Bounty Hunting

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Bounty Hunting is an activity in Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption; in the former, it is the profession of choice of protagonist Red Harlow, while in the latter it is a series of side-missions protagonists John and Jack Marston can take part in, which is unlocked after completing the Leigh Johnson mission "Political Realities in Armadillo".

Description

Outlaws with bounties on their head can be found throughout the land in various locations. These bounty hunting opportunities can be accepted from Wanted Posters that are usually found in towns near a local Telegraph Office or train station. Available Wanted Posters will appear as a white skull icon on the player's map. If the player accepts the bounty from the poster, the location of the target will appear as a red skull icon on the map.

An active bounty does not have to be completed within any sort of time period, players can continue free roaming until they decide to go after the criminal. However, if another mission is started while an accepted bounty is outstanding, the bounty will no longer be available when completing the mission. Also, if Marston assaults or kills a lawman, the bounty will no longer be available. If a crime is committed while returning the bounty, the player will be unable to obtain the reward until the wanted level disappears.

Players may find taking up bounty hunting a highly profitable activity. The bounty reward varies, depending on whether the player has chosen to capture or kill the outlaw. Capturing the bounty alive awards the player twice the amount of money compared to killing the bounty.

Marston can also have a bounty placed on him, if he is observed committing crimes. The bounty for Marston depends on his actions. If he has a bounty himself when turning in a bounty target, his own bounty will be deducted from the reward. Along with the law, bounty hunter gangs will also go after Marston to collect on his bounty.

If Marston is arrested, he can do bounty hunting to reduce his own bounty. If he does not have enough money to pay off his own bounty, then he is required to do a bounty hunting mission.

Unaffiliated Criminals

There are three different nameless bounty hunter gangs, one in each region.

New Austin: The gang that uses Tumbleweed for a hideout is also the same bounty hunter gang that goes after Marston.
Nuevo Paraiso: Banditos chase after Marston.
West Elizabeth: A Native-American posse hunts for Marston.

All three gangs are a part of the Unaffiliated Criminals group under stats in the game menu.

List of Bounty Targets

This is a list of all Bounty Targets and Wanted Poster locations in the game. Wanted Posters with a question mark are of targets already completed. However, the Bounty location may be different (which is what the game counts for completion). There are 8 Nuevo Paraiso locations, 8 New Austin locations and 4 West Elizabeth locations. Game completion progress is determined by the location of the Bounty, not the bounties themselves, hence you do not need to kill all of the bounties in the game to achieve 100% Completion.

New Austin - MacFarlane's Ranch

Name	Gang	Dead Reward	Alive Reward
Charlie Mash	Bollard Twins	20	40
Julius Grimes	Bollard Twins	120	240
Slink Bradshaw	Bollard Twins	120	240
Harry Dobbing	Bollard Twins	80	160
Irvin Pennick	Bollard Twins	80	160
Maurice Sweet	Bollard Twins	20	40
Sid Winkler	None	200	400

New Austin - Armadillo

Name	Gang	Dead Reward	Alive Reward
Mo van Barr	Waltons	80	160
Perry Rose	Waltons	80	160
Cooper Reed	Waltons	80	160
Rufus Higbee	Waltons	120	240
Cody Witlow	Waltons	20	40
Dale Chesson	Waltons	20	40
Link Huston	Waltons	120	240
Quinn Malloy	None	40	80

New Austin - Rathskeller Fork

Name	Gang	Dead Reward	Alive Reward
Roscoe Duffy	Treasure Hunter	20	40
Harlan Forbes	Treasure Hunter	20	40
Wade Bassett	Treasure Hunter	120	240
Lester Dugan	Treasure Hunter	80	160
Stanley Mund	Treasure Hunter	120	240
Clark Hatfield	Treasure Hunter	80	160

Nuevo Paraiso - Escalera, Chuparosa, El Presidio

Name	Gang	Dead Reward	Alive Reward
Sergio Abelda	Banditos	80	160
Mateo Clisante	Banditos	80	160
Cristo Bustamante	Banditos	200	400
Ramiro de la Torre	Banditos	200	400
Cesar Higueras	Banditos	120	240
Benito Penagarza	Banditos	120	240
Geraldo Elisaldez	None	80	160
Jorge Reynoso	None	120	240
Rigoberto Artiz	None	200	400
Raul Ontiveros	None	200	400
Selestino Herrada	None	120	240
Julian Coronado	None	120	240

West Elizabeth - Blackwater, Manzanita Post

Name	Gang	Dead Reward	Alive Reward
Moses Lowson	None	120	240
Americus Roe	None	300	600
Hestor Frith	None	300	600
Grant Avery	None	200	400
Charlie Hinkle	None	200	400
Zebedee Nash	None	300	600
Melvin Spinney	None	300	600
Ralph Stricker	None	200	400
Kent Gallaway	None	300	600
Isaiah Greeley	None	120	240
Honovi	Dutch's Gang	120	240
Dakota	Dutch's Gang	120	240

List of Bounty Locations

This is a list of all locations in which the player must kill or capture a bounty in order to achieve 100% game completion.

