Audience & Goals of this Guide
This guide is intended to provide people in urban environments with information to help them effectively control coyote populations using air rifles.
This is not an encyclopedic volume which exhausts every detail on the topic. It is a guide. There are many ways to accomplish different aspects of hunting and pest control. This is not intended to provide advice for every situation you may encounter.
From here on out I will use the terms "air rifle" or "airgun". You can decide if you would substitute those terms with air pistol or whatever else you want. For the most part, I would prefer to emphasize power levels from an air rifle at a given target's distance more than the nomenclature of the device.
Image of Canis Latrans aka Coyote below
Why do we need to control the population of coyotes?
Let's face it, coyotes can be undesirable pests. Most people seem ok with wild animals until their cat or dog is attacked or even killed by one.
Coyotes have been known to attack humans, kill and consume pets such as cats and dogs or even other more desirable animals in nature. Coyotes are also known to carry rabies which can be deadly to humans and other animals.
Coyotes do not have many effective natural predators and if their numbers are not kept in check then the balance in the ecosystem will be upset.
Thoughts on using an Air Rifle
Cooking off firearms isn't what most people will want to do when thinking about controlling coyote numbers in urban environments.
Air rifles can be relatively quiet and are capable of immediate dispatch of the largest coyote within a fraction of a second. They can also be used on other pests in the yard, garden or property. The fact that you can tune modern pre-charged airgun power levels and have a wide variety of ammunition available on the market makes them a solid choice.
Video below demonstrates the capability of airguns on coyote.
I know other methods are quiet and effective such as archery or blowguns but there is already a lot of information on archery that I don't intend to duplicate. I'll let you research other methods.
Whatever you choose for an air rifle see the section later in this guide where I focus on air guns, silencers, power levels and ammunition in further detail.
Matters of Safety, Noise, Location and Being Responsible
Wherever and however you decide to dispatch coyotes always keep safety as a number one priority. You don't want to damage property, hurt yourself, another person or an animal that you don't intend to target.
When using firearms, airguns, archery equipment, etc. make sure you know what is behind and beyond your target.
Choose a safe location that has coyotes and where you see them regularly (on camera or in person). You can lure them away from trails they like to travel upon with bait, calls, etc. but if there are not that many in a given spot then it may not be a productive location. Make sure you select a location that permits legally dispatching coyotes using your air rifle.
If you are in an urban environment at some point it may be important to be mindful of neighbors by keeping noise to a minimum. Consider using silencers and reducing power levels on air rifles to ease the shot noise (more on this later).
Try to be responsible when it comes to your activities. This includes where you dispose of carcasses because it will eventually become very stinky and attract flies/maggots. Some people just don't want dead carcasses in or near their property. Before you take your first shot, think about what you plan on doing with the body after you have taken the animal.
When interacting with other people on the subject of coyote control try to do so in a way that convinces them you are doing a clean, thorough, safe job. We have enough anti-hunting movements and ignorant people behind their related organizations. Let's not make more adversaries but instead convince more people that hunting and pest control is appropriate and important.
The Shooting Position & Remaining Undetected
To improve your chance for success consider your shooting position and how you use it to get the mission completed. If you can conceal yourself and prevent the coyote from detecting your movement at the moment you prepare your shot, it will make you more effective.
If at all possible, consider using a ground blind, tree stand, wall or other concealment to shoot from or behind. When it comes to the necessary movement you make leading up to the shot, always move slowly and deliberately. Sometimes slow movement may be just enough to prevent them from seeing you or prevent them from getting spooked and ultimately ruining your opportunity. I have been spotted many times while moving slowly or just remaining still and got my coyote moments later. I suspect that sometimes they are not certain what they are looking at and what threat it presents.
It is important you make your shooting position as comfortable as possible so that you do not feel compelled to move around. You don't want to alert coyotes to your presence. Take it upon yourself to think ahead and also take learning experiences and apply changes based upon them.
When it comes to concealment I would also consider shooting from what is called the prone position (laying on the ground with your stomach down) unless you already have a blind or tree stand that does a fantastic job. This position shrinks your overall silhouette. Always think about your silhouette. Is there light behind or around you which is exposing your position? Sit with a tree or bush behind you if you don't use a blind.
For most people, it's obvious that you should be very quiet when trying to take coyote. They can hear when you cock a rifle, bump against the side of the blind or fiddle with your gear. If you have wind, rain, a loud truck, sirens or even an airplane flying above then consider timing and take advantage of it as a distraction when you need to mask any noise or even movement you might make.
