Hunting

Animals can be hunted for their meats, hides and other useful materials. Hunting is also required to complete other objectives.

Hunting Equipment

When hunting, choose your weapon carefully to avoid ruining your reward. Carcasses that have been damaged by multiple wounds are worth less than that those that are broadly pristine.

Use your lasso for bringing down deer for a clean knife kill.
Level 7 unlocks the Bolt-Action Rifle ($216.00), a strong and versatile rifle, built to perform in any environment. Perfect for hunting large animals.
At level 8 you unlock the Varmint Rifle ($72.00), designed for hunting small mammals and large birds, using a special low-caliber type of ammunition with reduced damage.
At level 10 you unlock the bow ($124.00), hunter's weapon of choice. With the bow you can perform quiet and clean kills without scaring away the animals in the vicinity. For optimal results, try to aim your arrows at the head or neck of your prey. Note that you can call an animal while aiming at it. Doing so just before releasing your arrow can help you to land a clean shot when the animal raises its head to look in your direction. Small game arrows (better quality pelts from small prey) and poison arrows (a way to take down big animals quickly) are types of arrows that can prove extremely helpful when hunting.
At level 12 you unlock the Lancaster Repeater ($243.00), good balance of fire rate and accuracy for medium game.
The Rolling-Block Rifle ($411.00) is unlocked at level 13, designed for hunting large and massive beasts.

Reaching level 13 and spending $1100, you have the weapon equipment you need to hunt all kind of animals.

Hunting Accessories

Bait will attract wild animals, with predators and herbivores responding to different varieties. Drop it on the ground, then hide nearby; it may take a few minutes for the creature to take notice. You can also use fresh carcasses to lure certain carnivores.

Animal Tracking

The easiest way to track nearby animals is to activate Eagle Eye by simultaneously pressing . In Eagle Eye mode, animal tracks are clearly identified by luminous trails. You can then press / to highlight the trails for a while, making them easier to follow.

Animal Parts

Once successfully hunted, most animals can be skinned. You can then decide what to do with the resulting goods. Depending on their size, animal parts are either stored in your satchel or stored on your horse by pressing /.

You can cook and eat many types of meat when you rest at a campfire. Consuming food is one of the most convenient ways to maintain your attribute cores.
You can deliver animal parts and donate them to Cripps Trading Co. as you are a Trader, or sell them to butchers.
Many animal parts can be sold to Gus MacMillan. Some body parts can be crafted by MacMillan into trinkets.

Skinning animals and cooking meat ranks up your Dead Eye level.

