One trick with using the bow with the ranging sight (whatever it's called, the one with the distance markings on it) you can use the binoculars to sight on something, then mark a waypoint there, and it will tell you how far away you are, which gives you an idea how much distance to dial in with the ranging sight on the bow. It was funny as I thought it was an antelope or deer because of the antlers, I thought it was a bigger animal further away, and my arrows kept going over it's head. Though the game calls it an "alpha hare", probably jackalope is a trademark by now.
And here I always thought the wild jackalope was a myth. Then I just wandered around for an hour or so, looking at stuff and hunting things. The hint said to use a certain lure but I didn't have that option yet, but it didn't seem to matter, got the weird looking thing anyway. The side missions you get after clearing an outpost are so random, one was to catch a certain fish. I realize what they are trying to do, story-wise, but let's not be so ham-fisted about it, OK? Luckily, they are fairly short, at least the ones I've encountered so far are, but the timer bit is just stupid. It didn't look like there were double the enemies, so one person could basically do nothing while the other finishes the level. OWGKID and I did one on my save game and they are a literal breeze with two people. I would recommend playing them in co-op mode. You have no control over when it happens and no way to get out of it. Just by playing the game, where you rescue hostages or take out cult VIPs, you gain reputation, and when it hits a certain level, you are forced into the cutscene and escape sequence. Sorry to hear your frustration with the required missions, PZ, I have the same, though less extreme reaction to them.