Coyotes have a great sense of smell. If you want to improve your chances for success then don't lather yourself up in Kentucky Fried Chicken grease and expect to go undetected near them. I'm not going to say a lot on this subject other than don't expose yourself any more than you have to. I have seen several older coyotes locate bait hidden in a large mass of bushes and tall grass very quickly. That should give you some idea on how well they can pinpoint a smell. If coyotes think there is a threat they will use their nose to find it and you will miss out on opportunities if you overlook it. These animals will often try to get downwind of any potential threat and if they don't like what they smell, they'll be gone quickly.
Bipods, Tripods, Shooting Bags, etc.
Consider support for making the most effective shot. Coyotes seem to be very busy animals at times and will pace about, look around, and even seem restless. Whatever you choose, think it through and make sure you are confident that it will get the job done when the coyote steps out in front of you.
Shooting off-hand is possible and I am not going to say don't do it, but it is not going to provide a foundation for the most accurate shot placement. I like to use bipods and prefer to shoot from the ground in the prone position. My favorite bipod has a swivel on it for when coyotes are within 40 yards or even just covering a lot of horizontal movement in my shooting lane. This allows me to rotate the rifle smoothly and permits me to quickly stop or start my movements, ultimately resulting in quicker target acquisition.
I have never used a tripod on a coyote but I would not look beyond that option. I recommend one that permits you to swivel the rifle around like mentioned earlier with bipods. Shooting sticks can be handy and I would like to recommend the Primos Trigger Stick in tripod form because I have used it extensively. It is quick to deploy, compacts to a small form, lightweight for a tripod platform, allows rotation of the rifle and is affordable when compared to other tripods.
There is a brief video on the page Bipods & Tripods for Coyote Hunting where I dive a littler further into details of what features I look for in these type of rests.
If you are in a tree stand and the above options are not practical then consider bracing against the tree trunk or branch, forming a rest with your arms off your body/lap or anything else to stabilize the rifle. The key details to focus on are being comfortable and remaining still while you shoot.
Using electronics such as Motion Detecting Cameras, IR lighting, Game Cameras, etc.
The behavior patterns of local coyotes should be one of the most important factors when choosing a spot to stake out your hunt. You can often zero in on the best location or areas of highest activity by monitoring movement using cameras and motion detectors. Otherwise, you can rely on local knowledge.
If you are beginning in a new location take a guess and move your equipment around periodically until you are confident in one area. You should be looking for any sign such as footprints, fur, scat, dead carcasses, game trails and even intersections in them, fence lines behind homes or any area that may be regularly patrolled as examples. Always consider obvious areas of interest like chicken coops, free food locations (natural or not) such as someone's dog or cat bowl, or anywhere they may be lured by an easy meal. I have seen coyotes eat from wild blackberry bushes to neighborhood trash cans.
I like to use a combination of motion-detecting cameras and motion detectors to help alert me to activity. The cameras I use take video or photos when something passes in front of it and alert my cell phone. I also use motion detectors which only create audible alerts from a speaker when something moves in front of them. When I receive any alert I view the images or live feed from the camera to confirm it is or isn't a coyote. In case it isn't obvious, if you are in a tree stand or blind outdoors then I do not recommend audible motion detectors with the speaker as the alarm will alert the coyote.
When it comes to getting the coyote in the sights at night you will probably be using either a thermal scope or night vision scope with IR lighting to present the animal for you. More on scopes in detail later, but if you are using a scope that utilizes IR light then it often is sold & packaged with that light. These are typically good enough to get the job done. The problem I have found if shooting from inside a building, behind a wall, fence, blind or something similar is that the flashlight beam can bounce off the surrounding walls or structure and back into the scope. This typically happens when I move the scope close to the edge of the structure resulting in a blinding and washed-out image. At some point I started using an IR light source external to my rifle but I dealt with this issue for some time and even lost opportunities because of it. When using a remote IR light it will usually be best to mount it in an elevated position so that it covers the shooting area. Another less desirable option I found was to lay the light on the ground in a static position where it is not reflecting any light back into a scope. This compromise doesn't provide the benefits of an elevated position where you can see better beyond/behind a bush for example.
See Using Motion Detecting Cameras, IR lighting, Game Cameras, other electronics for more details on this topic.
Air Guns, Silencers, Calibers, Ammunition and Power Levels
Make sure you choose a combination of ammunition and air rifle that you believe will take the animal in one shot. It will be rare to get a second shot on a healthy, adult coyote within one day. This is a guide. So what I say in this section are not absolute black and white rules.
