Darned Panthers!

[Foxtrot]

I’ve almost got all of the satchels, next on my list is a perfect panther pelt. 

So I go to the T-junction near Catfish Jackson’s and get pounced on as soon as I get off my horse. 

I lay down bait in the evening and wait. A one star cat turns up, so I leave it. Return the next night and the same happens. 

Next time, I creep into the woods and keep my ears and eyes open. 

Pounce. Dead. 

Pounce. Dead. 

I’m really struggling with bagging this one. 

[Truth]

31 minutes ago, Foxtrot said:

I’m really struggling with bagging this one. 

Took me hours to finally get it right. Try again with the bait (potent bait will work better), but save just before dropping it. If it's not a 3 star, just reload and try again. If you spot it early enough you'll also be able to "study" it if you're interested in that achievement.

[Kormath]

32 minutes ago, Foxtrot said:

I’ve almost got all of the satchels, next on my list is a perfect panther pelt. 

So I go to the T-junction near Catfish Jackson’s and get pounced on as soon as I get off my horse. 

I lay down bait in the evening and wait. A one star cat turns up, so I leave it. Return the next night and the same happens. 

Next time, I creep into the woods and keep my ears and eyes open. 

Pounce. Dead. 

Pounce. Dead. 

I’m really struggling with bagging this one. 

Panthers are really quite simple.  

What i do:

1. Take the road to the area, just south east of the fallen down church the road splits.  camp there till night.  that will put you just south of the road into the forest.
2. Don't bother with bait
3. USE COVER SCENT  it's a must unless you like feeding the panthers,
4. equip a rifle
5. SAVE YOUR GAME!!
6. crouch walk around the camp, usually they spawn to the east and south east, sometimes you can hear them growl from your camp.
7. I wear headphones so i can hear them growl easier
8. Once you hear them growl, stop, activate eagle eye, search around you for the cat.
9. If it's not a 3 star cat, load the save above and try again.

[Truth]

7 minutes ago, Kormath said:

USE COVER SCENT  it's a must unless you like feeding the panthers,

Forgot to mention the cover scent!

@Foxtrot Let us know which one works best, and good luck on your hunt!

[Foxtrot]

So skulking around the Fen with cover scent didn’t really work out that well. Got pounced on twice out of nowhere, even when I was taking it slow and doing a full eagle eye sweep. The masses of undergrowth, plants, deer, and boar around there don’t really help a lot. 

Ill try again with the potent bait after I go buy some more. I’m out of gaming time for now, so might need to revisit this next week. 

Mat least when I used the bait method, I had a few sightings that didn’t result in my speedy death. 

[Moosh89]

My brother and I were hunting the panther the other day, both trying to get the Legend of the East satchel. He apparently got killed by one a few times before he managed to get one perfect specimen, but he didn't skin it, he donated it to Pearson whole (like a dummy) so he had to do it again lol! He seemed to find them easier than me. He found that killing boars and deer and piling them up with bait seemed to help, but I was trying the exact same thing and I had nothing but grief. We decided that particular theory must have been coincidence in his favour.

For me, I'd drop potent predator bait all over near Old Harry's Fen south of Braithwaite's, even exactly where the Florida Panther sketch appears on the map and most of the time, damn 3 star boars would come in and eat my bait, one other time a 3 star rattlesnake. (My brother apparently got bitten by a few snakes on his game). I must have gotten lucky because I never did get killed by the 3 or 4 panthers I killed before I got my 3 star one. I always had the drop on them (Cover Scent and Eagle Eye). I had enough time to "Study" all of them except the first one I killed (I got too excited lol). I had to Study them multiple times before it stopped saying "Big Cat" and showed me their quality. It also took me until my last panther for the sketch to appear on my map.

[Kormath]

Red X is where you ride to and camp, actual camp is about on the blue X.  Panther sometimes spawn to the east in the red circle, but most often just southeast in the green circle.  using cover scent and slowly crouch walking and using eagle eye i get a panther every time.  Not always 3 star but always a panther in one of those 2 spots.  I find them there so often now i never go south of those areas.  Just reload the save and look again.

i never use bait

always use cover scent

wear headphones if you can.

