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I am not trying to bust your chops... but have to ask. Have you ever hunted yotes before? They are very tough to hunt, and can be very, very tough to kill cleanly even with powder burners. Head shots are difficult to make due to the head moving so much and the skull is shaped such that even a partly off line shot will glance off the skull.
Bunnies and squirrels are a different level of hunting vs. coyotes. Good luck to ya. FWIW, a .22 can be enough - but I would rather have more FPE available than most .22 pcp are set up for, to hunt 'yotes. A good stiff wind will kill a rabbit, and a 2# squirrel is a huge squirrel, however, a 25# cotoye is a tough bastard.
Bunnies and squirrels are a different level of hunting vs. coyotes. Good luck to ya. FWIW, a .22 can be enough - but I would rather have more FPE available than most .22 pcp are set up for, to hunt 'yotes. A good stiff wind will kill a rabbit, and a 2# squirrel is a huge squirrel, however, a 25# cotoye is a tough bastard.
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This guy just pulled it off with a $300 .177 cal. I would like a little more ump but it shows just how important shor placement is.
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I really wish guys would stop posting grossly under caliber/power hunting examples. They never show all the animals they wound that die from sepsis or predation and people get the wrong impression. If you kill much of anything larger than a raccoon with a .177 it’s just pure luck of the shot. Raccoon and possum is where I stop at with .22 and a typical 30FPE
I dislike coyotes but a .22 Rimfire with high velocity is the least I use (I don’t have an 80 or so FPE air rifle).
There are other corners of the internet with people talking about shooting deer and hogs with .177 and it’s just not right. It’s so simple to just grab something with the proper power for the job.
I dislike coyotes but a .22 Rimfire with high velocity is the least I use (I don’t have an 80 or so FPE air rifle).
There are other corners of the internet with people talking about shooting deer and hogs with .177 and it’s just not right. It’s so simple to just grab something with the proper power for the job.
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I’m going to try my maverick 30cal. But my typical shot is 40-50 yards hunting my property. If I’m not happy with the mav I will go back to my 17hmr till I invest in a big bore.
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SqrlHntr
Member
Bulldog for that $ range is my recommendation. Nothing smaller than .30 here, not sure where you are, and for ‘yotes i agree with it fully. They are some tough SOB’s and depending on their winter/summer coat there could be alot more to punch through if you cant take a clean bean shot. ethnical airgun hunting first and foremost for me, I’ll leave the extreme shots for EFT comps.
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My vote is for the Benjamin Bulldog .357 also. Ample power to get the job done on more forgiving heart/lung shots. Note, that I'm biased as I own two of these, but I am also very confident in the power they posses as I have used them for a significant amount of pesting. As far as AEA goes, I had a bad experience with them myself. It's hard to beat the five year warranty you get with the Bulldog, and I'd easily pay double the Bulldog's price just for the differences in the trigger alone.
But the thing that should seal the deal for you is the awesome sale price you can get the Bulldog for at Sportsman's Guide for $639 with the $10 3-month membership . This is where I got my second Bulldog, and it is identical to the $800 I paid off of Amazon.
Someone may have killed a coyote with a .22cal PCP, but they probably will say you can kill a bear with a .22 LR because someone did it once. Use the appropriate power for the job so you can not need the stars to align for an ethical kill.
Here is a raccoon shot with the Bulldog using NSA 110gr slugs in .358 cal.
https://youtu.be/QxqnSF0WzbA
And here is the aftermath in the morning:
But the thing that should seal the deal for you is the awesome sale price you can get the Bulldog for at Sportsman's Guide for $639 with the $10 3-month membership . This is where I got my second Bulldog, and it is identical to the $800 I paid off of Amazon.
Someone may have killed a coyote with a .22cal PCP, but they probably will say you can kill a bear with a .22 LR because someone did it once. Use the appropriate power for the job so you can not need the stars to align for an ethical kill.
Here is a raccoon shot with the Bulldog using NSA 110gr slugs in .358 cal.
https://youtu.be/QxqnSF0WzbA
And here is the aftermath in the morning:
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Another for the .357 Bulldog. Brian at Veradium Air upgraded and tuned mine. Also agree with using enough gun. Nothing worse than an injured coyote, which will then be hunting around houses.
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AIR FORCE is the way to go ,sure unless you buy used, it will be a few more dollars,well worth it ,from any calibre choice to a wide variety of ammo choices ,certainly capable of taking yotes at 100 yards no problem,
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If you’re not going to be hunting anything bigger than varmits, then I would say get an AF Texan in .257 or .30 caliber. The .257 has almost double the FPE of a .22 rimfire and shoots really flat for an Airgun. You can also get several different molds that shoot great out of those and then cast your own bullets for cheap.
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I'm planning on going after yotos on my land with my.25 Sumatra. 97 fpe at the muzzle and still has 77 fpe at 100 yards. To bad it's been discontinued in favor of the eagle claw which doesn't make as much power.
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+1 on the Texan .257. With a Arsenal 257420 72g fn @ 1025 fps. That's 170. Fpe mv and 140 fpe @ 100.. Yote Heaven in a flash .
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You can't go wrong with the Texan .257 or .308. I would go .257 if for nothing more than just a slightly flatter trajectory. Here are some pros and cons of Texan vs. Bulldog:
Texan:
Neither pro nor con: Texan will be $1000.00. You get what you pay for but it's worth it.
Pro: Texan's flat shooting, reliability, and power are unmatched. Period, end of story.
