Highlights

• Variety of Western weaponry in Red Dead Online allows players to customize loadouts for different purposes and playstyles.
• Weapons like Dynamite and Bolas offer unique tactical advantages for situations requiring crowd control and immobilization.
• Best guns like Volcanic Pistol and Evans Repeater provide power, accuracy, and ammo capacity essential for dominating in combat scenarios.

Red Dead Online has a huge array of Western weaponry to choose from, each serving its own unique purpose. From revolvers to repeaters, every weapon in Red Dead Online is useful in its own right, but there are a few weapons that rise above the rest. There are multiple weapons in each class as well, leaving no shortage of firepower to choose from.

When creating a loadout, players have to keep in mind that they can hold multiple weapons at once, meaning they should think about how each gun covers another's weaknesses. These are the best weapons to use in Red Dead Online for everything from bounty hunting to the showdown series.

Updated on March 5, 2024, by Jake Fillery: To become the best gunslinger in Red Dead Online, players are going to need to bring a lot of firepower. Luckily for them, RDO has plenty of weapons to choose from in a variety of different categories, allowing players to express themselves in the Wild West with a plethora of guns and throwables to become a legend. The best guns in Red Dead Online consist of multiple factors, and this list will include the highest tier options available to players, as well as the stats of the weapons themselves, and what players need to acquire them. Most of these weapons could change the tide of warfare, due to the great power of the best RDO weapons.

23 Dynamite

Reach Rank 16 & Purchased For $1

A powerful explosive that may have been designed to help for mining purposes, the dynamite has been repurposed as a tool of destruction in Red Dead Online, and players can expect a grand amount of chaos just by throwing this small stick. Dynamite is great for situations where clusters of enemies are huddling, and also for when other hostile players think they are safe behind cover. Simply toss the dynamite and wait for the bang, which will snuff out anything breathing in the area. Dynamite has a large explosive radius, and it's fairly quick to blow, so be careful when using it, but don't bring it to a standoff.

22 Bolas

Reach Bounty Hunter Rank 10 & Purchased For $30 / 2 Gold Bars

For the bounty hunters out there, the Bolas can help make them feel like a revered hunter of men and women who think themselves above the law. This throwable weapon is great for immobilizing targets, whether NPCs or other players are retreating, the bolas can snare them, much like a throwable lasso. They're fairly expensive, but the way they work adds to situational activities, and players can re-obtain their bolas when thrown, and the throwing range is great, much more effective than a lasso.

21 Pump Action Shotgun

Reach Rank 5 & Purchase For $266.40 / 11 Gold Bars

The Pump action shotgun can make other players disappear so quickly that the opposing player looks possessed. The shots aren't as strong as most other shotguns, but the reload time and capacity give this the staying power that other shotguns often lack.

20 Double-Barreled Shotgun

Reach Rank 30, Purchase For $185 / 8 Gold Bars

Trying to get a double-barreled shotgun to be only slightly strong is tough to do. Firing one shotgun shell is usually enough to kill somebody. Two is essentially a massacre at short range. Unless a hacker turns the player into a UFO, the enemy player won't last long up close against this.

19 Rolling Block Rifle

Reach Rank 13, Purchased For $411 / 17 Gold Bars

The biggest drawback of the Rolling Block is that it can only be fired when scoped in. Not great against targets that move quickly, but just fine for semi-stationary targets on the horizon.

Hey, that's what sniper rifles are supposed to be used for. Just remember to capture all of the farmland animals alive and don't use this overkill machine.

18 Volcanic Pistol

Reach Rank 21, Purchase For $270 / 11 Gold Bars

The Volcanic has a bit more firepower but is a bit slower to fire than the standard Cattleman's Revolver. Nevertheless, running into battle armed with two of these will only see one victor, and that will definitely be whoever is behind the trigger of the Volcanic.

17 Evans Repeater

Purchased For $300 / 12 Gold Bars

Boasting an impressive 26-round capacity, the Evans Repeater can take down huge groups of enemies without having to reload. It's an ammo dump, but finding cover to reload safely shouldn't be a problem, and this weapon's power and accuracy help put down enemies without too many shots. Just don't aim it at the domestic animals, the horses have been horrified enough as it is.

16 Sawed-Off Shotgun

Reach Rank 19, Purchase For $111 / 5 Gold Bars

The dual-wield power of the Sawed-Off Shotguns is underestimated by anybody who isn't playing at a high level. The bottom line is that players carry two weapons and their sidearms. Their two major weapons are wisely made for medium and long ranges. This leaves the job of close damage to the sidearm and nothing works better close up than these. With incendiary ammo, the lobbies can feel hot but this weapon is hotter.

