When it comes to Red Dead Redemption 2’s biggest beasties, it feels like the bison and moose steal most of the limelight. However, if you’re looking to collect all the pelts available, you’ll also need to track down the mighty mountain elk as well. There are two types of elk in RDR2, and thankfully both can be found over a wide range of the map. In this guide we’ll teach you where to find elk in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Where to find Elk in RDR2
Elk prefer a colder climate, which means for the large part you’ll find them in the northern, mountainous regions of the map, namely Ambarino and New Hanover. The two types of elk are the Rocky Mountain Bull Elk and the Rocky Mountain Cow Elk (male and female). You can see all the areas Elk will appear on the map above, but we’ll run you through them below in a bit more detail too.
New Hanover - The best place to find elk is in Cumberland Forest, but their grounds span all the way up to the far northeast of New Hanover, all along the eastern side of the Roanoke river (north of Annesburg).
West Elizabeth - You’ll also find some elk in the north and southwest of West Elizabeth. Elk appear along Little Creek River, as well as by Owanjila and in Tall Trees.
To obtain a perfect pelt from an elk, you need to find a 3-star animal and make sure you use the right sort of weapon to earn a clean kill. The only weapons that won’t damage the pelt are a Long Scope rifle or a Bow with Improved Arrows. Personally, we found the former much easier to line up a single shot headshot or weak point hit with. Click here to see a handy YouTube video by moRag of elk hunting in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Elk pelts aren’t the most exciting the game has to offer, but they’re useful for crafting, and the Mature Venison you’ll also obtain is a great food source for your camp. Now that you know where to find Elk in Red Dead Redemption 2, visit our animal locations hub to help track down the other beasts of the world. We’ve got plenty of guides for Legendary animals there too such as the Legendary Moose.
