Perfect Pelts

How to study, track and hunt animals getting always perfect pelts.

What do you need?

I have seen a lot of people having trouble getting perfect pelts.
I hope this guide will be useful to understand the basics to get a perfect pelt in the safest and easiest way.

First, you need these weapons and ammos:

• Varmint rifle
  
• Bow
  
• Small game arrows
  
• Regular arrows
  
• Improved arrows/any rifle
  
• Lasso

About lists: animals are grouped into type of animal, not the single breed:
Example: When I list "snake", I refer to all snakes:

• Black-tailed rattlesnake
  
• Cottonmouth snake
  
• Diamondback snake
  
• etc.

Sizes of animals

There are four size categories: tiny, small, medium, big.
(I know that the official guide lists five sizes but I'll make it easier because this is a guide about the basics).

In order to know the size of an animal, you need to focus on what Arthur does with the carcass:

• Tiny: put in the satchel.
  
• Small: hung to the saddle.
  
• Medium: when the full carcass is hung to the horseback.
  
• Big: when only the pelt is hung to the horseback.

(There are few exceptions with some animals. I will explain it later).

Main equipment

Every category size needs a specific equipment to be hunted correctly:

• Tiny animals with "small game arrows" (bow).
  
• Small animals with "Varmint rifle".
  
• Medium animals with "regular arrows" (bow).
  
• Big animals with "improved arrows" (bow) or any rifle.

To get a perfect pelt it's necessary to use the right weapon, killing the animal with one shot:
if you use a too powerful weapon, the life of the animal will go into negative and pelts will be ruined. if you use a too weak weapon or if you shot just injuring it, you will need more shots ruining the pelt.

So, in short: one shot, one kill. To be sure, just aim for the head using dead eye.

Bow is the best choice to hunt:

• It can use every type of ammo you need.
  
• it's fast.
  
• it's quite.
  
• it doesn't wear.
  
• You can pick up used arrows.

Support equipment

There are trinkets and talismans also. It is not necessary to get them to hunt but they could help.

• Fox Claw Trinket - Raises Eagle Eye duration by five seconds.
  
• Panther's Eye Trinket - Lowers drain speed of Dead Eye bar by 10% for three seconds.
  
• Alligator Tooth Talisman - Lowers the drain speed of Dead Eye Core by 10%.
  
• Bison Horn Talisman - Lowers the drain speed of your Stamina Core by 10%.
  
• Owl Feather Trinket - Lowers Health, Stamina and Dead Eye core drain speed by 15%.
  
• Hawk Talon Trinket - Permanently decreases Stamina bar drain speed by 30% when drawing a bow.

Please note: There are items with secret effects, like Ancient Arrowhead.
The Stamina lasts twice as long when using the bow with this item in your satchel.
Don't sell it!

There is also the Buck Antler Trinket.
This trinket is a mistery: I have played a large part of the game without it and I didn't see the difference after having crafted it.

Anyway, my guide is done to make the hunt easy also without these type of items.

Tiny animals

Tiny animals have to be hunted with small game arrows (bow), all other weapons are too powerful.
This category is the hardest to catch IMHO: It is made up by a lot of small animals, especially birds with a rare spawn and hard to see.
Being fast is the key. Don't worry about accuracy, one shot always kills, so you just need to hit the target.
Dead eye could be useful also to extend the range of the hit but, remember, it doesn't always work.

Here is the list:

• Blue Jay
  
• Cardinal
  
• Waxring
  
• Oriole
  
• Pigeon
  
• Robin
  
• Songbird
  
• Sparrow
  
• Woodpecker
  
• Carolina Parakeet
  
• Bullfrog
  
• Toad
  
• Bat
  
• Squirrel
  
• Rat
  
• Chipmunk

Small animals

To hunt these animals you must use Varmint rifle. Any other weapon is too weak or too powerful.

Here is the list:

• Eagle
  
• Crane
  
• Cormorant
  
• Egret
  
• Hawk
  
• Heron
  
• Owl
  
• Pelican
  
• Spoonbill
  
• Turkey
  
• Vulture
  
• Condor
  
• Goose
  
• Iguana
  
• Gila Monster
  
• Rabbit
  
• Armadillo
  
• Badger
  
• Muskrat
  
• Possum
  
• Raccoon
  
• Skunk
  
• Crow

I haven't included every animal in this list because this category has few exceptions. The details below in the next section: "Small animal: exceptions".

Small animals: exceptions

I said there are animals with exceptions.
These animals have to be hunted with different weapons from their size, because their size is not related to their HP.

For example: in these screenshots, I hunted a western raven and a roseate spoonbill.


They have the same size and I used the same weapon (Varmint rifle) but I was wrong, why?
The size of the western raven doesn't match with its HP and I used a weapon far too powerful (Varmint rifle is the correct weapon with small sizes but we are talking about an exception), I damaged the raven too much and I ruined the carcass. Contrary, the roseate spoonbill has HP matches with its size, so Varmint rifle was the best choice.
Western Raven is an animal with a small size BUT with tiny animal HP: to be hunted correctly it's necessary to use small game arrows.

Here below another exception: the northern copperhead snake.

Northern copperhead snake (like all other snakes) is a small animal (Arthur hung it to the sabble) but it has to be hunted as tiny animal (with small game arrows). Varmint rifle would have ruined the pelt because it is too powerful.