Animal	Skin	Carcass	Meat	Parts
Alligator	Skin	x	Big Game Meat	Tooth
Armadillo	Skin	x	Stringy Meat	-
Badger	Pelt	x	Stringy Meat	Claw
Bat	-	x	Stringy Meat	Wing
Beaver	Fur	x	Stringy Meat	Scent Glands, Fat
Bighorm	Hide	x	Gristly Mutton	Horn
Bison	Fur	-	Prime Beef	Horn
Bear	Fur	-	Big Game Meat	Claw, Fat
Boar	Skin	-	Tender Pork Loin	Tusk, Fat
Buck	Fur	x	Mature Vanison	Antler
Bull	Hide	-	Prime Beef	Horn
Bullfrog	-	x	Herptile Meat	-
Chipmunk	-	x	Stringy Meat	-
Cougar	Fur	x	Big Game Meat	Fang
Cow	Hide	-	Prime Beef	-
Coyote	Fur	x	Stringy Meat	-
Crab	-	x	Crustacean Meat	-
Deer	Hide	x	Mature Venison	-
Elk Bull	Pelt	x	Mature Venison	Antler
Elk Cow	Pelt	x	Mature Venison	Antler
Fox	Fur	x	Stringy Meat	-
Gila Monster	Skin	x	Herptile Meat	-
Goat	Hide	x	Gristly Mutton	-
Iguana	Skin	x	Herptile Meat	-
Moose	Fur	x	Mature Venison	Antler
Muskrat	Fur	x	Stringy Meat	Scent Glands
Opossum	Fur	x	Stringy Meat	-
Oxen	Hide	-	Prime Beef	Horn
Panther	Fur	x	Big Game Meat	-
Peccary	Skin	-	-	Fat
Pig	Skin	x	Tender Pork Loin	-
Pronghorn	Fure	x	Mature Venison	-
Rabbit	Pelt	x	Game Meat	-
Racoon	Fur	x	Stringy Meat	-
Rat	Pelt	x	Stringy Meat	-
Sheep	Hide	x	Gristly Mutton	-
Skunk	Fur	x	Stringy Meat	Scent Glands
Snake	Skin	x	Stringy Meat	-
Turtle	-	x	Herptile Meat	-
Squirrel	Pelt	x	Stringy Meat	Tail
Toad	-	x	Herptile Meat	-
Wolf	Fur	x	Big Game Meat	Heart
Blue Jay	Feather	-	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Cardinal	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Chicken	Feather	x	Plump Bird Meat	-
Condor	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Cormorant	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Crane	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Crow	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Duck	Feather	x	Game Meat	Flight Feather
Eagle	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Egret	Plume	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Goose	Feather	x	Plump Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Gull	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Hawk	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Heron	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Loon	Feather	-	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Oriole	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Owl	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Pelican	Feather	x	Exotic Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Pheasant	Feather	x	Game Meat	Flight Feather
Pigeon	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Quail	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Raven	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Robin	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Rooster	Feather	x	Plump Bird Meat	-
Songbird	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Sparrow	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Spoonbill	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Turkey	Feather	x	Plump Bird Meat	-
Vulture	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Waxwing	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Woodpecker	Feather	x	Gamey Bird Meat	Flight Feather
Teca Gator	Skin	-	-	Tooth
Sun Gator	Skin	-	-	Tooth
Banded Gator (*)	Skin	-	Big Game Meat	Tooth
Owiza Bear	Pelt	-	-	Claw
Ridgeback Spirit Bear	Pelt	-	-	Claw
Golden Spirit Bear (*)	Pelt	-	Big Game Meat	Claw
Zizi Beaver	Pelt	-	-	Tooth
Moon Beaver	Pelt	-	-	Tooth
Night Beaver (*)	Pelt	-	-	Tooth
Tatanka Bison	Pelt	-	-	Horn
Winyan Bison	Pelt	-	-	Horn
Payta Bison (*)	Pelt	-	-	Horn
Cogi Boar	Pelt	-	-	Tusk
Wakpa Boar	Pelt	-	-	Tusk
Icahi Boar (*)	Pelt	-	Tender Pork Loin	Tusk
Mid Runner Buck	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Snow Buck	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Shadow Buck (*)	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Iguga Cougar	Pelt	-	-	Fang
Maza Cougar	Pelt	-	-	Fang
Sapa Cougar (*)	Pelt	-	-	Fang
Red Streak Coyote	Pelt	-	-	Fang
Midnight Paw Coyote	Pelt	-	-	Fang
Milk Coyote (*)	Pelt	-	-	Fang
Katata Elk	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Ozula Elk	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Inahme Elk (*)	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Ota Fox	Pelt	-	-	Claw
Marble Fox	Pelt	-	-	Claw
Cross Fox (*)	Pelt	-	-	Claw
Snowflake Moose	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Knight Moose	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Ruddy Moose (*)	Pelt	-	-	Antler
Nightwalker Panther	Pelt	-	-	Eye
Ghost Panther	Pelt	-	-	Eye
Iwakta Panther (*)	Pelt	-	-	Eye
Gabbro Horn Ram	Pelt	-	Gristly Mutton	Horn
Chalk Horn Ram	Pelt	-	Gristly Mutton	Horn
Rutile Horn Ram (*)	Pelt	-	Gristly Mutton	Horn
Emerald Wolf	Pelt	-	-	Heart
Onyx Wolf	Pelt	-	-	Heart
Moonstone Wolf (*)	Pelt	-	Big Game Meat	Heart

(*) Can solely be found by doing missions after reaching rank 5 as Naturalist.

