Melee. Sawblade axe. Takes most of the durability. Three whacks duck and roll. Takes about 20 hits. No ammo spent. Later when you get the superior axe it takes 10-12 whacks and you can get 4-5 at a time. Same with the reacher. Melee, melee, melee.
I stealth kill him from the grass at the far end of the area with a vantage of him it the airplane feeding with the crossbow, works every time just takes a little longer. For the first two or three shots I set a mine at the point he stops in front of the red explosive crate.