Sharpshooter Challenges


 * You might also be looking for the multiplayer Sharpshooter Challenges.



The Sharpshooter Challenges involve shooting many difficult-to-hit targets.

After Rank 5, the player receives an increase in ammo when using chests in safehouses and camps. Once he completes all the challenges, his Dead Eye meter builds faster as he kills enemies.

Rank 1: Kill any 5 flying birds.
This is rather self-explanatory. The five birds can be any combination of crows, ducks, eagles, hawks, seagulls, songbirds, or vultures, and they must be in flight.

Rank 2: Kill 5 rabbits.
Rabbits are found in small groups all over the map, but seem to stick to grassy plains and are typically found near a road. Areas like The Hanging Rock and Warthington Ranch usually have rabbits lurking around in small groups.

Note: In order to be skinned, rabbits and other small animals must be killed with pistols or any other low-powered weaponry.

Rank 3: Kill 5 coyotes without taking any damage from them.
Coyotes can be found in most areas of New Austin and Nuevo Paraiso.

The easiest way by far to complete this is to stay on a horse with high stamina and shoot them with the High Power Pistol. With headshots, it will be an instant kill on each one. Just make sure not to shoot the horse as even two shots will take it down, especially if facing the front of the horse.

Another nifty trick is to go to areas of low coyote spawns (i.e around MacFarlane's Ranch but within visible distance). This is because coyotes are very fearful and will only attack in groups of four or more.



Rank 4: Kill 5 birds from a moving train.
The easiest way to do this is from on top of the train. Use the ladders outside of the cabins to get on top of the train.

Also, sometimes the game bugs and the challenge is only available for completion when the train is boarded "legally" (boarding when the train is at a station, not jumping on from horseback).

To avoid sliding off the roof of a train car, players who attempt this challenge might want to consider standing on top of the wood pile directly behind the engineer on the actual train engine.

Possibly the easiest way to do this is to buy some Chewing Tobacco (recommended) and use Dead-Eye to shoot the birds, Dead-Eye kills count.

Rank 5: Kill any 2 different types of wild animals in 1 Dead-Eye meter.
There are many options for completing this challenge: Wait until a bird flies close by (normally only takes a minute maximum) and enter Dead-eye mode. Shoot the bird, then the rattlesnake. Alternatively, you could find where the wild horses are and shoot one and target a bird in the sky at the same time, and another way is to shoot two birds of different species (hawk and crow for example).
 * Go to the Hanging Rock. Walk around until finding (listen carefully) a rattlesnake. Make sure you know where it is and will have a clean shot.
 * Head to Tall Trees, in West Elizabeth. There are multitudes of larger animals such as bears, boars and elk here, which usually mingle.
 * Head to Two Crows, south of Armadillo. Many wolves and deer roam around the area. Simply mark two shots for the wolf and deer (three shots for deer is recommended) and let it rip.
 * While doing the Stranger mission Remember My Family. After arriving at the riverside for the final encounter, but prior to engaging, there will be plenty of ducks flying overhead. Look past the ducks to the other side of the river and there should be birds on the horizon. It is quite possible to mark a shot for a bird on the horizon and a shot for a duck and get this challenge done very easily.
 * Steal a horse then take it to any other animal, dismount the horse, mark the targets and engage.
 * A simple method is to go to Great Plains, track down a wolf, kill the rest of the pack and follow the lone wolf on horseback. Thereafter, when the wolf runs into a rabbit, fox, skunk or beaver, take both out using dead-eye.

NOTE: Canceling the Dead-eye after killing the two animals does not work. The Dead-eye must end automatically for it to count.

Rank 6: Shoot 2 hats off 2 different people's heads.
These do not have to be done at the same time. Target the top of the hat to make it fly. Walton's Gang (Top Hats) and Banditos (Sombreros) are the easiest. Also, the piano players in Armadillo and Blackwater have tall top hats that can easily be shot off with the use of Dead-Eye Targeting while they are distracted with playing the piano.

The easiest way to accomplish this goal is to hogtie a person wearing a hat, then to shoot it off.

Use the Dead Eye mode that Landon Ricketts taught about: simple Level 1 Slow Motion. Do not use Dead Eye Lock-on or it'll be head-shot, not a hat-shot. Once in slow motion, manually aim for the very top of the hat (or rim) and squeeze the trigger.

Shooting a hat off someone's head without killing them is not an easy feat at first. You will quickly find yourself wanted if practising on unwitting bystanders. It's optional to put on a Bandana first. If you wish to be especially cautious, do it out of town so you don't rack up killing witnesses and you can lose your wanted level quickly.

Stagecoach drivers are useful for this challenge as they are good stationary targets. Use a long-distance rifle from behind (so you don't startle them).

