You’re riding through the snowy, miserable peaks of West Elizabeth, your horse is shivering, and honestly, you’re probably just looking for a waypoint. Then you see it. Or maybe you don't, because the RDR2 antler knife location is one of those spots that’s incredibly easy to trot right past if you aren't looking for the carnage.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is packed with unique melee weapons, but the Antler Knife has a certain vibe to it. It’s brutal. It looks like something a mountain man fashioned in a fever dream. If you’re tired of the standard-issue hunting knife that Arthur starts with, this is arguably the first "cool" upgrade you can snag without spending a single cent at a gunsmith.
But getting it isn't just about walking up to a chest. It's about finding a specific, gruesome scene tucked away in the woods.
Where exactly is the RDR2 antler knife location?
Basically, you need to head to the far northwest of the map. If you look at your map and find Little Creek River in West Elizabeth, you’re in the right neighborhood. Specifically, you want to head northwest from Wallace Station.
Look for a spot called Hanging Dog Ranch. It’s a nasty place filled with O'Driscolls (or worse, depending on where you are in the story), but you don’t actually have to go inside the ranch to get the knife. The knife is located a bit further north of the ranch, tucked into the timberline.
You’re looking for a dead bear. Not just a dead bear, but a dead bear pinned to the ground by a dead person. It’s a scene. The grizzly and the hunter clearly had a "nobody wins" situation. The hunter managed to jam a knife into the bear's head right as the bear was finishing him off.
Navigating the terrain
The terrain here is tricky. It’s thick with trees and the elevation jumps around. If you reach the literal edge of the map where the textures start to look a bit mushy, you’ve gone too far.
Most players find it by following the path north from the "A" in Little Creek. Keep your eyes peeled for a large clearing that suddenly transitions into dense pines. You’ll hear the wind howling, and if you’re playing with a decent headset, the silence of this specific grove is actually kind of eerie.
Walk up to the bear carcass. You’ll see the prompt to "Inspect" or simply "Take Knife." Arthur (or John) will reach into the skull of the beast and pull out the blade.
Why this knife is actually worth the trek
Is it statistically better than the basic knife? Not really. It does the same damage. It has the same reach.
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However, RDR2 is a game about style and "the feel" of the frontier. The Antler Knife features a handle made from a deer’s tine and a blade that looks hand-forged and slightly pitted. When you're skinning a 3-star elk or getting into a desperate scrap with a bounty hunter, it just feels more authentic to the setting.
Plus, it stays in your inventory forever. Unlike hats you can lose in a bar fight, once you find the RDR2 antler knife location and pick that thing up, it’s yours. It’ll be sitting in your weapon wheel under the knife slot—just use the triggers to cycle through your available blades.
Don't miss the other stuff nearby
Since you're already in the neighborhood of Hanging Dog Ranch, you might as well make the trip profitable. That ranch is a goldmine for loot if you have the ammo to clear it out.
- Check the barn. There’s often a Cigarette Card hiding on a table or a crate.
- Inside the main house, you’ll usually find some premium liquor and maybe some jewelry in the bedside tables.
- If you head even further west into the mountains from the bear site, you’re entering prime territory for hunting Grey Wolves.
Just be careful. The area around the RDR2 antler knife location is a high-spawn zone for actual, living predators. It’s pretty poetic to get jumped by a second grizzly while you’re busy looting the knife off the first one. I’ve seen it happen. It’s not pretty.
Common mistakes when searching
A lot of people confuse this with the Broken Pirate Sword or the Civil War Knife. Those are in completely different parts of the map (Saint Denis and Lemoyne, respectively).
If you find yourself in a swamp, you’re in the wrong place.
If you’re in a cave, you’re in the wrong place.
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The Antler Knife is strictly a high-altitude, cold-weather find. Also, don't worry about the "state" of the bear. Even if you've waited until the Epilogue to go find it, the scene remains static. The game preserves this little vignette of frontier death specifically so you can find it.
One weird quirk: sometimes the "Take" prompt doesn't appear if you’re on horseback. You have to get down, get your boots in the dirt, and stand right over the bear's head. If the prompt still won't show up, try circling the carcass once or twice to reset the interaction zone.
Actionable steps for your hunt
To make sure you don't waste an hour wandering around the woods, follow this specific checklist:
- Fast Travel to Wallace Station: It’s the closest reliable point.
- Ride Northwest: Keep Hanging Dog Ranch on your left but don't engage unless you want a fight.
- Use Eagle Eye: If you’re struggling to see the carcass in the brush, pop Arthur’s Eagle Eye (L3 + R3 / Both Sticks). The dead bear and the hunter will often have a slight "shimmer" or just stand out more against the muted colors of the forest floor.
- Check your Knife Slot: Once you grab it, it won't replace your hunting knife visually on the wheel until you manually cycle to it.
Once you have it, go find a fence or a gunsmith. You can't customize the Antler Knife like you can a Volcanic Pistol, but just having it in your kit completes that "legendary hunter" look that most players are going for by mid-game. It’s a small detail, but in a game like this, the details are everything.