tips for gunfights in red dead redemption?

use dead eye early, not as a panic button. pop it the moment you come round a corner, paint heads, let go. once you unlock marking several targets it gets silly. keep the core topped up with tonics or chewing tobacco so it's always there. stay in cover, they will flank you if you sit still for too long. shotgun up close, rifle at range. and clean your guns. a dirty revolver quietly loses damage and you don't notice until a fight goes badly.