Hunting



 has a very prominent role in Red Dead Redemption. The player can hunt all featured animals (with the exception of the bats that fly over Tumbleweed every evening) for sport and money, but killing animals may also be necessary for your survival, as many of the animals found in the world, such as bears, can easily end the player's life. Successful completion of Master Hunter: Rank 10 allows creation of Vittles after skinning an animal.

Description
The hunting in the game can involve stalking, advancing upon the targeted animal, and finally making the kill. Animal bait can be bought from merchants at stores to attract various animal species. Skinning allows the player to make a profit from hunting. Skinning an animal allows the player to acquire material from the animal, which include furs, pelts, claws, fangs, feathers, meat, heart, antlers and horns.

These resources can then be sold to merchants for various prices in various places; this is considered by many to be one of the fastest sources of gaining money as it can allow the player to gather hundreds of dollars worth of resources within minutes, and does not require waiting for an event to be available, such as Bounty Hunting. When the player skins an animal, Marston can be seen crouching in front of the animal. He will then take out his knife, and begin to skin the animal, using up to three different cuts, depending on the size of the animal. Blood splats on the screen, confirming a successful skinning. It is also possible to achieve a slightly higher camera angle (although the animal is still out of view) if the player crouches before initiating the skinning animation.

Animals are randomly generated in the wilderness and can sometimes assault the player, his allies and his horse, requiring intervention. Marston will sometimes encounter strangers screaming for help as they are pursued by some type of predatory animal. Eliminating the pursuing animals (and therefore saving the stranger) will grant Marston money and fame. Additionally, hunting at least one of every wild animal species in the game will earn the player the Unnatural Selection trophy/achievement.

After a kill, vultures will appear, opening up the sharpshooting challenge. Completing this and other challenges will earn the player fame, and can unlock outfits for Marston. The blood of any animal will act as bait for predators, so when an animal is killed, keep a lookout for wolves, cougars, bears or any other animal likely to scavenge.

Animals
There are approximately 43 different animals that can be encountered in Red Dead Redemption(including legendary ones) and any of the listed animals can be hunted. Different animals supply the player with different pelts, claws, meat and other resources with different values, which can be sold. Killing some animals may not please their owners or the townsfolk. Slaughter of an owned horse or a domesticated dog is a crime and, if witnessed, will result in a bounty. Being seen killing cattle will also place a bounty on the player.

These animals all interact throughout the wild in a carefully crafted ecosystem. For instance, the player could be traversing the plains and see a herd of buffalo grazing, or while traveling through a forest, one may encounter a cougar hunting an elk, or a grizzly bear defending its territory from a pack of wolves. Each animal behaves differently however they can generally be placed within one of two categories; passive and aggressive. Passive animals are harmless to the player, and will usually flee at any sign of danger or if the player gets too close and is detected by the animal. Tamed animals such as broken horses or farm cattle will not flee but will still move away slightly due to a sense of personal space. Aggressive animals will attack the player either as prey or because they feel threatened, they are usually predatory, exceptions include the boar and bull etc. Beware of these animals even when dead as it is rare to encounter an aggressive animal traveling alone, for example, wolves always travel in packs.

Animals of different species have different habitats, so time of day sometimes matters as much as location when trying to hunt down specific prey. Players having trouble spotting a particular critter in the day time may often find it to be worth their while to camp out and wait for nightfall.

A wise hunter knows which weapon to use for each type of animal. A small firearm may not make a sufficient impression on a large predator, while some heavy weapons turn humbler creatures into fine red mist (thus preventing the player from skinning them or obtaining body parts necessary for some quests).

Some animals only exist on one side of the US/Mexican border. This means Marston's kills can fetch a higher price on the other side.

The following animals appear in the various areas of Red Dead Redemption:

Tools of the Trade
When hunting small game (birds and small mammals) it is advisable to use a smaller caliber gun. If too large a weapon caliber is used, the animal being hunted has a tendency to explode leaving no remains to be harvested (i.e. shooting a beaver with a shotgun will not produce any skinnable remains).

It is useful to use a horse when hunting large or more dangerous animals eg. Bear, Elk, Deer. Horses can allow you to chase the fast herbivores as well as giving the powerful predators a run for their money.