Alternatively, go to the Walton Gang hideout in Twin Rocks, just north of Armadillo. Obviously, there is no worry about a wanted level here. Once you have whittled off all but the last few bandits, you should be able to get close enough to Dead-Eye into slow motion. Then carefully aim for the top of their hats.

If struggling with this, try shooting down at people. Ride up to them, look down and shoot the rim of their hat. An easy way to do this challenge is to hop on a train. There's a pretty good chance that there will be at least two people on the train who have hats.

Use a sniper rifle and aim for the hat of any person or use the Gatling Gun; that may accomplish this challenge without even trying during the assault on Fort Mercer.

Note: The sniper rifle is particularly effective in Escalera. Climb to the top of the tower next to the governor's mansion and aim for the brims of sombreros of the people on the road.

If cautious, go to the Armadillo Saloon 2nd floor. Then find Walton's Gang (Top Hats). If you accidentally kill them, you will not get a wanted level or bounty, but they will shoot at you. Remember, they are normally in groups.

This rank is incredibly easy if you go to Casa Madrugada and use a sniper rifle (such as the Rolling Block or the Carcano rifle) along with some Dead-Eye (don't use Lock-on, though). You acquire no Bounty in Casa Madrugada, and there are a lot of Banditos with sombreros everywhere. By doing this, you'll probably be done with this rank in less than a minute.

Rank 7: Kill 3 Grizzly Bears each with one shot.
Grizzly Bears can be found in the snowy areas of Tall Trees. They will appear more frequently when the player is not on horseback. The best method for defeating the bears is using Dead-Eye Targeting with the Buffalo Rifle, Bolt-Action Rifle (in the head), any sniper rifle or any type of shotgun. A Springfield Rifle will also work, but you have to hit the bear in between the eyes. Wait until the bear is facing and target the head for the kill. Make sure no hunters are around because they may have shot the bear and it wouldn't count. Also don't get too close. If at a safe enough range, a sniper rifle is extremely effective. If too close, it's very difficult to use. The kills do not register if the Explosive Rifle is used.Also, a good way is to use the carcarno rifle and aim for the head.NOTE: If a grizzly is facing the wrong way (head away from you) fire next to it without hitting it to make it change direction or turn around, it should run at you and when this happens NOW is the time to shoot it in the face.

Rank 8: Shoot the hats off of 2 people's heads and disarm 2 people.
These do not have to be done at the same time. Make sure you aim at the weapon (not arm or hand). If blood is drawn, it doesn't count. Rifle- or shotgun-holding enemies are easiest to target. Walton's Gang (found at Armadillo and Twin Rocks) is ideal for this challenge because of their top hats and weaponry. Don't use a high powered weapon like the high powered pistol. Use something like the Cattleman Revolver for the hats. It's easier to pinpoint a spot on the hat where the head isn't. For the hats, you can shoot anyone's hat off. For the disarms, it has to be enemies; lawmen do not count as enemies (although the mexican army does). Dead Eye makes this notably easier. Especially look out for enemies with rifles as well, as they are the easiest to hit without hitting the enemy.

An easier way to do this would be to use either the pump-action or semi-automatic shotguns exclusively to clear out a few hideouts. The spread of the buckshot when fired at enemies will remove the hats and weapons of enemies as a matter of course and complete this challenge without any effort.

Also, another easier way to do this is by doing a night watch job. Just follow the dog and once you find a criminal, enter Dead Eye and select (RB) the gun to the disarm the criminal.

Tip: It is easiest to complete by doing the Twin Rocks hideout. As said before, their top hats and weaponry choice make this easy to complete. You can also easily complete the rank 9 when the hideout is complete due to the amount of vultures flying above. Also, the player should try aiming to the side of the hat, not the front. This will put you less at risk when accidentally shooting a person in the head.

A quick (but recommended to be used only by very accurate players) way to do this is in Thieves' Landing, walk up behind someone and use Dead-Eye to shoot there hat off, they will turn and pull out a gun to shoot you, simply use Dead-Eye and shoot the gun out of there hand. If done fast enough it may be possible to do both in one Dead-Eye charge but its recommended to take some Chewing Tobacco just in case.

You may have several people trying to shoot you when finished, so its best to stick near the Thieves' Landing save point (if owned) or near you horse to make a quick exit if you dont own the Thieves' Landing room.

Rank 9: Kill any 6 wild animals without changing or reloading weapons.
The SIMPLEST way to do this is: Do either the Twin Rocks or Tesoro Azul gang hideouts. Upon completing those hideouts, 6-8 vultures will circle overhead. Make sure to start with a full Dead-Eye gauge, then use a repeater to break up the vulture party.

Buffalo travel in a herd, and wolves' packs sometimes exceed six, so they're a viable option with a full gauge and a repeater.

If you haven't already completed this challenge by the time you reach the mission Pestilence, which takes place on Marston's Ranch in Beecher's Hope, have a pick from the huge flock of crows swarming the silo.

The Evan's Repeater is an excellent choice for this rank as it holds 22 rounds before reloading. The Great Plains is a wide open area full of horses, deer, elk, buffalo and birds that can easily be killed before having to reload the gun.

Rank 10: Disarm any 6 enemies without reloading or changing weapons.
This video shows the best and easiest method known for completing the challenge.

Some general tips for this challenge are:

1. Use a weapon with lots of bullets in one clips. Using a Mauser Pistol, without emptying the magazine as shown in the video, and without leaving aim, has resulted in unlimited magazine size 5/5 times attempted. You could try to empty the weapon to the point where you only have 1 clip full of ammo, so there is nothing to reload from.

2. Alternatively, leaving and then re-entering Dead Eye also refills ammo, it does not count as a reload and will not restart the challenge count. That way you don't have to empty your ammo first, and you have loads of ammo to reload from, without counting as a reload.

3. It seems to be easier to get a disarm by painting the enemy's weapon in Dead-Eye mode before firing (rather than simply aiming at it and pulling the trigger). Verify that the target is successfully painted by watching for the X to follow the weapon's movement.

4. Attempt this during a bounty hunting mission when the bounty is part of a gang, and then wearing the outfit which disguises you as a member of that gaing. For instance, for a bounty mission to find a Bandito gang member, put on the Bandito outfit, and walk right into the middle of camp. The gang members won't shoot until pulling a gun, so find a spot where there are 4 or 5 of them in a cluster nearby, pull the weapon and go into Dead Eye. Have medicine and an item that refills Dead Eye handy. Since gang members are a little tougher than other characters, it's possible that you may be able to disarm them 3 times before they die. Similar to this, you can get and wear the Bollard Gang outfit and go to Pikes Basin. Don't go to the X to start the challenge, but rather go around it and get in a shooting postition as though you are joining the gang in firing at the rancher. I've found it works particularly well to simply get behind a rock next to one of the gang. When you pull your gun, they won't notice, they think you will fire at the rancher. Instead, dead-eye the gun of the man next to you (which should be laughably easy at that close range), then do the same for the other two near you. This pretty much gives you point-blank range on three (sometimes more if they have a secondary weapon or grab one from the ground, allowing the opportunity to disarm them again) of your six targets. Once you've disarmed them, they typically put their hands up or are considered defeated and won't pursue you. Now move up the canyon, but by this time the whole gang knows you're a fake, so be careful. You should be able to disarm enough of the gang as you move up the canyon to get your six.

5. It doesn't have to be 6 different enemies; you can disarm the same person more than once. If disarming an enemy with a handgun, then they might pull out a rifle.

6. You could complete this challenge by pulling out a weapon (for instance a Mauser Pistol) in front of an officer; he will ready his gun in response. When using this method, it helps to first achieve a high honor rank, and to use the bandana as a safety measure. Then you can simply shoot the weapon out of his hand and repeat this easy process without receiving any bounty.

7. An Evans Repeater has 22 rounds so, just go to Fort Mercer and equip it. Use cover and Dead-Eye and just shoot the guns out of the enemies hands. NOTE: Using Dead-Eye refills ammo but does NOT count as a reload. You should be able to do this rather easily.

A few different approaches/locations to complete this challenge are highlighted here:

A. One of the easiest places to complete this rank is in the jail at Chuparosa. Simply climb the stairs and ladders until reaching the room right at the top of the building, then simply open the chest of drawers. This causes you to become wanted. The Mexican lawmen will come via the ladder &mdash; position at the opposite end of the room with a weapon with a large clip and wait for them to appear at the top of the ladder and draw their weapon. Simply enter dead eye and disarm them; you may need to do this more than once for each enemy. Do not release the aim button and simply wait for the next one before popping him in the same way. You might need to exercise a little patience as waiting for the next lawman to locate, but this is a really easy, low-risk approach to achieving this rank. Another easy place is Blackwater. in the south east of Black Water, and south of the general store there is a red brick building with a black ladder leading up to the roof that is next to a small unfinished wood frame shed. Climb to the roof of the red brick building and using an Evans Repeater(because it has the most bullets) shoot a cop and become wanted. Stand or crouch in the middle of the roof of the red brick building so as not to get shot from surrounding areas on the ground or buildings close by. Just wait for each cop to climb up one at a time and when he stands up, shoot the pistol using Deadeye while it is facing down before he lifts his arm to shoot you. Make sure you shoot the gun only and not his hand because for some reason it won't count. Also, do not release the aim button while waiting for the next cop, otherwise your gun might automatically reload itself. Just hold it the whole time until you've done it 6 or however many times it takes to get the official notice on the screen that you've completed the challenge. The great part is you have lots of time to prepare for each cop because they only come up one at a time, there is no fear of getting shot by other cops, and the disarm usually kills the cop on the first try. It should take less than a half hour and is by far the easiest way of achieving rank 10.

