Where to find animals and what ammo to use for perfect kills

Red Dead Redemption 2 hunting guide – animal locations, ammo types, legendary animals, and tactics

Red Dead Redemption 2’s hunting mechanics are more in-depth than they are in most dedicated hunting games.
The hundreds of species, the different ammo types, the different weapons, the tactics and equipment make it incredibly involved. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. But don’t worry, we’re here to walk you through it, to guide to you the right spots, and to help you bag perfect pelts.

Red Dead Redemption 2 hunting guide

Hunting is mainly useful for three things: meat, pelts, and crafting items. If you want to keep your health core high, wear the best clothes, and craft the best ammo, hunting is your bread and butter. Here are just some of the things you can do with hunting goods:

• Setting up a campfire and cooking meat is one of the easiest ways to keep Arthur working at maximum capacity
• Animal parts can be used by a campfire to craft, such as animal fat for explosives and feathers for special arrow types
• Carcasses and animal parts can be donated to Pearson at camp, both as contributions and to unlock upgrades
• Animal carcasses and parts can be sold to butchers for profit
• You can use certain body parts to craft Talismans at fences, permanently boosting your stats
• Skinning animals works towards your Master Hunter challenges and towards Red Dead Redemption 2’s best outfit

Red Dead Redemption 2 hunting tips

First off, you should avoid going for animals under three star-quality where you can help it. When you spot your prey at a distance – make sure you stay downwind so they don’t pick up your scent, visible in Eagle Eye mode – pull out your binoculars. Study the animal and it should give you a star rating on their pelt. Three stars – Pristine – is what you want.

As our Red Dead Redemption 2 pelt guide points out, you then need to use the correct ammunition on the animal to keep the pelt at high quality. You also need to go for kill shots, rather than repeatedly firing at them.

Red Dead Redemption 2 – how to get clean hunting kills

As mentioned above, the quality of your kill is about using the right ammunition (which you can check in the compendium), as well as making a clean kill. All animals have kill spots that you can target for an instant kill. These areas are highlighted in red once you reach Level 4 of Dead Eye.
Unlocked in Chapter 5, this Dead Eye upgrade makes your reticle turn red when close to a vital organ such as the brain or the heart. Hit these small targets for an instant kill. Be aware that you also have to account for penetration, though – animals with thick skulls, for example, can only be taken down instantly with high velocity cartridges and powerful rifles.

Red Dead Redemption 2 animal locations and habitats

So, you now know exactly what to do with each animal you encounter. The only problem is, where do you find the buggers? Here I’ll break down animal habitats for you so you can head off to bag your trophies.
I’m not going to list every animal in the game because I will be dead before I’ve finished. Some of the animals can be found across large portions of the map anyway – those damn badgers are everywhere. Instead, I’ll list some of the hardest animals to track down.
Bat locations
Need some bat wings or stringy meat? Here’s where to look:

Armadillo, iguana and gila monster locations
If you want armadillo skin, you’re going to need to ride past Blackwater and into New Austin. Appropriately, these are all around the outskirts of the town of Armadillo. You can also find gila monsters and iguana around here:

Beaver locations
Whether you want scent glands, or beaver fur, these little critters can be tough to track down. You will find a patch of them West of Strawberry, around a lake. You can also find some under the ‘E’ and ‘R’ of ‘NEW HANOVER’. Here’s a look:

Bull locations
As far as I know, there are two spots for bulls. If you want bull horns, prime beef, or pelts, here’s where you need to go:

Condor locations
If you need condor feathers, there’s only one place to get them and it’s just to the West of Tumbleweed in New Austin:

Crab locations
These are tricky to track down as well, but here’s where you can find some crustacean meat:

Waxwing locations
These small birds can be difficult to track down, so head to these locations to get those cedar waxwing feathers:

For other animal species, just use a bit of common sense. Pigeons scavenge in Saint Denis, gulls are by the coast, farm animals are in farms, and amphibians are by lakes and rivers.

