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.

Rank 5: Kill any 2 different types of wild animals in 1 Dead-Eye meter.
The easiest way to do this is by going 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. 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).

Another option is to head to Tall Trees, in West Elizabeth. There are multitudes of larger animals such as bears, boars and elk here, which usually mingle.

Yet another option is to 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.

And another option is to complete the game as John, then do the Stranger mission Remember My Family as Jack. Once you get to the riverside where Agent Ross is shooting ducks, don't engage him, but 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.

NOTE: Cancelling the dead eye after you killed your two animals does not work. You must wait for it to 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 über-cautious, do it out of town so you don't rack up killing witnesses and you can lose your wanted level quickly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Leaving and then re-entering Dead Eye also refills ammo, it does not count as a reload and will not restart the challenge count.

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.

Also, attempt this during a bounty hunting mission when the bounty is part of a gang. 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.

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.

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.

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.

One of the best spots is 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.

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.

Also, 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.

A very easy way to achieve this rank is to first achieve a high honor rank. Then simply pull a Mauser Pistol, with one clip left, in front of an officer and he will ready his gun in response. Then simply shoot it out of his hand and repeat this easy process without receiving any bounty. Use the bandana as a safety measure.

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.

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.

Rewards
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.

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.