Red Dead Redemption 2: How to Get Perfect Pelts for Every Animal & What They Do

Hunting animals and pelts make some good money, but what you really want to be doing is getting those perfect pelts. If you’re having trouble, here’s how to get perfect pelts from every animal and what you can do with them in Red Dead Redemption 2.

How to Get Perfect Pelts for Every Animal & What They Do in Red Dead Redemption 2

What Are Perfect Pelts Used For

When you have a perfect pelt in Red Dead Redemption 2, you have two options:

Give it to Pearsons at camp to upgrade your satchels when you have the leather working tools, or craft cosmetic improvements for your camp.
Sell perfect pelts at the general store for some money.

The best thing you should do is give it to Pearson for those upgrades because any other pelt quality won’t cut it. This is what makes perfect pelts so rare and rewarding when you manage to get one in Red Dead Redemption 2.

It’s not just a case of nailing your kill to get a perfect pelt, though. Each animal in Red Dead Redemption 2 can come in a manner of different qualities, and you’ll need to identify the perfect ones to get their pelts.

How to Identify Animal Quality

When hunting for perfect pelts in Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s always best that you study animal quality during your hunts. Each animal has its own quality rating that determines which pelt you’ll most probably get during your hunt:

One-Star
Two-Star
Three-Star

It’s important to note that you can only harvest perfect pelts from three-star animals in Red Dead Redemption 2. When you’re hunting, get close to them and use L2/LT until you bring up the “Study” prompt. Use R1/RB to then study the animal and bring up their quality rating.

We recommend that you use a scoped rifle or binoculars to study animal quality so you can do it from afar. That way, you won’t disturb your prey or risk them running off in Red Dead Redemption 2.

All Animals and Their Sizes

Each animal in Red Dead Redemption 2 has their own size that can all produce perfect pelts. However, knowing which size the animal you’re hunting is crucial since it essentially determines which weapon you should. Red Dead Redemption 2 has five different size groups for animals, which you can check below.

Small Animals

Bat
Blue Jay
Booby
Bullfrog
Cardinal
Carolina Chicken

Chipmunk
Crow
Duck
Gull
Loon
Oriole

Parakeet
Parrot
Pheasant
Pigeon
Quail
Rat

Raven
Robin
Rooster
Snake
Songbird
Toad
Waxwing
Woodpecker

Moderate Animals

Armadillo
Badger
Condor
Crane
Eagle
Egret

Gila Monster
Goose
Hawk
Heron
Iguana
Muskrat

Owl
Pelican
Possum
Rabbit
Raccoon
Skunk
Spoonbill
Turkey
Vulture

Medium Animals

Beaver
Coyote
Fox
Pig

Large Animals

Alligator (Small)
Big Horn Ram
Boar
Buck
Cougar
Deer

Goat
Panther
Peccary
Pronghorn
Sheep
Turtle
Wolf

Massive Animals

Alligator
Bear
Bison
Bull
Cow
Elk
Moose
Ox

Which Weapons to Use for Perfect Pelts on All Animal Sizes in Red Dead Redemption 2

So now that you know each animal size in Rockstar’s game, it’s time to pick your weapon. Using these weapons according to the animal’s size will help you avoid damaging their pelt, which results in those perfect pelts.

Keep in mind that you’ll also have to bring the right ammo when hunting for perfect pelts. Here’s what you should have in your arsenal depending on the animal size in Red Dead Redemption 2:

Small Animals:

Bow with Small Game Arrow

Moderate Animals:

Varmint Rifle

Medium Animals:

Repeater – Regular Ammo, Split Point Ammo, High-Velocity Ammo, Express Ammo
Bow – Arrow, Poison Arrow
Sniper Rifle – Regular Ammo, Split Point Ammo, High-Velocity Ammo, Express Ammo
Throwing Knife
Poison Throwing Knife

Large Animals:

Rifle – Regular Ammo, Split Point Ammo, High-Velocity Ammo, Express Ammo
Bow – Arrow, Poison Arrow
Sniper Rifle – Regular Ammo, Split Point Ammo, High-Velocity Ammo, Express Ammo
Poison Throwing Knife

Massive Animals:

Sniper Rifle – Regular Ammo, Split Point Ammo, High-Velocity Ammo, Express Ammo
Bow – Poison Arrow, Improved Arrow
Rifle – Regular Ammo, Split Point Ammo, High-Velocity Ammo, Express Ammo
Shotgun – Slug Ammo
Poison Throwing Knife

How to Get a Perfect Kill

Now that the preparations are complete, it’s finally time to start hunting for those perfect pelts. When you’re taking down an animal in Red Dead Redemption 2, you’ll always want to get the perfect kill.

One-shot kills are always the best way to get perfect pelts, and you can achieve this through fatal hits. If you work up your Dead Eye to level five in the game, you’ll gain an ability to sense which parts lead to fatal and critical shots.

Another way to take down animals in one blow is through a critical hit in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Landing a critical shot will cause your prey to bleed out and eventually collapse. When this happens, you can finish it off with your knife and avoid damaging its pelt quality to get those perfect pelts.

How to Get Perfect Pelts With the Lasso in Red Dead Redemption 2

You can also get clean kills by taking them down with Arthur’s lasso. You won’t be able to do this with small animals, such as rabbits, but things like deer, which you can chase on horseback, are fair game.

With the lasso selected from your item wheel, aim it with L2 if you’re on PS4 (LT on Xbox One) and then throw it with R2/RT.

You can also use deadeye to get perfect pelts with the lasso. You need to throw it when the reticle goes red to make sure that you’re trapping the animal.

Once you’ve done so, head over animal, kill it, and skin it to get the pelt. As long as you’re not hunting an animal that has been damaged previously, it should be a perfect kill.

It’s also worth noting that it’ll be good to kill a Legendary Buck, which you’ll find near the bottom of Mount Shan in the western area of Red Dead Redemption 2’s map, and craft the Buck Antler Trinket from its body.

The Buck Antler Trinket gives you an upgrade to the quality of every hide when it is equipped.

That’s pretty much everything you need to know about how to get perfect pelts in Red Dead Redemption 2. For more coverage on the game, make sure to check out our expansive wiki filled with more useful guides.

About the author

Irwyn Diaz

Irwyn's a diehard Final Fantasy fan who just can't stop playing Opera Omnia. Playing Games Since: 1998, Favorite Genres: RPGs, Horror