I prefer to use pre-charged airguns that shoot a minimum of 70 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle. I also prefer to take my shots within 40 yards to retain energy at a distance. Lessons learned by experience using power levels between 50-70 ft lbs over time have led me to this conclusion. There were times when I didn't make as precise a shot as I intended because the animal moved while I was pulling the trigger. When attempting head shots at 70 ft lbs the result was still a dead coyote, even if they moved slightly and I did not hit the head at all. Sometimes I hit the neck/spine and it died instantly and others it hit enough vitals to drop and kill the animal in seconds. Some people will claim and even demonstrate they can achieve kill shots with much lower power levels. That's ok with me. If someone wants to create their guide while recommending a less powerful setup then I will consider their information. The most important thing is to understand and consider the power levels of your airgun.
Video below of coyote hit in the neck and expiring instantly. That 70 ft lbs of energy came in handy.
When I started shooting airguns I quickly learned that every one of them could be much different in noise level than another model. Usually when you move up in power and calibers the noisier they are. People will use silencers on their air rifles to tame the noise. It's up to you to decide if this is even important. Just take note of how loud your setup is and if it affects your neighbors. There are after-market silencers that can negatively impact accuracy. Hopefully, you discover that problem before you try and shoot your first coyote with one. Tuning the airgun down in power can also help tame the noise and often provide more shots per tank. Also, most airguns that feature a shrouded barrel will have some deadening of noise as well. Look for that in addition to a silencer if noise is an important issue for you. Finally, some airguns are just loud no matter what silencer or tune you try...
To me, calibers seem a little bit less important than power levels. As of this writing, I have yet to see a .177 that can do 70 ft lbs from the manufacturer. I would guess that someone can theoretically supercharge/customize their .177 to levels I don't usually see so I am not focused like a laser on calibers. If you don't know much about airguns and power levels I can say that almost any airgun I have seen which is 30 caliber and above would be adequate for shooting coyotes. I am talking here about pre-charged airguns but there are likely other types of airguns that are powerful enough to take down a coyote.
If you don't know how much power your airgun is producing then get a chronograph and shoot your airgun with the desired ammunition. Record the numbers and use something like Airgun Calculator to see where your setup stands at the muzzle. Know that the further away from the muzzle the less energy your projectile has. This will be a factor if you start shooting at distance. Keep in mind that pellets generally lose energy at a much faster rate than slugs. This is due to their shape with the skirt on the back which creates drag as it moves through the air. See my page Airgun Pellets and Slugs for Coyote Hunting for more details on smart phone apps, ballistics and a look at different ammunition.
There is a huge variety of projectiles/ammunition which can kill a coyote from an airgun. Choose ammo that is accurate first. If you cannot hit anything then you don't stand much of a chance. When it comes to accuracy some ammo just doesn't perform well in a given airgun. Experiment with different options and see what is best for you. I like to use heavy ammunition because it is like throwing a big rock. When I was a young boy I learned that throwing big rocks tends to hurt more than tiny pebbles. I prefer using polymer-tipped pellets and hollow point slugs on coyote. A lot of people like ammunition such as JSB Hades because it expands under the right conditions. Know what your ammo is capable of upon impact. If you can dump all the energy inside the animal it is the best option. I found that accurate head shots using 38.5 grain slugs moving 910 feet per second out of my 25 caliber airgun at close range will dump every bit of energy into the brain nearly every time. The more you examine your results in the field and experiment with power levels the more knowledge you can apply to your choices of ammunition.
Please see Airguns for Coyote Hunting for some specific recommendations and further details on this subject.
Optics: Scopes, Traditional, Thermal, IR Night Vision
What scope you use is entirely up to you. Given that scope technology is constantly evolving, after some time if I gave information and details about every scope and its features it would be soon outdated.
If you are never going to shoot at night, you still may want to look at thermal or night vision options. Every thermal or night vision scope I have seen is capable of making shots in day or night conditions. Electronic scopes usually come with a way to record your activities as well. You may not intend to create fun videos to share but there are some things to take away from them even if that is not your goal. Over time I have become more effective by using electronic scopes. This is because of the simple fact that I can replay any encounter on my computer again and learn from any mistakes. Example problems are:
- I can see if my scope is out of zero alignment
- I can tell if my aim was bad
- I can determine that my range estimation to target was a problem
- Anything else unexpected that happened
I wouldn't dismiss electronic scopes and their usefulness. You could also use a GoPro camera to film your shooting experience and replay as well. I am not going to dive into that topic in this guide but YouTube has videos of how to set this up and what is required.
I don't use thermal for coyote hunting because of the cost involved. Otherwise, I would be looking for scopes with a fast refresh rate (that's how fast it updates the image) and with a good amount of clarity to the image (this is usually derived from better resolution and decent glass). If you can afford thermal, why not consider it?