All the animals below must be hunt with small game arrows:

• Chicken
  
• Duck
  
• Loon
  
• Parrot
  
• Pheasant
  
• Quail
  
• Raven
  
• Booby
  
• Rooster
  
• Gull
  
• Snake

Medium animals

These animals need to be hunted with regular arrows (bow).
(other guides suggest also the repeaters but I disagree. I'll explain the reasons below).
Most of the animals are part of this category. They are common but it's necessary to be accurate aiming for the head.
I recommend you to use regular arrows (bow) because it's the weapon that works perfectly with all these animals.
Some medium animals don't die with one shot if they are hunted with a repeater, or they get too damage, ruining the coat, even if the official guide (and other guides) says it's the best choice.
Some guys say that the american alligator (small) and the whitetail deer can be hunted both with any repeater to get a perfect pelt.
Actually this information is wrong because a repeater is too powerful to hunt the deers.
I don't know why but it's so: just use the bow to stay safe.

Here is the list:

• Coyote
  
• Fox
  
• Pig
  
• Alligator (small)
  
• Turtle
  
• Boar
  
• Buck
  
• Cougar
  
• Panther
  
• Big Horn Ram
  
• Wolf
  
• Deer
  
• Pronghorn
  
• Goat
  
• Sheep
  
• Peccary

Below a little exception about this category.

Medium animal: exceptions

There is a little exception about a medium animal: the north america beaver.
This animal is a medium size with a small size HP, so it's necessary to use the varmint rifle.
Often the animal gets only injured if you shoot the body. This ruins the coat, don't take unnecessary risks and aim for the head.

Big animals

As I said: to hunt big animals it is necessary to use rifle or a bow with improved arrows


Here is the list:

• Alligator
  
• Bear
  
• Bison
  
• Elk
  
• Moose
  
• Ox
  
• Cow

Big animals can also be hunted with poison arrows (bow) or poison throwing knives but it is not a great method: it is too risky.

Lasso and harmless animals

Keep in mind that all harmless animals can be captured with the lasso and killed with knife after a short QTE.
This action doesn't damage the coat and it's the best way to get a perfect pelt without risk, just keep in mind that this action uses your Stamina. Be sure to have enough Stamina before attempting.
Here are all the animals that can be killed with a QTE:

• Pig
  
• Boar
  
• Buck
  
• Big Horn Ram
  
• Deer
  
• Pronghorn
  
• Goat
  
• Sheep
  
• Peccary
  
• Elk
  
• Moose
  
• Ox
  
• Cow

How to track and study aggressive animals

Studying aggressive animals (or elusive animals if we talk about predators like coguars, panthers, etc.) may seem difficult but with the right equipment it becomes really easy.
The best way to track and study is using a bow with poison arrows or a poison throwing knife.
When an animal is poisoned, it will stop attacking you and it will run away. You should take this opportunity to track it.

Studying works in the same way: when an animal runs away because it's poisoned, it will crumble to the ground dying after few meters. You have few seconds to get closer to study it.
Just remember: the game will offer you the chance to perform a mercy kill. If you let it die slowly, you will lose karma.

Caothic situations and solutions

Using the lasso is crucial in a difficult situation in order to drag medium and big carcasses to you.

Example: the carcass can be swept away by the river flow or, in case you are by the lake, it can sink.
You can do it alone if the river is shallow. You can also use your horse help if the water is too deep or if you want to speed up the process.

Other methods

Of course, there are many ways to get a perfect pelt but with a higher risk to ruin the coat.
RDR2 hunting system is a great content full of opportunities thanks to different weapons and situations.

Examples: use the Rolling Block rifle to cover a long distance or a regular throwing knife to make it a little bit more fun.

Ready to hunt

As we said, some animals have HP and size that don't match with each other.
You can get a perfect pelt from a coyote with a regular throwing knife, but you can't do the same with a coguar. You can still do it with a turtle or a sheep even if in theory turtles have the same size of the coguars and the coyotes are smaller than them both.
Understanding the little differences is part of the game.

Those were the basics, now it's time to hunt.

Well... "OKAY, I'LL CATCH YOU LATER THEN!"

[rickovesen]

if you think you have hunted ever legendary animal you forgot micah the legendary rat

[Sturm VII]

Awesome guide, thank you!
Decided to do a clean replay 😅

[Louis.7493]

most animals just inevitably have 2 or 1 star rating..

[jedimaster1087]

reallly helpfull doubt ill use it but its really in depth

[Budget_Cloaker]

"@Zepher "How do you get the Improved Arrows? I dont see a pamphlet or anything for it anywhere." You need flight feathers if I remember correctly.

[Jack]

"How to get perfect pelt"

Don't suck.

[Lord Vampair]

--UPDATE--
The actual guide is broken as result of a Steam issue...
If you see a "double/triple" space line or a missing visual reference, you know it is not a my missing.
Unfortunately, a lot of screenshots and pictures have been corrupted.
I hope to solve it ASAP.

[Cy64]

Can confirm the buck antlers have a chance to magically upgrade the pelt while skinning it, allowing you to hunt average animals and get perfect pelts. I'd say its somewhere between a 25-50% chance.

[Lucifer22]

@YourAverageBattleship instructions unclear shot micah in the face with sawed off shotgun

[Real]

heres a guide on trash pelts: shotgun to the rabbits fuckin' face