No guarantee that I would make my shot each and every time (if you follow my Youtube channel you will see why with Coyote#8 attempts).
 
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