Night vision scopes that utilize IR light to see down range are my choice because they are affordable. I also like them because each one I have seen has a day mode which is in color as well.
Scopes come with different magnification capabilities and that costs more when going up on electronic scopes. Just remember that the more you turn up the magnification level on a scope the more tunnel vision you get. I like something about 4-16 power and scan on low power and then turn up magnification for the shot. It's as simple as that for me. I am intentionally not diving into the IR lights too much. They usually work well enough but some brands and models do seem to provide more crisp and clear images than others.
If you can afford a thermal monocular in addition to your scope of choice then it may be worth adding to your toolkit.
To learn more about optics see Optics for Coyote - Scopes Monoculars Night Vision Thermal.
Importance of Shot Placement
To be confident in my shot placement I always verify or reconduct zero when the following conditions are met. This list could get really long but here are a few ideas and you may have your list:
- Changing to new ammunition
- The airgun or scope is dropped or bumped real bad
- The airgun has been tuned or altered to change power levels
- The airgun was zeroed at a given range that is far different than what you intend to shoot in the field
- There is a large temperature change between when you zeroed and when you are in the field (Point of impact on airguns can be off by a significant amount in this situation and especially the first shot or two)
- The airgun was partially or fully disassembled, including barrel changes or pellet probe changes
- Right before I hunt
If I am going to hunt a spot where I know the distances to where I expect the coyote then I will zero at that range. It's a good idea to know the point of impact of your projectiles at various ranges. Take note of these or even memorize them. If your shot is going to be 1 inch high or low that can be a big deal depending on the situation.
You can find a lot of examples searching on Google for coyote vitals using a simple search like "coyote vitals image". Each one I have seen is providing body shot vitals. I don't want to discuss those because their information and availability is exhaustive already. If you want to take a body shot that is your choice. I do take that option sometimes and it can be very effective. If you can make that precise heart shot, they go down faster than a lung shot.
At short ranges I like to take a head shot and when they are still. Even if just for a split second. It's usually instant death if you can place your shot in the following locations:
- Between the eyes
- Into one of the eyes
- Between the middle of the eye and the closest ear - this can be from above to the top of the skull or even at ground level into the side of the skull
- The back of the head in the middle of the skull or even at the base of the skull where it meets the spine
For further detail, video demonstrations and images on headshots see Airgun HeadShot Placement for Coyote.
When taking head shots between the eyes my experience has been that if your aim is just a bit too high then sometimes the projectile will deflect off the skull (see example video of too high on headshot at page linked directly above). Look out for this problem and adjust accordingly.
Coyote Behavior, Bait , Calling & Tactics
Using bait to bring in or distract coyotes is very effective. There could be regulations in your area that forbid using bait so get informed and try to remain within the constraints of any laws.
Some ideas on bait I use often are squirrels, rats, birds, fish that you catch and even leftover chicken bones from a recent meal. Just remember they are scavengers and will take an easy meal. You can experiment and get creative on bait.
I like to lay bait right in the middle of or next to a game trail or high-use area. Once animals in your area get used to picking up a free meal they will return to the area for more. This could be days or weeks later. If they keep picking up free meals in an area it will be embedded into their brains as a location to patrol.
One of the best tactics I use is to place 2 small baits at least 15 feet away from each other. The coyotes will typically pick up one of them and take it out of the immediate area to feed in solitude and peace. This is not absolute behavior but is quite common. Don't be too disturbed that you may have missed an opportunity when you see this behavior.
While they devour the free food, it is a great time to prepare for their return on the second bait by loading ammo, begin filming or even adjusting your scope if need be. If you lay multiple baits all in a pile or near each other they will often pick them all up or as many as they can in one go and leave. At that point you may not get a shot if they leave for the day.
I have timed how long it takes a coyote to feed on a rabbit carcass for example and it took about 12 minutes. Be patient as they may not return immediately. Over time I noticed that if they think there might be more food present, they will rummage around in bushes looking for more. Sometimes for up to 5 minutes or so. This is when you will most likely get a good opportunity to make it all come together.
Another option a friend has suggested is to place the bait under a log or something similar to make the animal work and remain distracted. This would be a good time to take a shot as they dig up the bait.
Calling coyotes is a well-known and effective tactic. You can use electronic or mouth calls as you see fit. There is a vast amount of information on this topic and I have not done this in an urban environment but out in the desert. Just be prepared for some wild and fast-paced encounters at times because I have seen them run in at full speed coming into calls. It does not take a lot of skill to operate mouth calls but using them exposes your position and you can easily get busted. Think about using electronic calls located away from yourself if you have that option.
In conclusion, I hope that you found some of this information useful and that it may help improve your chances to take out these pests.
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