The bayou North of Saint Denis features its own habitat and hosts species such as bullfrog, alligators, cranes, egrets, and turtles. New Austin is home to desert-dwelling animals.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Legendary Animal locations

Looking for the best pelts for the trapper? Here are the legendary animal locations in Red Dead Redemption 2.

• Legendary Fox – North of the fence in Rhodes
• Legendary Bullgator – West of Lakay in the Bayou
• Legendary Elk – East of Bacchus Station, North of Fort Wallace
• Legendary Cougar – West of Tumbleweed, in Gaptooth Ridge
• Legendary Coyote – Northwest of Rhodes, in Scarlett Meadows
• Legendary Wolf – West of Bacchus Bridge, Cotorra Springs
• Legendary Buck – Northwest of Strawberry
• Legendary Boar – North of Lagras, Bluewater Marsh
• Legendary Beaver – Southwest of Butcher Creek
• Legendary Bharati Grizzly Bear – North of O’Creagh’s Run, Grizzlies East
• Legendary White Bison – West end of the Grizzlies, Lake Isabella
• Legendary Giaguaro Panther – West of Shady Belle, Lemoyne (only available after completing Rank 9 in the Master Hunter challenge)
• Legendary Tatanka Bison – Southeast of MacFarlane’s Ranch, Hennigan’s Stead
• Legendary Moose – Northeast edge of the map, Roanoke Ridge
• Legendary Bighorn Ram – West of Valentine, Cattail Pond
• Legendary Pronghorn – East of Fort Mercer, Rio Del Lobo Rock

How to get Perfect Pelts

Red Dead Redemption 2 Pelts Guide – How to get perfect pelts, where to sell and store them

Trade in fur and animal pelts was a cornerstone of the frontier economy all the way from the sixteenth century to the start of the twentieth.
So, with such fastidious attention to detail, it’s no surprise that this trade also plays an important role in Arthur Morgan’s journey throughout Red Dead Redemption 2 as well. Here’s what to do with pelts in Red Dead Redemption 2, including where to store them, where to sell them, and how to get perfect pelts.

What to do with pelts and where to to store animal pelts in Red Dead Redemption 2

You’ve hunted an animal, skinned it, and now the pelt is in your hands. What now? First, you need to whistle or walk up to your horse, where you can “stow” the skin until you’ve decided what to do with it. This adds it to your horse cargo menu, so you can find it again either by walking up to your horse and pressing right on the d-pad, or by selecting the Horse Cargo section of a shop menu.

Once you’ve stored the pelts on the back of your horse, you can do a few things with them. Sell them at a general store in town, donate them to Mr. Pearson at camp, or most importantly, take your best pelts to the Trapper to craft new equipment. Once you’re at the Trapper, sell your skins to him, and they’ll appear in his inventory for crafting equipment.

We have a full guide on where to find the Trapper in Red Dead Redemption 2, so take a look at that if you’ve got some decent skins.

Pelts that you’ve stored on the back of your horse aren’t safe, however. If you die, it looks like they’re gone forever. Don’t worry too much about Legendary skins though – if you lose the Legendary Bear Skin, or any other Legendary pelt for that matter, it will be automatically sent to the Trapper so you can craft the unique outfit item that it’s linked to. If you can’t find the Legendary skin you’ve looted, try looking at the Trapper.

But that does mean once you’ve found some pelts, make your way to get them crafted as soon as possible.

Where to sell pelts in Red Dead Redemption 2

You can sell pelts to most general stores and some stores that sell hunting equipment in Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s probably a better idea to save your best skins for crafting though, since you can make unique items you can’t get anywhere else. But if you’re looking for a few more dollars to contribute to the camp kitty, there are worse pursuits than trading in spare skins.
In the very early game, the best place to sell your pelts will be in Valentine, since you’ve got access to different kinds of shops there.

