The Bushcraft Bow is a unique variant of the Survival Bow in The Long Dark, that can be acquired by gaining the full trust of Sutherland, the Trader, after completing Sutherland's Tale.
The Bushcraft Bow functions much like the normal Survival Bow, but despite the item description stating that it is heavier and more fragile, the Bushcraft Bow has the same weight and loses lesscondition per fired arrow than the Survival Bow while also dealing significantly more damage, thus making it a direct upgrade to the Survival Bow.
Probability of breaking the bow seems to be higher than with the Survival Bow. Players reported Bushcraft Bow could break at 50% condition while Survival Bow seems to break not prior 10%.
Locations[]
Obtaining the Bushcraft Bow Blueprint Card is required to unlock the crafting blueprint, as this bow does not appear naturally in the game world. It is acquired through trading with the Trader, and sometimes the blueprint appears as a potential trade item at very high Trust. It costs:
One key note about this bow is that it requires 2 Green Birch Saplings, not 2 Cured Birch Saplings. This is the only tool in the game that requires an uncured item to craft.
Trivia[]
The Bushcraft Bow is based on a Penobscot/Wabenaki type of cable-backed bows, thought to be one of the first composite bow designs in history.
The bow being crafted from Green Birch Saplings is an accurate real-world representation of how cable-backed bows can be made from poor-quality wood.