Animal Quality & Kill Quality

The animal parts you obtain when hunting game depend on two factors that might not be immediately apparent.

Every animal in the game has a "quality" that broadly reflects its physical condition. For example, you would naturally expect a healthy deer in the prime of its life to have a better pelt than a skinny specimen - and this is exactly what happens in the game. Secondly, the manner in which you kill an animal also influences your hunting spoils. The pelt of a wolf riddled with holes by a shotgun blast, for instance, will yield less meat and have a lower dollar value than one where you dispatch the creature with a clean headshot.

These two concepts - animal quality and kill quality - determine the nature of the parts you retrieve while skinning a creature.

Animal Quality

You can discover the quality of each animal by focusing on it (hold /) while in close proximity, or through a scope or binoculars at range. Hold / to study it; once the circular gauge is full, you can press the button again to show the animal's information.

An animal's quality is revealed both in the "info" window and by the number of stars next to the creature's name when you study it or focus on it while in close proximity (1* = Poor; 2* = Good; 3* = Pristine).

Kill Quality

The quality of a kill is determined by two factors: what body part you hit, and which weapon you use.

Body Parts - The damage you deal depends on the body part that you hit. You are probably accustomed to the gaming concept whereby headshots always cause an instant kill. The same broadly applies in Red Dead Redemption2, though the overall system is rather more nuanced.

Fatal Damage is inflicted when you hit vital organs. If an arrow or bullet strikes one of these regions, the target dies instantly - no matter how much health it has. For most animals, these body parts are the brain and the heart. They tend to be small so your aiming skills will need to be flaw less to hit them. You also need to take one additional factor in consideration: penetration. If you aim at the brain of a bison from the front, for example, your arrow or bullet can only reach the organ if it can penetrate the skull. This is where specialized weapons (such as scoped rifles) and ammunition (such as high velocity cartidges) can make difference. Aiming from different angles can also greatly help to avoid large bones or other body parts in the way.
Critical Damage is inflicted when you hit critical organs such as the lungs or the stomach. Dealing critical damage is not necessarily lethal, but will cause the wound in question to bleed, greatly weakening the target. A critically-wounded animal might run away, but will often limp and eventually collapse. Both fatal and critical strikes consistently lead to clean, perfect kills when performed with the right weapon type.
Normal Damage is caused when you hit any other body parts.

Optimal Weapons - Depending on the size of the prey, there are certain types of weapon and ammunition that are better suited than others for a clean kill.

A high animal quality and clean kill leads to better hunting loot, both quantitatively and qualitatively. If you are looking for a perfect-grade animal part, you will need to hunt an animal in pristine condition, and to dispatch it with clean, perfect kill with a suitable, maintained weapon and ammunition.

Animal Size & Optimal Weapons

Depending on the size of your current prey, you need to choose the weapon you use wisely if you wish to secure a perfect kill. There is at least one optimal weapon type for each size category.

Animal Size Groups

Size	Category	Animals
Small	Birds	BlueJay, Booby, Cardinal, Waxwing, Crow, Oriole, Pigeon, Robin, Songbi1d, Sparrow, Woodpecker, Chicken, Duck, Loon, Parrot, Pheasant, Quail, Raven, Rooster, Gull
	Reptiles	Bullfrog, Toad, Snake
	Mammals	Bat, Squirrel, Rat, Chipmunk
Moderate	Birds	Eagle, Crane, Cormorant, Egret, Hawk, Heron, Owl, Pelican, Spoonbill, Turkey, Vulture, Condor, GoosePheasant
	Reptiles	Iguana, Gila Monster
	Mammals	Rabbit, Armadillo, Badger, Muskrat, Possum, Raccoon, Skunk
Medium	Mammals	Coyote, Fox, Pig, Beaver
Large	Reptiles	Alligator (small), Turtle
Large	Mammals	Boar, Buck, Cougar, Panther, Big Horn Ram, Wolf, Deer, Pronghorn, Goat, Sheep, Peccary
Massive	Reptiles	Alligator
Massive	Mamals	Bear, Bison, Bull, Elk, Moose, Ox, Cow

