Soft and low-permeability coal seams pose formidable obstacles due to their inherent fragility and poor permeability characteristics. Set against the engineering background of the Wulihe Coal Mine, this research introduces an innovative hydraulic punching methodology to address these challenges and enhance extraction efficiency. This study integrates laboratory experimentation, numerical simulations, and in-situ field testing to explore hydraulic punching as a means to strengthen the gas extraction mechanism. Meticulous laboratory analysis was initiated using the DJG-II triaxial dynamic stress state coal rock seepage testing apparatus to scrutinize the permeability evolution of coal samples under unloading conditions. Subsequently, a mathematical model of hydraulic punching damage and permeability was developed, incorporating the D-P fracture criterion, Fick"s diffusion law, and Darcy"s law of fluid flow, and numerically solved using COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software, revealing the impact on the internal damage and seepage fields within the coal mass. The study elucidates how hydraulic punching enhances permeability and strengthens coal seam gas extraction, with the effectiveness validated by field outcomes. Compared to ordinary drilling holes, hydraulic punching affects a larger damage range, increases crack numbers, and provides space for gas flow, primarily in the plastic residual and plastic softening areas. The equivalent pumping effective radius of the hydraulic punch is 3.1 times that of a normal borehole, and the extraction impact radius is 2.4 times higher. Increasing the punch radius from 0.3m to 0.5m resulted in a 34% increase in the effective extraction radius and a 31% increase in the extraction influence radius. Field practice over 54 days showed that hydraulic punching achieved an average gas extraction volume fraction of 20.83%, significantly outperforming the 8.2% of ordinary drilling, thus substantially enhancing extraction efficiency.