Pro: The Texan is the only gun in its class (and maybe at all) that will drop yotes all day long at 200 yards with only a minimum of shooting ability and practice. In other words, if you have even a little skill and practice you will be sub-3" groups all day at 200+ yards out of the box and you will improve on that with tune/bullet/more practice
Con: Terrible ergonomics for carrying afield.
Con: Slugs only (if you consider it a con)
Con: Needs a Mad Dog or Diamond stock to really shine.
Bulldog:
Pro: A joy to pack around and despite the fact that's ugly it handles wonderfully.
Pro: Slightly more affordable.
Pro: It's a repeater.
Pro: shoots pellets or slugs
Pro: Great for a ground blind do to its short size.
Con: It's a short range sub-100 yard gun for hunting. You can stretch it on the bench but practically speaking it has too much holdover for a moving target past 100 yards and you'd have to be a wizard to judge the distance (and cast a spell for the yote to hold still while you do)
Con: It's loud, very loud. An added suppressor takes away the ergonomic factor and negates (to me) the advantage of the portability. Texan suppressed is quieter.
That's the basics. It's just my opinion based on handling and shooting both. I'll admit that I'm partial to the Texan(s) because I don't like showing up under-horsepowered. I saw it mentioned above about wounding animals and I find no joy in 'seeing if' I can kill a large animal with a small caliber. That's why I use my Texan .308 for turkeys most of the time and not my .25 FX Impact. I have to head shoot a bird with the FX to anchor it, but the Texan will do the same thing with a body shot, therefore extending my range and ensuring clean kills. I've had more turkeys run off than I care to admit and the majority were because of using a .25 cal. vs. the .308.
Good discussion and good luck with your choice.
Texan:
Neither pro nor con: Texan will be $1000.00. You get what you pay for but it's worth it.
Pro: Texan's flat shooting, reliability, and power are unmatched. Period, end of story.
Pro: The Texan is the only gun in its class (and maybe at all) that will drop yotes all day long at 200 yards with only a minimum of shooting ability and practice. In other words, if you have even a little skill and practice you will be sub-3" groups all day at 200+ yards out of the box and you will improve on that with tune/bullet/more practice
Con: Terrible ergonomics for carrying afield.
Con: Slugs only (if you consider it a con)
Con: Needs a Mad Dog or Diamond stock to really shine.
Bulldog:
Pro: A joy to pack around and despite the fact that's ugly it handles wonderfully.
Pro: Slightly more affordable.
Pro: It's a repeater.
Pro: shoots pellets or slugs
Pro: Great for a ground blind do to its short size.
Con: It's a short range sub-100 yard gun for hunting. You can stretch it on the bench but practically speaking it has too much holdover for a moving target past 100 yards and you'd have to be a wizard to judge the distance (and cast a spell for the yote to hold still while you do)
Con: It's loud, very loud. An added suppressor takes away the ergonomic factor and negates (to me) the advantage of the portability. Texan suppressed is quieter.
That's the basics. It's just my opinion based on handling and shooting both. I'll admit that I'm partial to the Texan(s) because I don't like showing up under-horsepowered. I saw it mentioned above about wounding animals and I find no joy in 'seeing if' I can kill a large animal with a small caliber. That's why I use my Texan .308 for turkeys most of the time and not my .25 FX Impact. I have to head shoot a bird with the FX to anchor it, but the Texan will do the same thing with a body shot, therefore extending my range and ensuring clean kills. I've had more turkeys run off than I care to admit and the majority were because of using a .25 cal. vs. the .308.
Good discussion and good luck with your choice.
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Hi folks,
First post here. I joined because I'm looking for advice on a yote rifle. I currently own an FX dream lite .25, with mods and it is effective on groundhogs. But I think I want to go 30 cal for yotes. I'll be ground hunting @ night with thermal, 100-150 yards max. So a bench set-up like a Texan doesn't get my interest. Not to sound like a snob, but I'm not terribly concerned about the price. I want to get the best weapon for the job and only buy it once! I've made too many mistakes in my life by cheaping out, lol. Thanks for any advice and I'm glad to meet you all. Kevin from NJ
First post here. I joined because I'm looking for advice on a yote rifle. I currently own an FX dream lite .25, with mods and it is effective on groundhogs. But I think I want to go 30 cal for yotes. I'll be ground hunting @ night with thermal, 100-150 yards max. So a bench set-up like a Texan doesn't get my interest. Not to sound like a snob, but I'm not terribly concerned about the price. I want to get the best weapon for the job and only buy it once! I've made too many mistakes in my life by cheaping out, lol. Thanks for any advice and I'm glad to meet you all. Kevin from NJ
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I have a friend who put a Pulsar Thermion on top of a Bulldog. He got two in the first two months. He blasted them with close to 300fpe, both body shots and they dropped quickly. He said with that kind of power, even not perfect shot result in quick kills.
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In the $700 range I got to say my recent experience with the Winchester Model 70 .35 has been really good. I really like the gun for predator type hunting. The accuracy I'm getting with the 110gr NSA's are really good out past 100. The gun is putting out a conservative 130 fpe over 8 shots.
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A .357 Benjamin Bulldog is definitely capable as is a big bore Airforce Texan. A stock Bulldog’s probably your best bet for that price range. I’ve read that AEA makes capable guns, but I’ve never used them and don’t know much about the accuracy and particulars of various models. They do seem to be affordable and powerful though. Maybe someone with experience with them can chime in.
No votes for the AAA Evol .30 for coyotes? (The Evol is directed toward @KevinTN’s post).
No votes for the AAA Evol .30 for coyotes? (The Evol is directed toward @KevinTN’s post).
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Yeah the EVOL is a badass hunting gun for sure. Didn't mention it due to OP's budget as this is a commitment.
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