I recon you get a lot of synical answers because most folks have never tried it. Me, I have, and in my situation it worked. Would I have rather had the 25-06? Hell yes! I would have settled for a .22 with a CB Cap. But I learned a pretty serious lesson that day about how formidable a 17 grain pellet doing 650fps is. I don't know that I'll ever try it again, and I surely don't advicate "hunting" coyotes with an air rifle, however a shot to the coconut at close range will get'r done.
I guess most of these answers remind me of something my father used to say all the time... "you can't find out if something works by not doing it." *qb