Hunting in Permafrost is how you keep fed, clothed and supplied in the cold. Red deer feed you and the dog, boar show up around your first base, and a bear waits deep in Bone Cave. All three go down with the first weapon you can make, provided you aim, let the animal settle, and switch to a blade before you try to skin anything.
Quick answer: Build the Crude Bow (2 Wood + 1 Rope), hold RMB to aim and LMB to shoot. Deer take one to four arrows, boar two to three, the bear is fought from a high ledge. With a Stone Shiv in hand, hold E to skin each carcass.
The Crude Bow and arrows
The Crude Bow is your first hunting weapon. It costs 2 Wood and 1 Rope and is made straight from the inventory, with no workstation needed. Its listed damage is 60, and it fires the Wooden Arrow. One Wood crafts three arrows at a time, so a small stack of Wood turns into plenty of ammunition.
Hold RMB to aim and press LMB to shoot. Arrows that hit or miss can be collected again from the ground or the carcass by pressing E, so walk the trail after each kill and pick them back up. Running dry in the middle of a fight throws up a NO ARROWS prompt, so carry a comfortable surplus before you go looking for trouble.
How skinning works
Once an animal is down, it becomes a Carcass. Equip a knife before skinning; a Stone Shiv is sufficient, as is any better knife. Stand over the body and keep E held to skin it. The pelt goes directly into your inventory, and the remains become a searchable container labeled with the animal’s name, for example “Dead red deer”, “Dead Boar” or “Dead bear”.
Once the pelt is off, press E to open the carcass and R to take all. Inside you will find Meat, Bones and Animal Fat. If you try to skin with any other tool equipped, the game shows Unsuitable tool used! and nothing happens. Swap to the shiv on your hotbar and try again.
Red deer
Red deer are the simplest animals to hunt when you’re starting out. A herd grazes beside the fence on the snowfield between the first cave and Horizon’s gate. Look for more near the broken snowmobile outside the gate, along the frozen river before Bone Cave, and in the Woods around your first base.
Deer are harmless and will not fight back. They bolt when hit and then stop again a short distance away, so let one settle, place a shot, and wait for it to stand still again if it runs. A clean shot on a standing deer can drop it in one, though a kill can take anywhere between one and four Crude Bow arrows.
Skinning gives a Deer Pelt, and the carcass holds Meat, Bones and Animal Fat. A deer can hold 2 Meat. Your first kill of each species adds it to the Journal under WORLD > ANIMALS with a “New animal” banner, and the Red Deer page lists its loot as Meat, Bone, Animal Hide and Animal Fat.
Deer drops cover several early tasks right away. One cooked Meat goes to Robyn’s “Horizon’s Kitchen”, one raw Meat feeds the dog during “Dog Days”, and one Deer Pelt satisfies the General Trader’s “Tonight… We Hunt!”. Animal Fat is used for Candles, at 3 Fat per Candle, and the Tanning Rack blueprint calls for Deer Pelt.
Boar
Boar can be found in the pine woods around your first base, beside the fenced paddock and nearby rock pillars, and in the forest beyond Landscar Cave. A solitary one may also appear at the hut.
A boar bolts after your first hit, but in most encounters it wheels around and rushes straight toward you. Be ready for its charge. Two to three Crude Bow arrows will kill one. Fire, retreat as it runs, then shoot again when it turns and charges.
The hut’s raised doorway is a dependable refuge: the boar can’t climb inside to get to you. Skinning it gives you a Boar Pelt, and its carcass contains Meat, Bones and Animal Fat.
Keep a stack of 20 or more arrows before taking on boar. A charge leaves little time to craft mid-fight, and each Wood makes three.
The bear in Bone Cave
A bear is in Bone Cave’s lower cavern, close to the red flares on the route from the dog’s chamber toward the Woods exit. It leaves you alone until you attack, then charges.
Use the Crude Bow from a high ledge overlooking the cavern floor. The bear can’t reach you there, so you can shoot, retrieve arrows when possible, and keep firing until it falls. Begin the fight from above, not on the cavern floor. Skinning yields a Bear Pelt, while the carcass contains Meat, Bones and Animal Fat.
What each animal drops
| Animal | Crude Bow arrows | Pelt | Carcass contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red deer | 1–4 | Deer Pelt | Meat (2), Bones, Animal Fat |
| Boar | 2–3 | Boar Pelt | Meat, Bones, Animal Fat |
| Bear | Repeated, from a ledge | Bear Pelt | Meat, Bones, Animal Fat |
Deer, Boar and Bear Pelt each show VALUE 15 on their tooltips, and Bones show VALUE 10. All of these can be sold to traders when you have a surplus. On longer trips, load your dog companion’s pack with pelts and fat so you do not have to cut the hunt short on inventory space.
Skills that grow while you hunt
- Bows and Accuracy level up as you land hits.
- Skinning levels on every carcass, flagged by a “LEVEL UP! Skinning” prompt.
- With Tracker, your starting bonuses are +1 Skinning, +1 Bows and +1 Knives, giving you an advantage when hunting early in the game.
After the hunt: cooking and parasites
Cook Meat at a lit campfire by putting it in the PRIMARY slot and pressing R to cook. A cooked Dish restores HUNGER 90, against just 30 for raw Meat. Eating raw Meat also risks PARASITES, a condition that cuts Stamina Gain Rate by 30 percent until you cure it with alcohol. Cook whenever you have a fire available.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying to skin with the bow still equipped, which triggers “Unsuitable tool used!”. Switch to the shiv first.
- Leaving loot behind in a carcass. “Take all” can miss a stack, so open the body a second time to check.
- Hunt at dusk. When the “SUN IS SETTING” warning appears, expect the cold warning within minutes.
Permafrost is still in early access, and updates may alter animal behaviour, loot and numbers. The arrow counts and values here reflect the current state rather than permanent figures; check your Journal pages for the latest information as the game changes.
