Red Dead Redemption 2 came out in 2018 and is a prequel to Red Dead Redemption from 2010. The game expanded upon the first Red Dead Redemption and features over 20 unique and rare weapons compared to the few found in the first game. Since that’s a lot of rare weapons to cover, this list contains the exclusive and more interesting rare weapons.
Some mild spoilers ahead if you have not yet played or finished the game.
As of October 2020, the information on this list is as accurate as possible and will be updated as needed.
- Viking Hatchet
- Ornate Dagger
- Midnight’s Pistol
- Micah’s Revolver
- Granger’s Revolver
- Flaco’s Revolver
- Calloway’s Revolver
- Algernon’s Revolver
- Stone Hatchet
- Lowry’s Revolver
Type: Melee
Power: Moderate
Range: Low
Accuracy: Low
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
The Viking Hatchet is a rare melee weapon found in the secret Viking tomb (called Old Tomb in the game) just north across the river from Annesburg in the Roanoke Valley. This special hatchet is similar to the regular hatchet, but features a primitive Viking design. Rope and leather keep the wooden hilt and blade together and the blade and hilt are adorned with Viking artwork.
Did You Know?
Near the Viking Hatchet is also a Viking Helmet and Ancient Viking Comb. The player can equip the Viking Helmet to go along with their Viking Hatchet.
Type: Melee
Power: Moderate
Range: Very Short
Accuracy: N/A
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
The Ornate Dagger is rare because it is a missable item, which means that if this knife isn’t picked up right away it will disappear forever and the player can’t get it without starting a new game file. The player can obtain the Ornate Dagger from a strange pale man in black (aka a vampire) in the back alley of Saint Denis, following the completion of the 5 Mysterious Writings. The Ornate Dagger is a short melee weapon with a decorated, silver blade.
Did You Know?
The Ornate Dagger is only different from other knives in the game by its looks, it functions exactly like all the other knives.
Type: Pistol
Power: Low
Range: Moderate
Accuracy: Moderate
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
Midnight’s Pistol is from the second gunslinger duel in “The Noblest of Men, and a Woman” side mission. It is a unique Mauser Pistol that is gold-plated and features engravings with a gray wooden grip. This rare gun belonged to Billy Midnight.
Did You Know?
The player can obtain Midnight’s Pistol early on in the game, before being able to get a regular Mauser Pistol.
Type: Revolver
Power: Moderate
Range: Moderate
Accuracy: Moderate
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
Although there are a few ways the player can get Micah’s Revolver early on in the game, technically the gun can only be retrieved after completing the epilogue and the main story. After the player defeats Micah Bell, they can return to Mount Hagen and loot the gun from Micah’s frozen corpse. Micah’s body remains on the mountaintop until the player loots the gun. Micah’s Revolver is a custom Double-action Revolver that features a grey steel frame with a custom red-and-black skull grip. The words “Vengeance is hereby mine” are etched into the side of the barrel.
Did You Know?
Micah’s Revolver has a slight boost in damage (equal to the Cattleman Revolver) over the regular Double-action Revolver, as well as a slight boost in accuracy.
Type: Revolver
Power: Moderate
Range: Moderate
Accuracy: High
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
Granger’s Revolver is probably the easiest weapon to obtain from “The Noblest of Men, and a Woman” duels because Emmet Granger isn’t as quick as the other gunslingers in the quest. The revolver is a unique Cattleman Revolver that can’t be customized since its a special and rare weapon.
Did You Know?
Emmet Granger does not actually use his revolver in his duel against the player, and used a throwing knife instead.
Type: Revolver
Power: Moderate
Range: Moderate
Accuracy: High
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
Flaco’s Revolver is a reward for completing the first duel from “The Noblest of Men, and a Woman” side quest. The unique Cattleman Revolver is obtained after the player kills the gunslinger Flaco Hernández at Cairn Lodge. Flaco’s Revolver holds six rounds of ammo can use Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express and Explosive revolver ammo. can use Regular, High Velocity, Split Point, Express, and Explosive revolver ammo.
Did You Know?
Flaco’s Revolver looks similar to the gun used by Sadie Adler, a recurring character in the Red Dead series of games.
Type: Revolver
Power: Moderate
Range: Moderate
Accuracy: Very High
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
Calloway’s Revolver is obtained after the player completes all four of the other Gunslinger missions (“The Noblest of Men, and a Woman”). Additionally, the player needs to be past a certain point in the main story line for this final Gunslinger quest to be unlocked. The player can loot gun from the corpse of Jim “Boy” Calloway’s body after they beat him in a duel.
Did You Know?
Calloway’s Revolver is engraved with the phrase “Canis Canem Edit,” which is Latin for “dog eats dog.” This may be a reference to another Rockstar game, Bully, which was marketed as Canis Canem Edit in PAL regions.
Type: Low
Power: Moderate
Range: Moderate
Accuracy: Very High
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
Algernon’s Revolver is a rare double-action revolver that the player gets for completing the “Duchesses and Other Animals” questline. While this quest isn’t necessarily hard, it’s long and requires the player to collect several sets of items such as various Egret Plumes, Lady of the Night Orchids, Lady Slipper Orchids, and many more flowers. There are six parts of this mission, which take a while to complete, but the player is rewarded with an exotic hat and Algernon’s Revolver.
Did You Know?
According to Algernon, the grip of Algernon’s Revolver is made of pearls from Tahiti which, notably, is where Dutch (another game character) intended the gang to settle in after amassing enough money.
Type: Melee
Power: Moderate
Range: Low
Accuracy: Low
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
The Stone Hatchet is another special weapon only available to players who also have Grand Theft Auto V and a Rockstar Social Club account. Like Lowry’s Revolver, players need to obtain the Stone Hatchet in GTA Online first before unlocking it in Red Dead Redemption 2.
To get the Stone Hatchet, players must complete five bounty targets for Maude Eccles in Grand Theft Auto Online (GTA V’s online multi-player mode). The location of the Stone Hatchet will be revealed and the player will have to go retrieve it. This will unlock a challenge tasking the player with making 25 kills with the Stone Hatchet. The player can then redeem the reward in the Rockstar Social Club and unlock the Stone Hatchet in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Did You Know?
Players also receive $250,000 in-game dollars for GTA Online if they complete the 25 kills with the Stone Hatchet.
Type: Revolver
Power: High
Range: Moderate
Accuracy: Very High
photo source: Red Dead Wiki
Lowry’s Revolver is currently the rarest weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2 because it requires players to also have the Grand Theft Auto V game. In order to obtain Lowry’s Revolver, players must solve the “Los Santos Slasher” mystery in Grand Theft Auto Online and kill 50 NPCs or other players with the Navy Revolver. To redeem the reward, players must have both their GTA account and their Red Dead Redemption 2 account linked up to the Rockstar Social Club. After redeeming the prize in the social club, Lowry’s Revolver will be available in Red Dead Online (Red Dead Redemption 2’s online multi-player mode) in a lockbox in Lucky’s Cabin. Based on the gun’s statistics, Lowry’s Revolver is the best revolver in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Did You Know?
Writing on the grip of Lowry’s Revolver says “E.L. 63432”(Edmund Lowry Jr.’s initials). Writing on the cylinder and barrel says “YOU’RE NEXT.” There are also blood splatters all over the gun.