The Hunting Knife is always described as a lesser weapon, but can be very useful while hunting, as it provides a silent kill. This is good to use on horseback. It is also the tool used for skinning. Throwing Knives are useful too, as they provide a silent ranged kill.

Bait is a very useful tool, as it attracts a large group of animals in the vicinity. But be warned: a group of bears or other fairly dangerous animals may come after the player.

The binoculars can be used to see very far away. It is not only good for hunting, but also for scanning the horizon, seeing enemies, and finding herbs. This item is obtained in the West Elizabeth mission, At Home With Dutch.

Quicker Skinning
To speed up the skinning process simply walk the player's horse over the corpse to be skinned. This will block the animation and instantly show the results of the animal harvesting. Keep in mind, however, that the corpse of the animal will not change in appearance as it normally would once skinned. To avoid confusion, make sure that the animal the player is attempting to skin is marked with an "X" on your mini-map to determine whether or not the player has skinned it before. When faced with multiple targets, and the player wishes to make a quick getaway, this can literally be a life saver.

Video:Red Dead Redemption: Hunting & Skinning a Rabbit

Hunting Challenges
Hunting Challenges, which can be done both as part of the single player experience and in multiplayer Free Roam sessions, will reward the player for hunting down and killing set amounts of the most dangerous animals. In single-player, John Marston will hunt and skin many animals in his quest to be a Master Hunter.

Exploit: In each of the four locations for the legendary animals, there is a building that you can hide in without being attacked. You can just sit back and fire either through the door or a destroyed section of wall.

Another great trick, a lifesaver when hunting the legendary Jaguar and Bear, is to sit in a stagecoach. Sitting in the stagecoach (in the driver's seat, shotgun, or the passenger seat) in the middle of Tanner's Reach or Bearclaw Camp (or any of the other hunter locations) will cause the animals to come for the player, then circle the stagecoach helplessly, making easy targets. The only problem is getting the stagecoach there in the first place.

By far the easiest way to take down Lobo, Brumas and Khan is with the Buffalo Rifle. However, taking down the Bear is easier with a weaker weapon, because even a headshot with the Buffalo Rifle will not always kill it. Using the Bolt Action Rifle will prevent a severe case of deadness; however, regardless of weapon used, Dead Eye will make any hunt much simpler and quicker. Be sure to utilize it.


 * Tip: you can take out the Bear with a single shot if you aim right in the middle of his eyes. This works with Buffalo Rifle, LeMat Revolver (you may need two shots) and High Power Pistol. You may also kill the bear in "one shot" using one Tomahawk right in his forehead.

Multiplayer "Hunting grounds" are found at the locations of the Legendary animals. Barranca for Wolves, Tanners Reach for Cougars, Greenhollow for Boars, and of course Bearclaw Camp for Bears. These are associated with Multiplayer "Master Hunter II" challenges 2-5 but can be accessed anytime, either alone or with a posse. Sadly no money or XP is associated with these, "Hunting Grounds", outside of their use to complete "Master Hunter II" challenges.

Tips and Tricks

 * When hunting dangerous animals, such as Bears, Cougars, etc. It is wise to use a broken wild horse, as you can whistle immediately for a new horse if yours dies.
 * Hunting bears can be frustrating. The easiest way to avoid being killed is to hunt them while driving some sort of wagon or stagecoach. Not only do the bears not attack you, they actually run away. This makes for a very easy and safe kill. Then you can pull the wagon up next to the dead bear, skin it, and get back on the wagon where you are once again immune to attacks. Anything that is pulled by a horse works for this trick, including the small carts. The biggest challenge with using this method is trying to avoid obstacles when riding in tall trees.

Bonus Downloadable Outfits
Expert Hunter Outfit: This was one of the contenders for the outfit pre-order bonus along with the Deadly Assassin Outfit and the Savvy Merchant Outfit. The voting ended February 15, 2010 and the Deadly Assassin outfit was named the winner. However, Rockstar revealed that this outfit and its required challenges would be released as DLC (Downloadable Content) for free in Summer 2010 for all platforms, being released along with the Savvy Merchant Outfit on October 12, 2010. This outfit, when worn, allows you to receive double the amount of skins & hides from hunting.

Achievements and Trophies
There are three Trophies/Achievements that involve the hunting and/or skinning of animals: