Hunting tips?

[issssk]

I just got the quest to get leather for Alwins quest, and I feel like I have zero chances of achieving that. Hunting seems insanely hard. I tried to kill one deer and needed 30 tries (save/reload) only to get a 2nd hit on it with my spear...then I found out that a 2nd hit won't even kill it. Now I just realized that even foxes can take two hits and a knife attack and still run away.
Is there any way to get the leathers without cheating? Does anyone have a list of how many hits one animal needs to finally go down?

[Philtre]

Hunting does seem to be rather more difficult than it used to. You can buy better-quality hunting gear (like metal arrows or poison arrows), and I think you can also just buy leather from someone (can't remember where though...) - not sure if that satisfies the quest, though...

[Mimilette]

So I was really taken aback by the hunting changes at first, and to be honest I still think the insane speed at which wounded animal run is absolutely not enjoyable as a game mechanic, but after switching to a bow with stone arrows, things got marginally easier. I manage now to kill boars more easily, though I will still have to run a bit after them when they're low on HP, and even managed to kill wisents though they almost killed me each time and then ran at lightning speed so I had to go around running in circle to finish them off.
Gonna be honest with you, I haven't tried deers because they're way too frustrating, Zero enjoyment there.
Anyway, I think the purpose of the change was to force players to upgrade their hunting weapons, which I think is a good idea in itself, but I think the implementation definitely needs some tweaking. At the very least they should make it easier to track the animal you wounded...

[Sarke]

Longbow and stone arrows. Sneak up on them, try to get a headshot to start. When they run away, follow them but not so close that they keep running. Wounded animals cry out, so listen for their direction if you can't see them. Two arrows should do it, maybe three.

[Samus]

If you're having problems with animals that run away from you, you can switch to animals that tend to charge you like boars. Hit them once or twice and they will run towards you to attack. You can continue to attack them. As of 1.0, boars will turn to run away when severely wounded. But they are slow enough to be aimed at and killed.

Better weapons are obviously better for hunting. But spears tend to do more damage than bows. Crossbows do more damage then lower end spears. But crossbows are very slow to reload.

Try crouching to get closer to your target so aim is bit better. For deer and boar, you know when you cannot get any closer when they howl at you. Deer will turn their heads to look at you before running away if they are facing you.

[ciero9]

I haven't tried deer yet, but I'm killing boars just fine. Three wooden spears take them down. They'll still get close enough to hit you once or twice, but that add a nice sense of danger.

BTW @issssk you also get leather from boars.

[Viktor Von Groyper]

Once a boar or lynx charges you, switch to an axe. Chunk a spear or two and then switch when they are in melee. Youll likely find a good one lying around. You can also chase rabbits and foxes and whack them with the axe before you get bows.

You also need to check your health. Even a fox will kill you if its low.

Have a bunch of spears on hand. Seems like it takes 3 spears to take something down.

Boars and smaller animals will run when injured so follow them because they can die from their wounds. Thats why I suggest the axe. Its more insta death and you dont have to chase them