How to get perfect pelts in Red Dead Redemption 2

Getting a perfect pelt can be finicky to begin with, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be hitting the bulls-eye every time.
To identify which animal’s going to produce a perfect pelt, you’re going to need to use binoculars. You can find these in the “kit” tab of your satchel. With the binoculars equipped, hold the left trigger and use the left stick to zoom in.
You can also equip your binoculars from the right hand side of your item wheel.

Once you’ve got an animal in view, hold the right shoulder button (R1 on PS4) to study and identify the creature.

Next to its name will be three stars. Animals with all three stars filled in can produce a perfect pelt.

But there’s still a catch. Being too rough with a skin will damage it and lower its quality, so you can’t use too high-powered of a weapon to bring down the beast. Now that you’ve found a three star animal, use the weapon it tells to you use in the Compendium to kill it, and you should receive a three star pelt when you skin it.

To view the Compendium, enter the pause menu and select “Progress”. The information can also be displayed by pressing the right shoulder button (R1 on PS4) while you’re looking at an animal through binoculars.

We’ve listed the different ammo types that you can use to cleanly kill different types of game below:

Red Dead Redemption 2 – weapons and ammo for perfect pelts

How to get Perfect Rabbit Pelts and Perfect Bison Pelts

Small animals – These are killed with a bow, using small game arrows, if you want perfect pelts.
Small animals include rats, bats, squirrels, chipmunks, bullfrogs, toads, snakes, blue jays, cardinals, robins, woodpeckers, and other small species of bird.

Moderate animals – these must be killed with the varmint rifle with 0.22 ammo for pristine pelts.
Moderate animals include iguanas, gila monsters, rabbits, armadillos, badgers, muskrats, possums, raccoons, skunks, eagles, cranes, hawks, owls, and other large species of birds.

Medium animals – Kill these with the following ammo types: normal arrows, poison arrows, throwing knives, poison throwing knives, any rifle ammo except explosive, and any sniper ammo except explosive.
Medium animals include coyotes, foxes, pigs, and beavers.

Large animals – get pristine pelts by using the following ammo types: normal arrows, poison arrows, poison throwing knives, any rifle ammo except explosive, any sniper ammo except explosive.
Large animals include turtles, small alligators, boars, bucks, cougars, panthers, big horn rams, wolves, deer, pronghorns, goats, sheep, and peccary.

Massive animals – Use these ammo types: poison arrows, improved arrows, poison throwing knives, any rifle ammo except explosive, any sniper ammo except explosive, and shotgun slugs.
Massive animals include bears, bison, bulls, elk, moose, ox, cows, and big alligators.

We’ve got plenty more guides to help you get the best out of Red Dead Redemption 2, including a full list of RDR2 cheats, beginners tips to get your started, and locations for all of the best weapons in the game.

Legendary Fish

Red Dead Redemption 2 Legendary Fish guide – How to unlock and find all the Legendary Fish

The American West has some of the best fishing in the world, and Red Dead Redemption 2 has a tankful of Legendary Fish to test your tackle against. Each of these beauties are scattered in lakes and waterways across the map, so here’s where to find every Legendary Fish in Red Dead Redemption 2.

How to unlock fishing and how to get a fishing pole in Red Dead Redemption 2

In Chapter 2 of the main story, you’ll eventually unlock a quest line with John Marston called “Pouring Forth Oil”. After the third quest in the series, another icon will appear on your map in camp where you have to speak to Abigail. She’ll ask you to take the young kid around camp, Jack, out fishing. After this quest, you’ll be able to fish.

Where to find every Legendary Fish in Red Dead Redemption 2

There are 14 Legendary Fish to dredge from the deep in RDR2, and you can find them at any time, but to help you along there’s a side-quest that unlocks a full Legendary Fish map.
On the northeastern bank of Flat Iron Lake – after you’ve unlocked fishing by teaching Jack Marston – you’ll meet Jeremy Gill, a collector, who’ll give you the “A Fisher of Fish” quest, along with the map you need.

