Perfect pelts are a high end crafting item in Red Dead Redemption 2, however the game doesn’t exactly tell you how to get them.
The common misconception is that you just need to get a “clean kill,” which is a head or neck shot. While this is partially true, there are a couple more things you need to do in order to secure your perfect pelts.
Getting Perfect Pelts
Step 1: Use your binoculars to zoom in and examine the animal. This gives you two pieces of information – the quality of this particular animal (it will be either poor, good, or pristine,) and the type of weapon you should kill it with. Pristine quality = perfect pelts, no other quality of animal will do the trick, even with clean kills.
Step 2: If you found a pristine quality animal, get a clean kill on it with the weapon the game suggests. In order to get a clean hill, you need to kill it with either a head shot or neck shot. From what I understand, you can also lasso the animal and kill it with your knife for a clean kill, however this will only work on certain sized animals. Small animals will slip free of your lasso.
Step 3: Skin your pristine quality animal carcass, and you’ll receive a perfect pelt every time.