Headphones makes it so much easier to hear the panther growl when you get close.  when you hear that stop, don't move but to turn in circles looking with eagle eye.  I have auto aim enabled and frequently target the brush as i turn around until it locks on the panther.  Then you have to wait for a headshot, (and don't forget to use dead eye), usually when it's charging at you.  I die every few tries lol but then just restore to your save after camping and try again.

[mizTik]

I used bait myself and had success but it took a long time. I think these cats have to be the hardest animal to work within the game. I struggled way less with the bears.

[Foxtrot]

@Kormath Thanks a lot for the additional information, that’s really useful. 

Thankfully, I only need the one perfect pelt. I just hope the cougar isn’t this difficult. 

Badgers are a bit of a pain to find too. 

[Kormath]

1 hour ago, Foxtrot said:

@Kormath Thanks a lot for the additional information, that’s really useful. 

Thankfully, I only need the one perfect pelt. I just hope the cougar isn’t this difficult. 

Badgers are a bit of a pain to find too. 

badgers are nocturnal,  you can do the same camp/hunt/restore tactic by the oil derrick south east of Valentine, a couple spawn around there.  you can get rats there also if you're going for all the trapper gear, every once in a while you might see a possum as well.

[Truth]

@Moosh89 I find them consistently in the green circle on the map @Kormath posted. Just west of the fork in the road.

@Foxtrot cougars are all over, so you're likely to find one while doing other things. Badgers can be a pain as well, but you can also find them in various locations.

[Kormath]

2 spots for cougar that never fail (before the epilogue)  up north near the legendary moose is a good spot,  usually right near the river or just west of it.  That bastard kills me more than i kill him.  I've also seen one in the woods just southwest of annesbury, it's usually just a 1 star every time i've seen it though.

second spot is near the trapper in West Elizabeth.  once you turn away from the creek that feeds Lake Owanjila and head north, when you get into the low hills there's usually a panther on the hill to the right.  if you camp near there you can do the cover scent/crouch walk and get your study/tracking done before shooting it in the head.

if the cougar isn't in the 2nd spot then it's usually from a bear or wolves nearby if you need those pelts.

[Foxtrot]

Yep, I’ll try again when I’m allowed some console time again. 

Id really love to get all the satchels before the end of chapter three and I’ll probably get the dreamcatchers, fossils, and carvings completed as well. 

[buttlint]

You folks are obviously not cat people.

[Truth]

@buttlint my cat is more vicious than that ****ing cougar!!

She bites me at least once every few weeks...

Edit: just thought I should clarify that it is completely unprovoked.

Edited January 19, 2019 by Truth

[buttlint]

14 minutes ago, Truth said:

@buttlint my cat is more vicious than that ****ing cougar!!

She bites me at least once every few weeks...

Edit: just thought I should clarify that it is completely unprovoked.

All it takes is a calm voice.....and a pocket full of a special herb that I grow.😉

[Foxtrot]

Hurrah! I managed it. I just wandered around that area and found a three star panther in the distance so shot it, and wounded it, and ended up having to put it out of its misery so only scored a one star pelt. 

The next night, I did the same thing and after a long time tramping in circles found another three star panther. I shot it through some bushes. It ended up being an imperfect kill and two stars. Skinning it, it got upgraded to a three star because I have the buck trinket. 

So im real happy with that. 

As a bonus, I got a three star badger at Bolger Gate.

So now I just need a cougar and wolf to get the final satchel. 

[Hammer]

I always found the Panther much closer to the lake, right past the bend in the road before the big tree on the right.  As long as your not riding an Arabian you'll have plenty of time to get off your horse before he pounces!

[WPCatfish]

I don't get a lot of game time, so I spent three or four nights worth looking for a badger in Lemoyne, near the Oil Derrick, and up by Bacchus.  Decided I would have better luck if I got the Buck Trinket.  Got the Legendary buck and then shot a perfect badger before I got to the West Elizabeth trapper near the train station.  Didn't even have the trinket yet.  Go figure.

[Syrens]

Okay I need to find the big cats, I've got 5 of my own anyways so a big one's easy peasy haha!

Edited January 22, 2019 by Syrens

[Foxtrot]

Finally got the final satchel. I found the wolf up on the frozen lake fighting a grizzly, and the cougar was remarkably easy once I knew where to go.