wavenovel Chapter 36 From Shotgun to Cannon
Chapter 36 From Shotgun to Cannon
"Brother Changkui, are you afraid that Brother Chen Tuo can't handle Buick and Water Chain Beads?"
Su Dao went down the mountain to exchange guns for food, so why did the Songling Forestry Bureau send people to keep an eye on him?
The Forestry Bureau had spoken to them about it, and Sun Changkui mentioned it every time.
The problem is simply that standard-issue rifles are too powerful, and hunting mostly involves close-range firing.
There is a conflict between the two in terms of safe zones, which is why the guns they acquired are being watched.
In fact, the main trading partner for Su Dao and his men who brought guns down the mountain was the Songling Armed Forces Department.
The reason is the same as the concerns of the Songling Forestry Bureau: the standard-issue rifles are too powerful.
Especially in the woods during winter, the danger comes not only from guns, but also from tree trunks that are frozen as hard as stone.
If you fire at close range, and the bullet bounces off the frozen tree trunk, it could hit you and either kill or maim you.
The old Buick used lead-tipped bullets, which was a bit better.
At close range, the most dangerous weapon is the old-fashioned water-based shotgun.
Whether it's the Russian copper bullets or the improved steel-core bullets from here, they are both extremely likely to cause friendly fire.
"Yes! The river bend over there is too close to the town and the surrounding area. A bullet that big, let alone hitting someone directly, could kill someone even if it fell from the sky and hit them through a dog-skin hat!"
Seventy meters, one hundred meters, two hundred meters, or even three or four hundred meters are just the effective range of a rifle.
As for the lethal range of a full-size, full-power rifle, no one can guarantee it without actually encountering one.
Fire a shot into the air, and the bullet might land a kilometer or two away.
If a bullet lands right on a person's forehead, who is responsible for killing them?
"That's easy. When I went there this time, they provided me with a few fine looms, which I can exchange for Brother Chen Tuo's wolf pelts..."
Su Dao's possession of the Mingjizi hunting rifle did not reassure Sun Changkui; on the contrary, it made him even more worried.
Neither he nor the Forestry Bureau were afraid of Chen Tuo carrying a gun.
Rather, they were afraid that he might harbor resentment and do things he shouldn't or couldn't do, causing trouble in Songling.
"this……"
Sun Changkui was still hesitating when Su Dao smiled and said:
"Let's see the gun first!"
Sun Changkui smiled when Su Dao picked up a single-barreled shotgun from the sled.
This was because the single-barreled machine gun in Su Dao's hand had a barrel that was only a little over sixty centimeters long.
The term "exposed bolt" is similar to "exposed handle," but it is a more advanced type of shotgun, meaning the bolt is exposed.
"A Ming-style machine gun specifically designed for shooting birds is quite a rare find..."
"Hmm! That's rare; they even provided slugs for bear hunting..."
Upon seeing the gun and hearing that it was a single-bullet paper bullet used for hunting bears, Sun Changkui couldn't suppress his smile.
A normal hunting rifle, even with a short barrel, is about 70 centimeters long. If the choke is not tightened, buckshot and birdshot will drift and scatter.
If you remove the nearly ten centimeters of the chamber, the barrel of the gun in Su Dao's hand is only a little over fifty centimeters long.
This kind of barrel, whether firing slugs or shotgun shells, has a shorter range than a pistol!
Maintaining accuracy with a bear-hunting slug at a range of 30 meters requires considerable skill.
If the barrel wears down even a little more, the gun will basically be a useless piece of cannon.
"Let me see this gun..."
Upon receiving the Mingjizi from Su Dao, Sun Changkui realized he had misunderstood.
The barrel of the Tula single-barreled gun in my hand not only showed no wear, but also clearly showed that it used the same crude and rudimentary manufacturing process as the Russians.
After thinking about it for a while, Sun Changkui had a general idea of the manufacturing process.
The armor-piercing projectile is made of a single piece of tungsten-nickel alloy, and the tube wall is deliberately thickened to prevent wear.
Sun Changkui had a pretty good idea of the purpose of the short single-barreled gun in his hand; it was probably similar to the boat gun used to shoot down flocks of geese, with the aim of hitting a whole group with one shot.
This gun likely uses specially made shotgun shells with added powder and sand, specifically designed to shoot down flocks of birds.
