Wild 1979: From Fishing and Hunting to Becoming a Literary Master

Chapter 35 Testing the Gun

"Brother-in-law Sun, may I test the gun here?"

Just now, outside the Songling Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative, was Chen Tuo's second close encounter with firearms.

The first time was during university military training, when I fired five shots with a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle.

The second time, I didn't touch the gun, but I saw a maroon stock and a carbine in a deerskin bag.

"Sure! Why can't you try? You're a sent-down youth, and although you're not part of the agricultural reclamation corps, you're still part of the forestry bureau's militia."

With a single sentence, Sun Changkui refuted Chu Maolin's claim of being qualified to carry a gun. He then gave Chu, who was clearly indignant, a look of calm.

Although the militia structure is being streamlined, the situation varies from forest area to forest farm.

Once you turn sixteen, you're considered a prospective militia member.

People like Chen Tuo are officially registered militia members with their names on the roster.

This doesn't require looking up the roster; it's just a rule from a few years ago.

"That's great! Can I try it now?"

Seeing Chen Tuo's jubilant face, Sun Changkui gave an apologetic, awkward smile and pointed to the sled that Su Dao and the others were riding.

"Let's test the guns. Don't make it too complicated. The procedures for the Armed Forces to use guns in and out of the warehouse are cumbersome. Let's just use Su Dao's guns."

"Okay! Shall I try it now?"

"We have to wait for Su Dao and the others to come back, right? I still need to talk to them about the replacement bullets later..."

Seeing that Chen Tuo had fallen into the trap, Chu Maolin, who was standing to the side, stopped causing trouble.

He knew all too well how powerful the water jets were.

Having gotten used to playing with five or six half-balls, even an experienced player would have to rub their shoulders if they tried to play with water beads, let alone a novice like Chen Tuo.

Of the three people at the shooting range, only Chen Tuo was eager to try; the other two had ulterior motives.

When Su Dao and the others returned, Sun Changkui lifted the deerskin off the sled and took out an old Buick.

"Brother Su Dao, Xiao Chen wants to play with a gun. He'll use a few of your bullets, and I'll give him twenty more water-filled bullets afterward."

Su Daoneng came down from the mountain to do business and exchange for grain; he was not the reckless drunkard that Wu Laowai described.

He glanced at Chen Tuo, who was eager to try, and then glared at Sun Changkui, who had ill intentions.

Su Dao pointed to another sled, looked at Chen Tuo, and then said to Sun Changkui:

"Brother Changkui, the Buick rifle on Morigen's sled is newer, but the bullets on my sled are better."

Chen Tuo didn't immediately understand Su Dao's implication, but he did realize that Sun Changkui, his newly recognized brother-in-law, wasn't as genuine as he seemed.

"Brother-in-law Sun, can you teach me how to shoot?"

Not understanding Su Dao's implication did not diminish Chen Tuo's eagerness to test the gun, nor did it prevent him from being wary of Sun Changkui's original intention in letting him test the gun.

"Do you want to learn hunting marksmanship or military marksmanship? Military marksmanship is simple; just follow the manual."

Whether Su Dao gives Chen Tuo a reminder or not, it doesn't prevent Sun Changkui from persuading him to quit.

Any rifle that uses full-power ammunition is not easy to master.

Even if Chen Tuo had trained before, he might not be able to hit the target on the first try if he were given a Type 53 carbine now.

However, just to be on the safe side, Sun Changkui still set a trap for him.

"Hunting marksmanship! I'm an undocumented immigrant, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to join the army..."

When Chen Tuo tried out the gun, he managed to grab Chu Maolin, which made Sun Changkui more wary of his magnanimity.

"If you want to learn hunting marksmanship, we'll see if you're cut out for it..."

Intrigued by Chen Tuo's actions, Sun Changkui didn't go to Morigen's sled to exchange for a gun. Instead, he picked up his old Buick and immediately shouldered it and pulled the trigger.

"Hunting is different from fighting; in hunting, you can simply raise your gun and be done with it!"