15 Springfield Rifle

Reach Rank 38, Purchased For $156 / 7 Gold Bars

The concept of being able to remain in one place, lie low, and shoot is novel, but not entirely feasible. Not every fight is going to be the strangest duel ever. Especially given the hit-and-run nature of pulling off the perfect heist, snipers have had to evolve. The Springfield is remarkably accurate even when under fire, making it a good choice for mobile snipers.

14 Varmint Rifle

Reach Rank 8 & Purchase For $72 / 3 Gold Bars

Yes, some players are going to laugh at this inclusion, but anybody who is broke won't be laughing for long. It's impossible to rain down death without the proper financing. With a little money for upgrades and a ton of patience, the quickest way to make money is to go hunting. This is the perfect gun for the job, just don't dress up like a hipster and scare off all the animals (and human players).

13 Repeating Shotgun

Reach Rank 11, Purchased For $434.40 / 18 Gold Bars

Players who have been doing Red Dead Online since the beginning are fully aware that snipers have reigned supreme in PvP since day one. Recognizing the need for an advantage for those brave enough to get in close, this gun was added for some serious lethality.

12 Semi-Automatic Pistol

Reach Rank 22, Purchase For $537 / 22 Gold Bars

Those who grind out the levels and save up the cash are in for a treat. The live-action makes it hard to find a perfect use for Deadeye in the game, but having two of these death dealers is where it shines most. The ridiculously fast fire rate is unmatched in a quick-moving firefight. Large beasts won't stand a chance.

11 Ancient Tomahawk

Purchase For $5.50

Most players will recognize the value of the Ancient Tomahawk when it one-shots a variety of the game's most ferocious animals. That's one way to deal with annoying players right there. They're hard to aim and use, yet those who have been playing PvP at the game's highest level will usually notice somebody using them, and that somebody usually wins the match.

Throwable weapons like the Ancient Tomahawk also benefit from the ability to be reclaimed and act as a great stealth weapon.

10 Litchfield Repeater

Reach Rank 18 & Purchase For $348 / 14 Gold Bars

With all of the great repeater options out there, too many people are passing up on the Litchfield Repeater, especially when factoring in its winning reputation among the game's top players. Yes, it's got fewer shots in it. Yes, it's too powerful to cleanly kill a flock of delicate birds. But that's bad in-game karma that nobody needs. Overkill against human-controlled opponents is always welcome.

9 Bolt-Action Rifle

Reach Rank 7 & Purchase For $216 / 9 Gold Bars

The Bolt-Action Rifle trades the fire rate and ammo capacity of repeaters for much higher damage and accuracy. Players will be able to safely line up shots from a distance thanks to this weapon's increased range, especially when it's scoped. The Bolt-Action Rifle is at its deadliest in the showdown series. The best melee weapons in Red Dead Online can't hold a candle to one of these blasts.

8 LeMat Revolver

Purchased For $317 / 13 Gold Bars

The LeMat Revolver not only has a higher capacity than other weapons of the same class, but it also has a devastating secret. The LeMat Revolver can fire 9 revolver shots before needing to reload, but it also contains a second barrel that fires a single shotgun shell, which can catch enemies by surprise. This gun is incredibly powerful at close range, and dual-wielding LeMat Revolvers can allow players to clear groups with ease. It's widely considered one of the best revolvers available, especially in the hands of experts.

7 Bow

Reach Rank 10, Purchased For $124 / 5 Gold Bars

Many would rather use a gun in Red Dead Online shootouts, but a bow can prove just as deadly, if not more, in the right hands. Arrows deal massive damage to enemies, killing NPC characters in one shot to the chest and heavily wounding other players in a showdown series.

Of course, the Bow has a considerably slower fire rate than most other weapons, but any sharpshooter can use the Bow's pinpoint accuracy and various arrow types to become a real threat. That makes for a great bounty-hunting experience, and even more so for those in need of a brilliant stealth weapon.

6 Navy Revolver

Purchased For $275 / 11 Gold Bars

The Navy Revolver doesn't have any fancy additions like the LeMat, but it's still a solid weapon to have in the holster. The Navy Revolver is a standard six-shot revolver, but it hits very hard. Not only that, but it has incredible accuracy. Reticle bloom when using this weapon is minimal, making it easy to land repeated shots. With a weapon this nice, it's easy to see why some players are ridiculously dedicated to the game.

5 Carcano Rifle

Reach Rank 50, Purchase For $456 / 19 Gold Bars

When taking out a target from far away, the Carcano Rifle is the singular go-to gun. It's a sniper rifle, so it will beat out just about every other Red Dead Online weapon at range, and this is best leveraged when dealing with other players. It's fast, mobile, and hits like a kick in the chest from a bucking horse.

4 Lancaster Repeater

Reach Rank 12, Purchase For $243 / 10 Gold Bars

The Lancaster Repeater is the most reliable weapon Red Dead Online has to offer. It doesn't do anything particularly well, but it also has practically zero drawbacks. It's also relatively cheap and obtainable at a low rank, so just about everyone has one.