Cow - Access and Combat Recommendations

Access Directions

Cow pens contain mostly Cows with one or two of the Cow Calf; they have the same drops and are generally fought at the same time. If you are killing only a few cows/calves then you can do it in any of the locations, all of which are easy to get to. But if you are trying to save cowhides for Crafting, you want to kill and bank as quickly as possible.

The fastest method is to use a skills necklace to teleport to the Crafting Guild; there's a cow pen just a few squares away. You can also tan the hides in the Crafting Guild (level 40 required.) The drawback is needing to recharge the necklaces.

The next best spot is the cowpen near the Farming patch between Falador and Port Sarim. Run from Draynor, get a full inventory, then use a glory to teleport back. Again, recharging is an issue.

The most popular pen is the large one just north of Lumbridge, but it is not near a bank and is often crowded.

Equipment

For low-levels, standard melee, ranged or magic gear as appropriate. High-level players don't need armor and are better off using weight-reducing gear.

If you want to tan hides in the Crafting Guild as you collect them, wear a brown apron as well to get into the guild.

Wear a ring of duelling and amulet of glory / skills necklace for banking and quick return to the pen.

Supplies

Food is needed for very low-level players only.

Since the 2009 run energy update, you won't need energy restoration scrolls or potions unless your Agility level is very low.

Don't forget to bring some coins if you plan to tan hides at the Crafting Guild.

Familiar

A beast of burden is handy for carrying cowhides, if you are collecting them to use for Crafting or some other purpose. Bear in mind that war tortoise pouches are very expensive, so I recommend a spirit terrorbird until you can summon a pack yak.

Combat Notes

These monsters are very simple to kill, but they can do a bit of damage on very low-level players, so they should be careful.

Drop Notes

For new players, cows and calves are great training monsters -- they provide raw meat to train Cooking (and for healing in combat), bones for prayer and hides for Crafting.

For high-level players, they are a resource monster for hides, and the only real issue is getting the hides quickly. For starters, leave behind the bones and raw beef, as they will make you bank much more often.

Again, the best spot is the pen near the Crafting Guild; you just have to learn to not click on the dairy cows. :) The death animation is rather slow, so after you kill one cow go to the next and come back later for the cowhide.

It's arguable as to whether tanning in the Crafting Guild is worthwhile. One hassle with this is that if using a beast of burden, there's no way to quickly swap already-tanned hides in your inventory with untanned ones in the familiar. I recommend leaving a few spaces empty in the familiar. Tan all the hides in your inventory, then open the beast's inventory and store a few of the tanned hides. Then you can take out some of the untanned ones and repeat the procedure until you have all the untanned hides, and tan them.

Of course, another option is to kill cows/calves, get hides, tan them, then craft them into items and drop them, then repeat the process; in theory, you can stay for hours without banking.

Finally, another monster option to consider for collecting cowhides is the Undead Cow, which can actually be faster than any of the conventional cow pens. They don't drop charms, however.