If you fire a single bullet, even at a distance of fifty meters, that big lead bullet might just fall to the ground.
"Hmm! Good gun!"
Sun Changkui lied against his conscience, earning him a contemptuous look from Su Dao.
"Brother Chen Tuo, would you trade this sniper rifle and two wolf pelts for it? It comes with a hundred slugs. If you give us the wine in return, we'll add twenty boxes of ammunition!"
Seeing the group acting so mysteriously, Wu Laowai stepped forward and snatched the single tube from Sun Changkui's hand to take a look.
"This piece of junk, paired with the Russians' bear-hunting lead pellets, isn't that just plain cheesy?"
Unlike Sun Changkui, who started with a standard rifle, Wu Laowai truly began hunting with a shotgun.
Arquebuses, foreign cannons, Mannlicher guns, Beret guns, Hanyang rifles, Type 38 rifles, Type 24 rifles, and Type 53 rifles.
From the side-by-side open-type displays not long ago, we now use double-row open-type displays.
Similar to Su Dao, Wu Laowai also uses and sells guns.
Short barrels with heavy bullets mean greater power and shorter range.
Meanwhile, the Russians' bear-hunting slugs still contained a heavier, pointed lead pellet.
If the barrel is not long enough and is worn, it might leak gas after firing, and the bullet could fall directly onto your feet.
"Uncle Wu, I think this gun is quite good. Could you give those two wolf pelts to Uncle Su Dao?"
Knowing that Sun Changkui had already made concessions, Chen Tuo no longer fussed over whether what he received in return was a gun for shooting birds or a mountain cannon that was merely for show.
No matter what, this is a proper hunting rifle. Isn't it better than an eighteen-chopstick or an axe handle?
"I think you're a complete country bumpkin. Even the rifles from the supply and marketing cooperative can shoot farther than this piece of junk, right?"
After pointing out the disadvantages of the short-barreled gun, fearing that Chen Tuo might not understand his reminder, Wu Laowai added:
"This damn thing can only go 30 to 50 meters at most, and it's not even accurate with slugs. Remember, you can only use it within 30 meters, that's all!"
Hunting, even if it involves shooting at close range.
But with 30 meters and single-shot rounds mixed together, Wu Laowai could only give it the rating of a mountain gun.
Even a seasoned mountain runner like him wouldn't dare use this kind of equipment to fight bears or wolves; one mistake and he could easily be killed.
"Uncle Wu, thirty or fifty meters is fine, isn't it better than an axe?"
Seeing that Wu Laowai was about to ruin things, Chen Tuo could only pretend to be stupid.
In the gatehouse of the educated youth settlement, he still had a withered ginseng.
In Wu Laowai's hand, he also had an otter pelt.
According to Wu Laowai, once he takes the first step of owning a gun, he can go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy one.
He didn't have enough otter pelts, but he also had the royalties he was about to receive!
"Whatever makes you happy! Su Dao, these two wolf pelts of this little rascal, although they are from old wolves, are newly shed fur and the quality of the pelts is good. Give him five more boxes of bullets and let him practice his marksmanship."
Outside the Armed Forces Department, at the small market in Songling Town, muzzle-loading foreign cannons cost only twenty or thirty yuan each.
There are also old-fashioned hoes and hoes with exposed handles, some costing forty or fifty yuan.
A Beret cartridge without rifling, with a few spent cartridge cases, even if it's old and still usable, wouldn't sell for more than a hundred.
Although Su Dao's Mingjizi was brand new, it was actually quite difficult to use.
Even at forty or fifty yuan, there might not be any fools willing to take it.
Moreover, Wu Laowai knew that Su Dao and his group wouldn't spend much money exchanging guns in Yakutia.
A bottle of wine might be worth a bottle of water, and two cabbages might be worth an old Buick.
These kinds of fancy but useless single-tube displays are probably just free embellishments.
"Alright! Old Wai is so generous! He'll give Brother Chen Tuo five more boxes of ammo to practice his marksmanship."
Having accepted Wu Laowai's request, Su Dao stepped forward, patted Chen Tuo on the shoulder, and extended an invitation.
"Brother Chen Tuo, once you've mastered your marksmanship, you and Lao Wai come to our side. I'll take you across the river to the market..."