New Austin

Pick up bounty at Armadillo, Rathskeller Fork, or MacFarlane's Ranch. Deliver the bounty at Armadillo Jail or MacFarlane's Ranch Foreman's Office.

Nuevo Paraiso

Pick up the bounty at El Presidio, Escalera, or Chuparosa, and deliver it to Chuparosa.

West Elizabeth

Pick up bounty at Blackwater or Manzanita Post. Deliver the bounty to the Blackwater Jail.

Multiplayer

In Red Dead Redemption multiplayer, bounty hunting is a challenge system that earns players experience. A player who decides to fight the NPC lawmen in Free Roam mode, or break the laws, will have a bounty posted on their head, similar to single player mode. Any player who amasses a bounty of $1000 will be shown on the minimap as a public enemy and an experience bonus will be awarded to any player who kills him. Players who gain bounties and survive bounty hunter attacks will complete Outlaw Challenges. A player that reaches Public Enemy status in a multiplayer won't be able to use Transport spots for fast travel, so bounty hunters have some advantage in order to track and take him down.

Members of another posse can locate these players and kill them to collect on the bounty, as well as earn themselves experience.

Tips

In order for a bounty to become available in a town, one must be there long enough for the sheriff to come out of his office and post it. Bounties are usually posted between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm daily. If you hitch your horse around the sheriff's office, he has a tendency to post the bounty much quicker for some reason. Also, starting a boxing match in town or pushing a man will bring the sheriff out of his office, and the bounty poster will be posted. Just be careful that one doesn't hit the wrong person or draw a weapon, as people will likely become hostile.
If autosave is turned off, be sure to save after the bounty is accepted.
There is a very safe yet time-consuming method to capture a bounty alive. When the player reaches the bounty target's location, kill all of his gang members but leave him alive. Once he's alone, he will try to run away. Sometimes he gets a horse, sometimes he doesn't. Now the trick here is that he will never try to shoot the player while he's running away. Just like cattle herding, the player can "herd" the bounty target towards the town where he's supposed to take him. All the player has to do is tail him, tail him from the right, he heads left, that's because he's trying to get away from the player. While he's running away, no reinforcements will appear. This makes the trip back to the police/sheriff station easier. When the player finally "herd" him inside a town, lasso him. Because it's already a town, other criminals would not dare appear. Players would be in bad luck if the target doesn't mount a horse, because the "herding" would take a lot longer since he will be traveling on foot.
To capture a fugitive alive, it's a good idea to disarm him first, using Dead-Eye, while shooting the target in the leg can make him easier to lasso. Before hogtying the bounty, call a horse so that it's at hand, since criminal reinforcements might show up as soon as the bounty is captured. This happens quicker with high bounty outlaws. It is strongly recommended that in those circumstances, hogtie the criminal and then wait for the first wave of rivals to get within range and finish them off. This gives you more time to load the outlaw onto your horse without the risk of getting shot to bits while doing so.
Outlaws with low bounties are generally protected by fewer gang members, and tend to attack the player which makes capturing or killing them easier; higher-bounty outlaws tend to flee once all their allies are dead, sometimes requiring a long chase.
If the fugitive is on horseback, one can either shoot the horse out from under him, or shoot the target in the foot or leg, which will cause him to fall off. A fugitive on horseback has a greater chance of escape and they will attempt to steal any horses in the area. If a bounty does manage to steal a horse, use caution. Killing a stolen horse will cause one to lose honor, so attempt to lasso him before he rides off, or take a non-lethal shot with Dead-Eye. As for one's horse, simply whistling for it will cause it to buck off anyone trying to steal it.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION HOW TO CAPTURE A BOUNTY TARGET ALIVE