To catch Legendary Fish, the next thing you’ll need is Legendary Lures, which once you’ve met Gill can be bought from fishing shops in large towns for $20 each – so $60 all in.
The three types you get are the Special Lake, Swamp and River Lures, which will be enough for you to snag all 14 Legendary Fish.
Below are the locations – in alphabetical order – of all of them, alongside which type of lure they need:

• Legendary Bluegill – Lake Lure – You’ll find the Legendary Bluegill on the eastern bank of Flat Iron Lake, to the southwest of where it says “Rhodes” on the map. You need to go south of the small bay that’s east of the collection of islands in the Lake.
• Legendary Bullhead Catfish – River Lure – This one can be a bit tough to nick. You have to go to the Sisika Penitentiary off the eastern coast of Saint Denis. The Bullhead Catfish is found in the water between the two western islands of the Penitentiary.
• Legendary Catfish – This is the fourteenth fish, which you get a shot at after landing the other thirteen as is its own sidequest.
• Legendary Chain Pickerel – River Lure – An easier Legendary fish to find is the Chain Pickerel. It’s just to the southwest of the Horseshoe Overlook campsite, northwest of Flatneck Station, where the Dakota River starts to bend around.
• Legendary Large Sturgeon – River Lure – This fish can be found on the southwestern tip of Saint Denis, where the river to the west of the town opens up into a much larger body of water.
• Legendary Largemouth Bass – Lake Lure – The Largemouth likes the Lake Lure, despite being in the San Luis River, just to the southeast of Lake Don Julio, which is itself south of Armadillo.
• Legendary Longnose Gar – Swamp Lure – You find the Gar around the south bank of Lake Lagras, north of Saint Denis.
• Legendary Muskie – River Lure – To the east of Emerald Ranch, you can find the Muskie on the southern side of where Van Horn trading post is printed on the map.
• Legendary Perch – Lake Lure – This is another of the easier fish to find. Head to the Elysian Pool, which is northeast of the Emerald Ranch, to land the Perch.
• Legendary Redfin Pickerel – Lake Lure – You get this fish from Stillwater Creek, which is the western-most stream that comes out of the Lower Montana River to the west of Thieves Landing and to the East of MacFarlane’s Ranch.
• Legendary Rock Bass – Lake Lure – The Rock Bass is in the Aurora Basin, which is a good way west of Blackwater.
• Legendary Smallmouth Bass – Lake Lure – This variety of Bass is found to the west of Strawberry, on the eastern bank of Owanjila.
• Legendary Sockeye Salmon – Lake Lure – The Sockeye is found in the southern part of Lake Isabella, which is up in the mountains to the northwest of Valentine.
• Legendary Steelhead Trout – You find the Steelhead right on the edge of the playable area of the map, up in the northeast corner. The fish is northeast of the Brandywine Drop, which is north of Annesburg, at the top of the river.

For more on where to find rare things throughout Arthur Morgan’s adventure, take a look at our guide to the best weapons in Red Dead Redemption 2. 

Gunslinger quest

Red Dead Redemption 2 gunslinger guide: all locations and revolvers

Hunt down famous shootists from the Old West, take their photographs, and most likely, shoot ’em dead.

You can start the Gunslinger side-quests in Red Dead Redemption 2 by visiting the second saloon in Valentine, the first town you visit. This isn’t the big saloon where a lot of story missions take place, but the one off the main street.
Talk to the writer here, Calloway, and he’ll ask you to track down a group of Gunslingers for the mission The Noblest of Men, and a Woman. He wants you to come back with their photographs and stories of their legendary days in the Wild West. For the majority of cases, these groups of gunslingers don’t really want to be disturbed and you’ll usually end up in a gunfight and a duel to the death, so go prepared.

