Weapons

Red Dead Redemption 2 sorts its arsenal along a line the catalogue never draws for you. Any gunsmith in the country will sell Arthur a Cattleman Revolver on any day of the week, but the revolver Flaco Hernandez carries exists once, on one body, at the end of one duel. This guide splits every weapon by that line: pieces that vanish if you walk away from them, pieces that wait in the world until you fetch them, and the shop shelf that fills in mission by mission. Every location, price and unlock below comes from our weapons locations page, which also covers ammunition types and gun degradation.

Weapons that exist once

None of the rare weapons can be bought and none of them accept modifications. What separates them from each other is whether the game keeps them safe for you. A revolver lying beside a duel opponent is gone if you ride off without it. A hatchet wedged in a tree stump stays there for the whole game.

Lost forever if you leave them

Black Belle is the odd one out among the gunslingers. She has no gun to claim: you help her clear bounty hunters out of her home in Bluewater Marsh and take her photograph, and the picture is what moves the gunslinger strand forward. The four duels themselves are laid out in our missions guide.

Waiting in the world

Handed over as rewards

• Algernon's Revolver is the payment for finishing Duchesses and Other Animals, the exotics strand that opens after A Gilded Cage in Chapter 4. Algernon Wasp keeps a greenhouse behind a big blue house on the north side of Saint Denis.
• Jawbone Knife is the reward for A Test of Faith, the dinosaur bone hunt.

The gunsmith shelf, chapter by chapter

Every gunsmith carries the same core list, but each line stays locked until one story mission is done. Read the table top to bottom and it doubles as a timeline of what Arthur is allowed to buy. Some entries also turn up in a general store, which matters when you are far from a gunsmith counter.

The Carcano Rifle, the sniper pick further down, is the last line on the shelf to open; the gunsmiths page lists the same stock shop by shop.

Two pistols only Valentine and Saint Denis stock

• Semi-Automatic Pistol, $210, after The Joys of Civilization, the mission that opens Chapter 4.
• Mauser Pistol, $250, once That's Murfree Country has closed Chapter 5.

What only a fence will sell

Gunsmiths and general stores will not touch stolen goods, so the outlaw economy runs through fences. Besides buying what Arthur lifts, a fence is the only counter for thrown and improvised weapons, and the trapper doubles up on two of them. Where each fence and trapper stall sits is covered in the characters and vendors guide.

Customization: what each part changes

Shop weapons can be reworked part by part at a gunsmith. Rare weapons take none of this, which is worth knowing before you build a loadout around a duel trophy.

• Barrel length raises accuracy on revolvers, pistols and shotguns. The Sawed-Off is the one shotgun that cannot take it.
• Grip restyles a sidearm's handle. Two grips are gated by reputation: the Hero Pearl Grip for the Cattleman and the Gunslinger Ebony Grip for the Double-Action both need honor rank 4 or better, a threshold explained in the game systems guide.
• Barrel rifling is for long guns and pushes bullet velocity and range. The improved rifling adds 10 percent to range and to the distance before damage falls off.
• Iron sights fit every firearm except sniper rifles and make aiming easier.
• Scopes are exclusive to repeaters and rifles.
• Stock changes the wood grain on repeaters, rifles and shotguns and is cosmetic.
• Wrap slows wear from use on the same three long-gun classes.

One pick per class

• Sidearm: the $84 Schofield balances damage, accuracy and rate of fire. Once you can dual wield, rob the doctor in Valentine, force him into the back room and empty the box sitting on the table, which opens up its customization.
• Pistols: the Volcanic hits hardest of the three and, at $150, is also the cheapest; the Semi-Automatic fires and reloads fastest; the Mauser fires rapidly and holds the most rounds.
• Rifles: the Bolt Action is more accurate than the Springfield but hits softer. Among repeaters the Litchfield is the best buy at $145.
• Shotguns: the Repeating Shotgun deals the most damage, but the Sawed-Off can be dual wielded, so carry both.
• Sniper: the Carcano has the range, the power and pinpoint accuracy.
• Melee: a thrown Tomahawk kills in one hit at close range and makes no noise, and you can pick it back up. The Homing Tomahawk Pamphlet is sold by the Saint Denis fence.

Weapons questions

Which weapons are missable?

Seven: the four gunslinger sidearms (Flaco's, Granger's, Midnight's and Calloway's), the Hermit's Rare Shotgun, the Rare Rolling Block Rifle from Magicians for Sport, and Micah's Revolver, which only appears on Mount Hagen after the epilogue's final shootout. Everything else in the world waits for you.

Can rare weapons be customized?

No. Barrels, grips, rifling, sights, scopes, stocks and wraps are only for weapons bought from a gunsmith.

Where is the Mauser sold?

Only at the Valentine and Saint Denis gunsmiths, for $250, once That's Murfree Country has ended Chapter 5. The Semi-Automatic Pistol comes from the same two counters for $210 from The Joys of Civilization in Chapter 4. The Mauser arrives late in Arthur's story, so plan around the Volcanic or the Schofield until then. Everything else Arthur can carry, from horses to outfits, is mapped from the Red Dead Redemption 2 hub.