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If the fugitive mounts a horse and rides away to another area, it sometimes will not count it for your 100%. A good idea is to snipe the horses before your attack on the gang; killing gang horses does not affect Honor.
Once a bounty is dead or captured, his accomplices will seek revenge or try to free him along the way. It is possible to outrun and evade them without having to fight, since the accomplices will turn back once they near a town. If one decides to fight the gang, try to keep at least one of them alive and let him give chase. If he falls too far behind, wait for him to catch up. Since only one gang will engage at a time, this will avoid a second gang and make the journey back much easier.
Always have medicine available. Most bounties will attempt to escape after being shot, however some may try to harm the player, so be prepared, just in case.
It is fairly easy to sneak up on a bounty's last known location by crouching, which will not attract attention unless one is very close or begins shooting. This allows one brief moment to pick off a target or multiple targets, using Dead eye.
When out in the wilderness anything can and will happen. It's best to survey the area around the targets' hideout, staying on guard for animal attacks.
Once a fugitive is killed or captured, pursuing enemies will remain on horseback unless they're shot off or their horse dies.
When going after fugitives affiliated with a certain gang (which can be found by looking at the wanted poster), dress in their gang attire,e.g., the "Bandito" outfit or the "Bollard Twins" outfit. This allows one to blend in, avoid suspicion, and get close enough for the kill/capture. However, any hostile action towards a gang member will give one away. Arriving reinforcements will still try and stop one on the way back to the jail, regardless of outfit worn.
Many bounty locations can be easily dealt with using a sniper rifle. Simply find a location that's far enough so the player doesn't get shot, with a good vantage point and pick off targets one by one. The rest will start charging the player, running directly into the line of fire. With a little bit of dead-eye, one can easily take out the whole gang. Keep track of one's quarry, he might make a run for it in the opposite direction. Also, if intending to turn the bounty in alive, be careful one doesn't accidentally kill the bounty while taking out his men. However, attempting this from outside the radius which triggers the "You may choose to kill or capture" message may prevent the bounty mission from registering.
Loading the bounty onto a horse can leave one vulnerable to attack, however, it is possible to lasso the bounty alive and drag him to a nearby settlement or city where one can proceed to safely bind and load him onto a horse.
The fugitive and his gang are only roused once the first gang member is attacked. Therefor it is possible to shoot all the horses nearby, before beginning the assault, greatly reducing the chance to escape.
While attempting to flee on horseback, the fugitive may accidentally commit suicide by riding into deep water or jumping off a cliff.
If in rough country, it's a good idea as soon as the target is captured or his body searched to bring up the Map and set a waypoint at the destination (gold circle). The red route line is usually the fastest way through mountainous terrain, and avoids the risk of getting trapped. Alternatively, set a waypoint at the nearest settlement, since pursuers won't enter them.
Another way to capture the target alive is to use dead-eye and shoot the weapon out of the target's hands. If one is quick enough to pick up the weapon, the bounty target wont run and will surrender with his hands in the air. He does not count as captured at this point and no reinforcements will come yet. Whilst the player is aiming at him (if the players lowers his gun, he may run), call for a horse so that it is near you, hogtie him (switching to the lasso will spark an escape attempt) place him on the horse and leave the area.
If the target is killed, the player can capture one of the pursuing gang members on the way back and take him on the back of the horse. No other members will appear during the trip.
Do not shoot the bounty when he is standing next to a building, otherwise he will fall into the wall and you will be unable to collect the bounty. This is an apparent glitch that has been confirmed on the Xbox version.
- Also use caution if a train is nearby. If the bounty is hit by a train or the corpse is on the tracks by the time the train comes, the body will be completely wiped out, making the player unable to collect the bounty. This is either a confirmed glitch for the Xbox version, or if designers missed the train as a death to bounties in the flowcharting during production.
When collecting bounties, limit the use of DLC outfits. For example, while bounty hunting in the Expert Hunter Outfit in Blackwater; it sometimes becomes possible for Marston not to receive the bounty money at all, even though the bounty was brought in. When this issue appears, try switching to Marston's normal outfit or any non-DLC outfit before engaging a bounty and in order to receive the bounty money.

Trivia

Most bounty targets are affiliated with a major gang in the area.
- West Elizabeth: Dutch's Gang
- New Austin: Bollard Twins Gang, Walton's Gang, and Treasure Hunters
- Nuevo Paraiso: Banditos
There will be more police officers waiting when the bounty is brought in alive rather than dead.
The bounty proof for killing bounty targets appears to be a severed hand.
The Explosive Rifle will not destroy bounty targets if they are shot with it directly, presumably so the player can still gather evidence from their target's corpse.
Most bounty targets can be seen protecting towns in Undead Nightmare.
bounty targets taken alive will be seen riding away from the town where Marston took them, most likely escaping.
Even if the bounty dies (Presumably by bleeding out and not a gunshot) while hogtied on the player's horse, the alive reward will still be granted instead of the dead reward.
Even if a target is killed, they can be hunted again later.
There is a wallpaper available on the Rockstar website showing John Marston holding his own wanted poster. It shows a reward of $200 for alive and $400 for dead, the reverse of the usual case where targets are worth more alive than dead.