RDR2 Badger Locations: Night Routes & Perfect Pelts
Try the Rhodes–Mattock Pond area after dark for American Badgers. Bring a Varmint Rifle and check the animal’s stars before shooting.
Three areas to check
| Area | Search notes | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Rhodes / Mattock Pond | Riverbanks and wooded paths toward the Kamassa River | A Lemoyne hunting trip during the story |
| Bacchus Station / Donner Falls | Dakota River banks and nearby terrain | You are already in the northern region |
| Aurora Basin / Tall Trees | Forest around the basin and toward Upper Montana River | An epilogue route with southern access |
Use Eagle Eye to help identify small tracks in vegetation. Badgers are easier to search for at night, but one empty pass does not mean the location is wrong.
Bring back a perfect badger pelt
- Confirm the target is an American Badger and read its quality rating.
- Choose a three-star animal and make a clean Varmint Rifle kill.
- Check the pelt quality after skinning. Do not mark a perfect material solely because you found the animal.
- Match the material to the destination: Pearson for a satchel recipe, or the Trapper for a clothing recipe.
Use the Ingredients satchel recipe and material tally to check what else you need. The weapon reference covers the other animals in those recipes.
A manageable search loop
Choose one of the areas above based on where you already are. Search a section of bank, check the adjacent woodland, then move on instead of repeatedly standing on one spot. Make a note of the time and route so your next attempt actually changes something.
These are published spawn areas, not a promise of a three-star spawn. This guide keeps ordinary badger hunting separate from legendary-animal territory clues.