Red Dead Redemption 2 Hunting Guide

Hunting is a vital activity in Red Dead Redemption 2. Animals provide valuable resources such as meat, hides, and other materials. These can be eaten, cooked, sold to Butchers and Trappers, or brought to your camp's cook, Pearson, to craft upgrades and provide for the gang.

1. Tracking Animals

Finding your prey is the first step. You can use your Eagle Eye ability to spot animals and their tracks.

• Activate Eagle Eye: Press both analog sticks (L3 + R3) simultaneously.

• Spot Tracks: While in Eagle Eye, the environment will dim, and animal tracks will glow with a blue, wispy trail.

• Focus on a Track: Look at a track and press R1 (PS4) or RB (Xbox) to focus on it. This allows you to follow the animal's trail more easily, even after exiting Eagle Eye.

• Other Signs: Be aware of your surroundings. You can often spot animals by looking for footprints, listening for their calls, or noticing disturbed vegetation.

2. Stealth and Scent

Animals are easily spooked. Approaching them requires patience and stealth.

• Crouch: Crouch to move quietly and reduce your visibility.

• Use Cover Scent: You can buy or craft Cover Scent Lotion. This will mask your smell for a short time, allowing you to get much closer to animals without them detecting you.

• Use Bait: Different types of bait (Herbivore Bait and Predator Bait) can be used to lure animals to a specific location. Place the bait, move a safe distance away, and wait.

• Weapon Choice: Using a silent weapon, like the Bow, is essential for hunting without startling every animal in the area.

3. Animal & Pelt Quality

The most important part of hunting is the quality of the animal. This determines the value of its pelt and the amount of resources you receive.

• Study the Animal: Before you shoot, aim your weapon at an animal and "Study" it by pressing R1 (PS4) or RB (Xbox).

• Check the Quality: Next to the animal's name, you will see a star rating:

  • ★★★ (Pristine): This is the highest quality. Only a Pristine animal will yield a "Perfect Pelt," which is required for crafting many upgrades.

  • ★★ (Good): This will yield a "Good Pelt."

  • ★ (Poor): This will yield a "Poor Pelt."

• Getting a Perfect Pelt: To get a Perfect Pelt, you must hunt a Pristine (★★★) animal and get a clean kill using the correct weapon.

4. Clean Kills & The Right Weapons

A "clean kill" means killing the animal with a single, well-placed shot to a vital area (like the head or heart) without damaging the hide. Using the wrong weapon will ruin the pelt, regardless of the animal's quality.

• Use the Right Weapon: The in-game Compendium (under the "Animals" section) will tell you which weapon is needed for a clean kill on each animal. As a general rule:

  • Small Animals (Rats, Squirrels, Snakes): Use the Bow with Small Game Arrows.

  • Moderate Animals (Rabbits, Badgers, Raccoons): Use the Varmint Rifle.

  • Medium Animals (Coyotes, Foxes, Beavers): Use a Repeater or a Bow with regular Arrows.

  • Large Animals (Deer, Bucks, Wolves, Cougars): Use a Rifle (like the Bolt Action or Springfield) or a Bow with regular Arrows.

  • Massive Animals (Bears, Elk, Moose, Bison): Use a High-Powered Rifle (like a sniper rifle) or a Bow with Improved Arrows.

• Aim for Vitals: Always aim for the head or the heart to ensure a one-shot kill. Using Dead Eye can make this much easier.

5. Skinning & Storing

Once you've made a clean kill, you can skin the animal.

• Skinning: Approach the carcass and hold the "Skin" button. This will add the pelt, meat, and other parts (like fat, feathers, or teeth) to your satchel.

• Storing Pelts:

  • Small Pelts: Stored automatically in your satchel.

  • Medium Pelts: (e.g., Deer, Wolf) Stored on the back of your horse. You can stack multiple medium pelts.

  • Large Pelts: (e.g., Bear, Elk) These take up the entire back of your horse. You can only carry one at a time.

• Storing Carcasses:

  • Moderate Animals: (e.g., Rabbit, Raccoon) Can be stored on the sides of your horse.

  • Medium Animals: (e.g., Deer) Can be placed on the back of your horse (this takes the same slot as a large pelt).

• Decomposition: Be warned! Carcasses and large pelts left on your horse will decompose and rot over time, becoming worthless. Sell them or donate them to Pearson quickly. Pelts in your satchel do not rot.

6. Meat Quality Types

The meat you get from hunting can be cooked at a campfire to restore your cores. The quality of the meat affects how much it restores.