Red Dead Redemption Legendary Gunslingers Side Quest

Firstly, pull up the photos he gives you and inspect them. Once you do this the gunslinger’s location will be marked on the map. You’ll get access to four gunslingers at a time and can chase them down in any order, but we recommend the following order as some of these missions will get you a decent unique weapon upgrade or other significant items like a treasure map.
Warning: the majority of these Gunslingers will drop a unique weapon. This is great, but make sure you pick it up after you’ve killed them. You won’t get a second chance.

Emmet Granger

You’ll find this hog-fancier near Flat Iron Lake. Start a conversation with him and then you’ll have to clean up four piles of pig shit. Once that’s done you’ll antagonise him into a draw.
Shoot before he throws the knife and then go over and photograph his body. Mission accomplished. Now pick up Granger’s Pistol and keep it for yourself.

Billy Midnight

Billy’s a recluse, hiding out near Rhodes Train Station. Talk to the station manager and he’ll put you on the next train, where you’ll find Billy. Give chase and you’ll have to draw against him on a carriage roof. He’s fast, but if you put him down you’ll earn Midnight’s Pistol for your troubles. Take his photograph and you’re done.

Black Belle

Black Belle is hiding out in Bluewater Marsh and you should head here after Billy Midnight because it’s close to Rhodes. When you arrive you’ll be helping her fend off against a few waves of bounty hunters. You can defend the homestead and use the planted explosives to take out a couple at a time, but make sure you prioritise taking out the gatling gun when it arrives. With that done, take Belle’s photograph and you’re done.
Loot the dead if you like, and check Belle’s shack for a Cigarette Card.

Flaco Hernandez

Falco runs with a gang of at killers, so go armed accordingly. He’s also in The Grizzlies, so it’s worth changing into winter clothes to stay warm. You’ll find his camp around a frozen lake, and there’s the opportunity to approach quietly and stealth kill a bunch of gang members. Once you’ve dealt with his boys you can take down Flaco, take Flaco’s Revolver, and find a cigarette card and a The Poisonous Trail Treasure map in his cabin. That’s some good lootin’!

After tracking down the four gunslingers, you’ll notice Calloway has disappeared from the map. Don’t worry, the final chapter of this mission won’t open up until later in Chapter 4. Return to the saloon in Valentine and speak to the bartender, who will send you to Saint Denis and the Grand Korrigan riverboat. Speak to Calloway to reveal the final Gunslinger, Slim Grant.

Slim Grant

You’ll first need to go to the Sherif in Annesburg and then to the outlaw camp to the west of Annesburg. Take out the bandits and untie Slim, to take him to Brandywine Drop.

You’ll now have to face-off for a duel. Kill the Gunslinger and you can take his weapon – and the Gunslingers side-quests are all complete.

Dreamcatcher quest

Red Dead Redemption 2: All 20 Dreamcatcher locations and Ancient Arrowhead treasure

There are loads of things to do in Red Dead Redemption 2, including a nifty little side quest to find some Dreamcatchers.


There are 20 Dreamcatchers to be found in Red Dead Redemption 2 as part of the Dreamcatchers questline. If you manage to find them all you’ll be rewarded with the Ancient Arrowhead treasure.

The Dreamcatchers can be found all around the map and the guys at Arekkz Gaming have made this handy video guide to help you out further.

Some of them are quite large and easy to spot whereas some are a little trickier to see. The time of day will also affect their visibility. Most of them seem to be on trees that stand out from the others, either by being much larger or looking pretty dead.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Dreamcatcher locations

Here are the locations of the first 10 Dreamcatchers to get you started:

• The first Dreamcatcher can be found just Northwest of Latneck Station, across from the Dakota River. It is quite large and is hanging from a tree.

• The next is very slight Southwest of Caliban’s Seat. Run over to this collection of trees to find it.

• For this Dreamcatcher, set a marker on your map just below the first “E” near the town of Valentine, just off the dirt track. There’s a large tree with a stump in front of it that has the third more colourful Dreamcatcher hanging from its branches.