B. An easy way to complete rank 10 is to equip an Evans Repeater and then shoot until one clip remains Then head to a town with few lawmen, such as Armadillo, and then kill a person. This gives you 21 bullets to make six shots. Alternatively, with a high rank in Honor and Fame, pull a gun out on Walton's Gang, who sit in the saloon in Armadillo (distinctively). Wait until they fire the first shot and then use Dead-Eye to disarm all of the gang members aiming. If there was not enough gang members there in order to rank up, then keep aiming, step outside and find some more.

C. Another easy place to do this is the Gaptooth Breach gang hideout. During the mine portion, all of the enemies appear in front of it, so it's possible to disarm them, then kill and move on to the next guy.

D. At Twin Rocks, there's a well on the south side of the area. If hiding behind the wall/fence and luring baddies to the well to hide behind, they tend to expose the right side of their body when hiding. They hide while pointing their pistol to the air away from their body, making for one of the easiest targets ever. As always, make sure have some replenishing items on just in case.

E. If using the glitch to get under the governor of Mexico's house, get a bounty and shoot the guns out of the army's hands as they stand still.

F. Yet another method of accomplishing this task is to use the Carcano rifle. Agitate a group of either gang members or lawmen and then use the scope to safely and easily blast the guns out of their hands from a distance. Although the Carcano rifle only has a clip of 5 shots, using Dead-Eye will automatically refill the gun without counting as an actual reload (this also makes it much easier to aim and thus disarm the enemies). Simply keep the gun readied to prevent it being put back in the holster (a quick tap of the aim button now and again will suffice), and you should be able to pull off this feat with little to no trouble as you can just sit behind a wall and pop everyone from far away.

G. Another alternative: Enter Thieves' Landing. Using the Mauser Pistol, walk around until you find someone standing on their own, preferably out of sight. There are a few places at the rear of buildings facing onto the river which are perfect for this. Walk up close to the person, use dead eye and lock on to their weapon. Pull the trigger and then run away. Repeat 5 times. Being in Thieves' Landing prevents you from attracting any unwanted attention. Picking one person at a time allows you to rebuild the dead eye bar. It also prevents you from getting into a battle with other gunslingers, making this a very easy challenge to complete.

H. Heres a step by step guide for another method to complete this challenge. You will need:


 * 3 Chewing Tobacco


 * Evans Repeater (Purchase from Gunsmith) OR Henry Repeater (Clear Nosalida Gang Hideout)


 * A Pardon Letter would be useful, or you could just save before attempting the challenge


 * 1) First go to a random place in the wild where you are safe from wild animals, Cochinay would be a great place.
 * 2) Once the player is there, keep shooting the ground, rock, tree etc. Stop when there is only one round of ammo left so that there is nothing to reload from.
 * 3) Go to Thieves Landing and save in the apartment there.
 * 4) Go to the saloon and shoot the roof or the floor, lots of people will get a gun out.
 * 5) Waste dead-eye for a couple of seconds and then use chewing tobbacco.
 * 6) Go into dead-eye and disarm the people with guns. If you run out of people to disarm walk outside, but remember to keep the gun pointing as you walk. If you are using an Evans Repeater or a Henry Repeater you will be able to kill the people aswell.

Rewards
After Rank 5, the player receives an increase in ammo when using chests in safehouses and camps. Once you reach Rank 10, the player's Dead Eye meter builds up faster as you kills enemies.

The only outfit this is necessary for is the Legend of the West Outfit.

Strategy
There is an easy way to get the first 3 Sharpshooter Ranks out of the way during the first and second missions. When going up to Fort Mercer, shoot to make the four crows fly into the air, then kill them. In the second mission, when looking at the barn in MacFarlane's Ranch, an eagle will spawn overhead &mdash; this will complete Rank 1. Then the rabbits and coyotes should be easy while doing the patrol.

(Not true: restarted 10 times and eagle did not spawn. Must be a random occurance)

Another way for Rank 1 is, on the trail about halfway between McFarlane's Ranch and Thieves' Landing (before you enter the swamp) there is a bit of a clearing where literally hundreds of birds spawn, any half decent repeater can take them down in droves.

Also a way to complete Rank 1 is a random encounter inbetween Armadillo and MacFarlane's Ranch, sometimes a man will bet he can shoot more flying birds than you. Five birds will spawn ahead and you will have a time limit in which to shoot them down, winning the bet will mean you will have completed the first rank.

Trophies/Achievements
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