My approach which may help a beginner

[Dark Sceptor]

Be aware of the fact that this isn't a run and gun FPS, it is a slow game with prey that can hear you, smell you, and see you. It takes time and (sometimes) luck to get a good hunt. Just like in real life. But know this: even if it feels like the map is empty there are really thousands of animals around. So here is how I approach the hunting as a beginner :

You have the 243 which is not big on penetration. So the closer and cleaner the shot the better. Either broadside just behind the shoulder (for many animals) or head-on with a shot low in the chest to hope for a heart shot. If they have their back to you, do not shoot.

Start by tracking even the old tracks. If nothing else they can lead you to need zones. If you find several need zones close to each other, EW is too lax to address stacked zones so you will only see the last need zone in that spot. No matter, they are all important. Also a long travel from one location to another with an ATX will spook the hell out of the population but it will reveal a lot of need zones near the road if you are travelling during the day. (Need zones and footprints do not display at night unless you shine a light around.)

Moving through the woods is needed as many good spots are located there. But if you are running, no matter what, stop and try to avoid going through underbrush and bushes unless you really need to. And then do so with a slow crouch. When coming out onto a ridge or into a clearing, try to hang back and slowly approach the edge then ease forward scanning the area with binoculars while crouching or laying down. Sometimes you can surprise a nice prey by doing that.

Occasionally you need to just stop and smell the poop. LOL Actually just stop and listen. I had some of my many harvests by stopping and listening when in an area of a need zone or in an area that has much activity. After all, you aren't the only one making a ton of noise out here in the woods. If you sit for about 5 minutes and use a call for something you know is in the area, you may start hearing that fantastic sound of footsteps nearby approaching you. This is a real heart-pounding moment in the game.

Okay, so you have gotten many need zones and you have finally spotted that beautiful male deer and you want a kill but it is on the other side of the darn lake. First make certain you spot the animal with your binoculars. Go to the map and zoom in on that spot and place a marker there. Now when you close the map it will tell you the approximate range of the animal. 150 meters is pushing it as a beginner but anything more means you must be patient. Start by running around the lake as long as the deer is at least 200 meters away and not looking your way. If you have a situation where you can move directly to the animal then lay down and do so like that. It will take a long time but the chance of being seen is negligible. Keep checking / spotting the deer and continue your crawl towards your prey. Check your layout and make sure you are positioned for a very clean shot. A .243 isn't going to drop a deer right away but a bad shot will mean a very long tracking that may end with a pile of poop. Line up your shot carefully and just before you take your shot hold your breath. Shoot a bit lower than you think you should as a lucky heart shot will make your day. Then let her loose.

If you have the bloodhound DLC you should take it with you on every hunt in the beginning. While the dog is tracking the blood you can get experience in tracking the tracks. Make it a game to see if you can track the animal and find the next blood spot before the blood hound. Arriving where you marker has been placed for the prey you just shot, you will either see a very small amount of blood or a very large blood splatter. (pray for the latter!) Small blood drops means you just hit flesh and a large one means you hit a vital organ and a dead animal means you got the heart! Put the dog onto the blood trail while you start scanning for the tracks. I highly recommend you set the target tracks for magenta as that stands out much more than the stupid ice blue they assign by default. Check each blood spot your dog finds and look at the box that is displayed. At the top is an indicator of the animals health broken up by 25% marks. A very long track that remains in the 75-100% mark means you just hit flesh and muscle and the track may just end in a poop pile. (more on that later)

So you got a small blood spot but as you track the animal you see the health dropping which means this is going to hopefully be a good hunt. Keep tracking it and you may eventually see the outline of your prey ahead. If you dog is with you, hang back and let him find the body which makes him happy and may help increase his level. Now analyze your prey as to where you aimed, where the bullet hit, the results of that shot, and what you need to adjust to get a better shot the next time. It is very likely you will get many shots like this one before you begin penetrating the lungs. Trouble penetrating means maybe you should try to get closer for you shot. I've shot as close as about 50-75 meters.

So you tracked a beautiful male and your tracks ended in a pile of poop, a puzzled dog, and no more tracks. Once you are done swearing at EW (which I've done many times) know how their limited engine works. The animal file contains thousands of animal objects. Each animal has a defined size, weight, male or female, and location. I believe they have a radius of about 450 meters where once they are inside your radius they will spawn. The idea is that it lets you feel the entire world is populated when it isn't. Unfortunately they don't manage that ring very well with wounded animals. If it manages to run like a bat out of hell, does not encounter terrain issues, and is only flesh wounded it is likely that after pooping it will be deleted from the game engine. So now that long tracking of yours was unsuccessful because the deer got more than 450 meters beyond you.

Use your handheld to manage your time. Time is in military so you can know when it is afternoon instead of morning. For evening time I track animals especially in the forest so that I can get more need zones and hopefully I will also come across a night predator. When it is approaching sunrise I pick a need zone where animals have frequented heavily. There is nothing like the sight of a heard of elk feeding near a lake in the early morning. If you get there before them you can pick a spot at leisure. I look for one of two things, a slope running up into brush above the need zone or a slope running up to a boulder that is angled and flat on the 'away' side. Get positioned and check your visibility as it should be either a flat line or nothing! Get your rifle up then you binoculars. By doing this you can quickly switch between them hitting the Q button. When they arrive be patient and let them come in. Wait until they are eating or drinking then switch to the binoculars and spot the animals. Look for the male with the largest antlers and spot it. As a beginner do NOT make it hard on yourself by shooting more than one animal. When you are up to level 20 and you have the .7 mm rifle then you may consider that.

From here you just take your shot, track and locate, rinse and repeat. A large herd may return after the kill so once you claimed your kill run back to your spot and wait to see if they return. I had one situation where I was about to move in to claim my prey when the herd had already turned to return and were running all around me once they heard/smelled me.

I have one final suggestion: do NOT ignore the guides on YouTube, do NOT ignore the watch towers as they add new locations on the map, do NOT ignore the missions as they can add a ton of money and experience to your character! And get every outpost you can as they let you quickly travel to a location where new prey may be arriving.

I hope this helps with starting out. Just be patient and enjoy yourself in this tranquil world.

[pixelgrower]

Excellent advice. I have taken much of what you wrote, under action, in my hunting habit. Still fairly new to COTW, with 16x hours of game time. Loving it, bugs, quirks, and all!
Thanks for putting all this advice down in readable form.

[Lakel]

Small tip if you want a bit of easy, if boring money (provided you have the bird dlc), grab a shotgun, a blind/stand, and head over to Hirschfelden. Find a nice wide open cornfield, plop decoys, call a few times now and then, enjoy.