[Top 10] RDO Best Hunting Weapons And How To Get Them

Updated:

24 Nov 2021

Let's help you do some firearm shopping!

Hunting is one of the best perks of Red Dead Online. To be a successful cowboy you have to master this trait. Hunting is essential to cook better quality foods, to keep the trader business running, and to earn some cash if needed.

There are five sizes of animals in Red Dead Online: small, moderate, medium, large and massive. You must know which weapon to use for which class in order to be the perfect hunter. Here’s our guide to help you through your game.

#10 Springfield Rifle

Price: $156
Rank unlocked: 38

Rifles are always a great choice when you’re hunting medium or large animals. It is a great rifle but ranks lowest in the list because of its low fire rate. The Springfield will serve you well if you’re trying to shoot one 3 star animal but if don’t want to lose that second or third animal with 3 stars above its head, consider a different rifle

#9 Semi-Auto Shotgun

Price: $540
Rank Unlocked: 42

You’re probably wondering why there’s a shotgun on the list. Well, it’s not for your everyday hunting chores for sure. Only use it to kill legendary animals when the quality of the kill is not your biggest concern, but survival is. You can take down those nasty animals with a few shots from this gun, unlike others.

#8 Rolling Block Rifle

Price: $411
Rank Unlocked: 13

It’s a great rifle to kill large and massive animals. It can be your go-to rifle for hunting if you’re a low-level player. That is the only reason why it ranks so low on our list. You can continue to use it in the late game, too, if you use express or high-velocity ammo but you probably won’t.

#7 Throwing Knives

Price: $2.50 (can only be bought from Fences)
Rank Unlocked: 8

Yes, that’s also a weapon you can use for hunting. No one has probably told you that you can hunt with these little bad boys. They’re good for hunting medium animals like coyotes and beavers. If you’re low rank and broke, you can still make a fortune by hunting with these.

#6 Varmint Rifle

Price: $72
Rank Unlocked: 8

Don’t let the price deceive you There are only 3 weapons that you must have in order to be a hunter and this is one of them. If you’re going to hunt moderate-sized animals like rabbits or geese, this weapon is your one and only shot if you want a good kill. You can’t get a 3 star moderate animal without a Varmint rifle.

#5 Lancaster Repeater

Price: $243
Rank unlocked: 12

Repeaters aren’t the best choices when it comes to hunting but if it’s the only clean weapon on your back, then go and kill some medium animals. This weapon type is only effective for animals that are of medium size. Repeaters can make sure that you can use that dirty 3 star coyote pelt.

#4 Bow

Price: $124
Rank unlocked: 10

Not having this on your horse is not an option for an RDO player. From small to massive, anything can be killed with this sneaky badass; except for moderate animals. You need to use small game arrows to kill small animals like frogs and squirrels. The regular arrows are good for medium animals. If you’re hunting large animals you should use poison arrows for a quick and cleaner kill, but the regular arrows would do the job, too. For massive animals, improved arrows are your only choice.

#3 Reinforced Lasso

Price: $350 and 1 role token
Rank unlocked: Bounty Hunter rank 1

This is the only role item on this list. The reinforced lasso is one of the best tools to kill large animals. You just need to lasso that 3 star alpha and struggle a little before finishing it off with your knife. This is the only tool that’ll cost you zero money to get a clean kill.

#2 Bolt Action Rifle

Price: $216
Rank unlocked: 7

This is one of those weapons that you’ll carry throughout the entire game. This is the most balanced weapon in the game. You can kill anything with it except small and moderate animals. You’ll probably make a grin when you see that bear 10 times your size fall to the ground after just one shot to the head or to the heart.

#1 Carcano

Price: $456
Rank unlocked: 50

Of course, this is the number one weapon on the list. This has the best stats in the game. The Carcano deals the most damage and has the longest range. The sound alone is sure to make anyone shiver. You can hunt medium, large, and massive animals with it but we only recommend using it when you’re rich enough.