Gun/Rescue

With outlaws running around, it's tough to catch 'em all, especially when they take innocent people hostage. Stop the criminals from running roughshod and rescue the victims by defending towns, taking out the bandits and keeping people safe. These missions are triggered by talking to the Federal Marshal in Empire; strangely, this is the only side mission strand that doesn't give an achievement for completion.

Mission #1 - The Miller Gang
The easiest Rescue mission without a doubt, you have to ambush and kill the Miller gang. All you have to do is throw the barrels of TNT down into the intersection and use them to kill the gang members - if you get them all in the intersection, one well-placed shot could kill them all. You simply have to be sure none escape, because that will cause you to fail the mission; you can pick some of them off before they hit the intersection if you're a good shot with the rifle or if you have a sharpshooter, but once they hit it, blast the barrels and Quickdraw the survivors.

Mission #2 - The Smallpox Vaccine
This one's not so easy if you do it the wrong way; namely, this is climbing up to the rooftops first then trying to kill the renegades. Doing it the other way around is much simpler; you can pick off most of them with just the rifle by leaning from behind the buildings. The gatling gun is dangerous, however, and is probably this mission's main sticking point - there's no easy way to do that unless you have a sharpshooter.

Mission #3 - The Hostages
If you even consider using your shotgun during this mission, quit your game and break the disc; using it inside the mine equals a very big explosion from the TNT. Use the same tactic here as you did to save Jenny at the Alhambra, I prefer to activate Quickdraw and plug the hostage-takers once in the head for simplicity but using the rifles works just as well. Even the bow's fine, as long as it's just the Apache bow - both others would set off the explosives. While you're there, mine the gold that's in the back of the shaft as well.

Mission #4 - The Hijacked Coach
Be ready with this mission. Once you locate the coach and talk to the driver, it turns out the "driver" is one of the bandits who took out the stage coach and they ambush you. Quickdraw the first ones to attack, and do what you will with the next wave (a number of riders who come from Dodge-way. After this, you have to blow up the blockage with a barrel of TNT, which is completely non-taxing as you're not under attack. If you notice the gold across the gap from the barrels, it's best to get it now by jumping the gap with your horse.