The Type 56 Semi-Automatic Rifle had a long body. Across both his lives, it was the standard-issue firearm Li Long had used the most.
To be honest, its recoil was definitely stronger than that of the Type 95 or Type 03, but nowhere near as strong as some people in webnovels claimed.
Li Long remembered his first live-fire militia training session. Following the instructions of Xu Chengjun, the militia company commander at the time, he had pressed the butt firmly into the pocket of his shoulder. When he pulled the trigger, it felt like someone had struck his shoulder, and that was all.
After five rounds, his shoulder wasn't even red. He fired another five, and it felt much the same.
People online claimed the Type 56 had tremendous recoil and left their shoulders aching terribly. There were only two possible explanations: either they hadn't braced the stock firmly against their shoulders as instructed, in which case the recoil would naturally hurt when it slammed into them, or they were making it up. They had never fired one and were simply repeating hearsay.
This Type 56 had clearly seen plenty of use. He supported the handguard beneath the barrel with one hand and gripped the wooden stock diagonally below the trigger with the other. Tilting his head, he tried sighting down it and found it very comfortable. This rifle must have been used often.
Seeing Li Long's practiced movements, Harimu and Jade Mountain River both relaxed. If he had been a complete novice, they would have dropped the idea. Although Harimu had already asked Li Long about his experience, only now was he sure.
Li Long had brought nineteen rounds this time. After giving each of the two children two rounds, he had fifteen left. He hesitated, then decided not to take out any more. After the boar hunt tomorrow morning, he would leave whatever remained with Jade Mountain River as thanks for lending him the rifle.
For herders who owned guns, ammunition was the scarcest resource.
They had probably first been issued guns mainly because of the international situation at the time. Later, the purpose had been to protect their cattle, sheep, and property. After reform and opening up began, those policies had gradually ceased to be enforced. Still later, their guns would be collected, and the country's gun restrictions would come into effect.
This was the period when firearms were most widely used and ordinary people had the easiest access to them.
Harimu chatted with Jade Mountain River for a while longer, then left his home with Li Long.
On the way, Harimu told Li Long that Jade Mountain River had once had someone sight in the rifle, so it would hit where he aimed. Harimu's own rifle hadn't been sighted in, and he didn't really know how to do it, so he had to aim a little lower.
Li Long understood. As he carried the rifle on his back, he took care not to bump the front sight or rear sight.
Back at Harimu's home, Li Long hung up the rifle and put away the jade, then joined Harimu in feeding the sheep. The two of them also made a special trip to the place where the wild boars came down.
It lay east of Harimu's Winter Camp, just over a Mountain Ridge. Li Long could see a large stretch of snow on the slope below that had been rooted up. The tracks left by the boars covered an area more than half the size of a soccer field.
"We'll lie in wait there." Harimu pointed to a Pine Forest on the Mountain Ridge. "It's downwind. Wild boars have very sharp noses. If we set up somewhere else and they smell us, they won't come over. The pines there are thick, too, so they can't charge up at us."
Li Long had heard how dangerous wild boars could be, but to be honest, across both his lives, this would be his first boar hunt. He was rather excited.
After inspecting the area and choosing their ambush spot, the two of them headed back.
That night, Li Long squeezed onto the wooden sleeping platform with Harimu's family and didn't fall asleep until very late.
Yet it felt as though he had barely slept before Harimu woke him.
Li Long got up. Seeing that everyone else was still asleep, he quietly put on his outer clothes, took the Sheepskin Overcoat and rifle Harimu handed him, and went outside with him.
It was still very dark outside. Harimu said:
"Load the rounds first, but leave the safety on-don't want an accidental discharge."
Li Long naturally knew these basics. He pressed ten of the rounds he had brought into the magazine, one at a time. In theory, he could have loaded another round into the chamber, but he didn't.
He figured he would have a hard time firing all ten rounds anyway. Those wild boars were clever and alert; the moment a shot rang out, they would bolt. He might only get one or two shots.
With the rifles ready, the two of them wrapped themselves in their Sheepskin Overcoats and headed for the spot they had chosen yesterday.
Li Long reckoned it was only a little after five at most. Here in Northern Xinjiang, where local time ran two hours behind the interior, that was very early indeed.
But the cold air, together with the excitement of hunting, had already driven away all his sleepiness.
The Sheepskin Overcoat was crudely made, simply stitched together from sheepskin and cloth. The hide hadn't been tanned properly and was still somewhat stiff. Li Long suspected the herders had made it themselves, giving a whole sheepskin a basic tanning, cutting it into the shape of a coat, and sewing it to the cloth.
Ugly as it was, it really did keep him warm. Wrapped tightly around him, it didn't let in a breath of wind.
After half an hour's walk, they reached the Pine Forest. Each found a suitable position, lay down, and began preparing a rest for his rifle.
Copying Harimu, Li Long packed down the snow in front of him, leaving a groove in the middle. Then he opened the Sheepskin Overcoat, spread it over the snow, and lay on it. He tested his position and adjusted anything that felt wrong.
Then came the long wait. With the Sheepskin Overcoat beneath him, Li Long didn't dare pull its sides up around himself, wanting to be ready to fire at any moment.
His back was therefore very cold.
After lying there for a while, Li Long felt as though he was about to freeze stiff. He shifted around on the ground and turned to glance at Harimu.
Harimu lay completely still, but he had wrapped his Sheepskin Overcoat around himself.
Li Long inwardly cursed his own stupidity. They were downwind. He could wrap himself up now and slowly open the coat when the boars appeared.
He was simply too nervous. Harimu looked like an old hand and wasn't making such a foolish mistake.
Slowly, he pulled the sides of the Sheepskin Overcoat up over his back. After a while, he felt a little warmer.
He had no idea how long they waited. The sky seemed to grow darker for a while, then gradually brightened a little.
Li Long's eyes had adjusted to the darkness. More than once, he lined up the rear and front sights on the patch the boars had rooted up, imagining a boar's head or chest framed inside the front sight ring.
He also knew not to shoot too large a boar. It was best to avoid Male Wild Boars; without castration, their meat had a very strong rank smell.
A one- or two-year-old female would be the best target.
Of course, that depended on his luck.
At last, something stirred on the hill opposite. Through the still night came the grunting, panting, and running sounds of wild boars.
Then, with a rumbling thunder of hooves, a whole "army" charged down from the other side.
Li Long was startled. He had thought a family of wild boars would mean six or seven animals at most. Instead, more than a dozen appeared!
The largest looked as though it must weigh at least two or three hundred kilograms. It was a Male Wild Boar, with tusks already protruding.
It was more than half again as large as a domestic pig!
Most of the charging boars had mottled black coats, and they came in all sizes. The largest was the Male Wild Boar. Of the rest, five or six were about the size of fully grown domestic pigs, weighing a little over a hundred kilograms. Another seven or eight were smaller, around fifty to sixty or sixty to seventy kilograms, probably born that year.
The Male Wild Boar moved the slowest. While the others had already rushed down the slope and begun rooting through the exposed grass, it remained on the Mountain Ridge, lifting its snout warily and sniffing in every direction. Only after detecting no danger did it slowly come down.
By then, Li Long had opened the Sheepskin Overcoat covering his back. He flexed his slightly stiff fingers, the rifle's front sight ring already framing a female boar weighing a little over sixty kilograms.
Size didn't matter. Ideally, he would kill it with a single shot!
(End of chapter)
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