• The fourth Dreamcatcher can be found near The Grizzles and is more difficult to find. Set a waypoint just below the S in “West”, Northeast of Cattail Pond. Head up into the mountains until you reach a clearing. On a dead looking tree you’ll find the fourth Dreamcatcher.

• This next Dreamcatcher is North of the Dakota River, Southwest of Window Rock. Set a waypoint just off the beaten track. There should be a fallen tree to your left, so go a little further up the hill and on your left will be a tree with a Dreamcatcher hanging from it.

• Now, set a waypoints marker roughly in-between Cotorra Springs and Bacchus Bridge to find this next Dreamcatcher. There will be a clearing with lots of skinny trees and one much larger tree where you’ll find it hanging from the branches.

• Head over to the East of the map near the location labelled The Loft, which is to the Northeast of the Grizzlies East map point. Just in front of this structure is another dead looking tree with a Dreamcatcher hanging from it.

• This time, set a waypoint on the just above the road between Annesburg and Roanoke Valley. Again, head into the trees to spot this fairly obvious Dreamcatcher.

• Our next location is just Southwest of where you previously were, roughly between the “N” and the “E” of Annesburg on the map. Head to the point where the road splits and there will be a Dreamcatcher hanging from the tree to your left.

• Dreamcatcher number 10 can be found Southeast of the previous location, near the road between the “U” and the “R” of Annesburg on the map. Head up the hill and watch out for wolves when trying to interact with this one!

You’re halfway there! It might not look like it now, but the locations of each Dreamcatcher form a picture on the map that we’ll get to later. For now, here are the final 10 locations:

• Number 11 is directly South of Annesburg, just off the road. There should be a large rock to your left and you can head into the trees to find the next Dreamcatcher.

• For this next Dreamcatcher, head South the Elysian Pool. Head past a large bush to an even larger tree to find this one.

• Set a waypoint between where the road forks just above the “B” at Bluewater Marsh. There’s a tree in the middle of these two paths where you’ll find the next Dreamcatcher.

• Head West from this point, just above Lonnie’s Shack on the map. Just off the path, you’ll find another dead tree with a Dreamcatcher hanging from it.

• This next Dreamcatcher can be found West of the Aberdeen Pig Farm. This one is easy to find as it’s the only tree in a wide, open space and the Dreamcatcher is big enough to spot straight away.

• For this one, set a waypoint marker on the inner right hand side of the “O” in the New Hanover label on the map. Go up the hill, up past the rail track to find your next Dreamcatcher on a large tree.

• Head over to the East of Guthrie Farm, South of Heartland Overflow to find this next one. You’ll need to go off the beaten track to find a somewhat isolated tree and your next Dreamcatcher.

• Number 18 can be found near the “N” on The Heartlands label of the map. Again, there is a lonely barren tree with a Dreamcatcher to be found swinging from its branches.

• Set a waypoint slightly Northeast of Citadel Rock to find the penultimate Dreamcatcher. Right off the pathway to the left is where you’ll find it.

• For the final sign, set a waypoint beside the first “E” in New Hanover. It’s hanging from a tree to the left of the railroad tracks

Once you’ve interacted with the final Dreamcatcher, Arthur will pull out his notebook to reveal there is one final marker you haven’t discovered yet. You’ll see that the shape resembles a bull or buffalo somewhat.

The final marker is at the Elysian Pool. Set a waypoint for the Northern part of the Pool, and head behind the waterfall. We suggest bringing a lantern with you as the path is dark, but the minimap does guide you pretty well.

This location also makes up part of the Poisonous Trail Treasure Hunt, so you can kill two birds with one stone.
Head through the cave until the path splits and take a right. You’ll see some light streaming in. Climb the rocks in front of you until you see an ancient cave painting on the walls to the right.

Walk up to the painting and interact with what looks like the eye of a bull to collect your reward, the Ancient Arrowhead treasure. Congratulations! You did it. Now, get back to collecting resources for your camp already.