Weapon Efficiency Per Animal Size

Animal Size >		Small	Moderate	Medium		Large		Massive
Weapon	Ammunition	Fatal Hit	Fatal Hit	Normal Hit	Critical and Fatal Hit	Normal Hit	Critical and Fatal Hit	Normal Hit	Critical and Fatal Hit
Bow	Arrow	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	-	-
	Small Game Arrow	Perfect	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Poison Arrow	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Improved Arrow	Poor	Poor	Good	Good	Good	Good	-	Perfect
	Fire Arrow	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
	Dynamite Arrow	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
Throwable	Throwing Knife	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	-	-	-	-
	Poison Throwing Knife	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Tomahawk	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	-		-
Varmint Rifle	0.22	Good	Perfect	-	-	-	-	-	-
Pistol	Regular	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	Split Point	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	High Velocity	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	Express	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	Explosive	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
Revolver	Regular	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	Split Point	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	High Velocity	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	Express	Poor	Good	Good	Good	-	-	-	-
	Explosive	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
Repeater	Regular	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	-	-	-	-
	Split Point	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	-	-	-	-
	High Velocity	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	-	-	-	-
	Express	Poor	Good	Good	Perfect	-	-	-	-
	Explosive	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
Rifle	Regular	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Split Point	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	High Velocity	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Express	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Explosive	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
Sniper Rifle	Regular	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Split Point	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	High Velocity	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Express	Poor	Poor	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect	Good	Perfect
	Explosive	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
Shotgun	Buck Shot	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
	Incendiary	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
	Slug	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Good	Good	Good	Perfect
	Explosive Slug	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor

The carcasses of moderate, medium and large animals can be skinned, picked up, dropped, and stowed or removed from horseback. Massive animals can only be skinned; their carcasses cannot be transported.

You can load your horse up with pelts and carcasses that you collect, as long as you remain within the following limits:

The carcass of one medium or large animal, or the pelt of one massive animal, across the back of your horse.
The carcasses of two moderate animals hooked on either side of your horse.
Multiple pelts of large, medium and moderate animals draped over the back of your horse.
Note that all small animalparts are stored directly in your satchel.

Legendary Animals

Legendary Animals are hard to find and, in most cases, dangerous. Hunting them is challenging. A few legendary animals spawn during missions given by Harriet Davenport, most of them are encountered in the wild.

When you enter a legendary animal's territory, the game notifies you of this fact and your map is updated accordingly. Explore the area in Eagle Eye mode and you will soon reveal a first clue (shown on the radar with a small question mark icon).

If you are planning to hunt a legendary animal, make sure you are equiped with the right weapons and ammunition, and that you are in perfect shape for the encounter. Kill quality is not an essential factor when you take down a legendary animal; the items that they yield are unaffected by the means of their death, so you can take them out with your most lethal weapon. These battles tend to be fierce and the most resilient animals can tank a lot of damage.

Advice is to have a full Dead Eye meter to identify your target. It can also help to save your life - if an animal should notice you and charge, headshots could stop the animals in its tracks. Use the "Slow and Steady" ability card while on your horse. Your Horse will not buck you or run away.

Animal Habitats

Each animal species can be found in specific habitats. When searching for a particular type of animal, visiting the appropriate territories will give you the best chance to encounter the creatures you seek.

Tap or click an image to enlarge.