"Wild animals are much more alert than humans. Your breathing might be an alarm to them, so you have to be quick."

After explaining the requirements for marksmanship, Sun Changkui demonstrated raising and pulling the trigger several times before discussing the key techniques.

"The key to fast-firing is that the four actions of raising the gun, controlling recoil, aiming, and firing must be coordinated and performed simultaneously. This is not something everyone can learn!"

After explaining the key points and demonstrating the movements in slow motion several times, Sun Changkui finally picked up an old Buick that still smelled of gun oil from Morigen's sled.

"Brother Chen Tuo, the Buick's gun mount is powerful and produces a lot of smoke. After you're done, remember to turn to the side..."

Chen Tuo took the gun from Sun Changkui. Su Dao first reminded him before handing him two bullets.

Just as he was about to pull the bolt and chamber a round, Sun Changkui added:

"Xiao Chen, no matter whose gun it is or when, you must check the bolt and barrel before loading. Foreign objects can cause a barrel explosion and blind you."

After inspecting the bolt and chamber, load the bullet.

Chen Tuo first tried out Sun Changkui's four-in-one rapid-fire technique.

As Sun Changkui and Chu Maolin had expected, he immediately started shooting with a fast gun, and his movements were not smooth.

"Brother-in-law Sun, is it okay if I just put it on his shoulder?"

"Why not? Shooting, although there are manuals and techniques, when it comes to actually using it, you just do whatever feels comfortable."

As soon as Sun Changkui finished speaking, Chen Tuo, who had already placed the gun against his shoulder and found his balance, pulled the trigger without hesitation.

With a loud bang, the tree stump propped up on the pine branch in the distance exploded, sending up a large amount of debris.

"Great marksmanship!"

While Chen Tuo was still dodging the black smoke billowing from the gun barrel, Su Dao began to praise him, which made Sun Changkui's face turn somewhat ugly.

The location where Chen Tuo fired the shot was also something he deliberately chose.

The tree stumps in the distance are so large that they make one forget the distance of seventy or eighty meters.

Hitting the target at 70 meters is something most new recruits can't do.

"Uncle Su, that gun is really powerful!"

Rubbing his shoulder, which had been slammed by the butt of the rifle, Chen Tuo was also surprised by the Beret's fierce recoil.

"It's not that the gun is more powerful, it's that the gun is different; it's mixed with pills, so it can actually shoot 150 or 160 meters!"

Seeing that the two were still flattering each other, Sun Changkui said in a deep voice, "One more time!"

Pull the bolt, reload, fire.

Although the wooden target at a distance of 70 or 80 meters was much larger than a normal target, it reduced the difficulty considerably.

But hitting the target twice was still very rewarding for Chen Tuo, who was handling a gun for the second time.

"Fire two more shots, then try firing rapidly!"

Although Chen Tuo has some shooting talent, from Sun Changkui's perspective, it's best not to let him handle a gun.

After all, he was the only one left at Xiaoyangqi educated youth settlement, so he was bound to harbor resentment.

Two more shots were fired, one of which missed the target.

Chen Tuo tried firing rapidly with five bullets.

The result slightly dampened his enthusiasm; out of five shots, only one hit the target.

Just as Sun Changkui was about to take the opportunity to give him a setback, Su Dao interrupted and praised him:

"Brother Chen Tuo is quite strong, but his shooting skills are a bit rusty. He'll get better with a little more practice."

"Hmm! He has some flair; he's got the makings of a gun!"

After Su Dao finished speaking, Wu Laowai, who had come over to join the fun after hearing the gunshot, blocked Sun Changkui again.

The two of them talked back and forth, directly causing his idea to dissuade Chen Tuo from going through with it.

"Brother-in-law Sun, could you find me a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle to try out? I feel like with a Type 56, I can hit the target every time I fire rapidly at this distance!"

Seeing that the test shot had given Chen Tuo confidence, Sun Changkui gently shook his head at Chu Maolin, stopping him from causing trouble.

Chen Tuo's marksmanship, as he just demonstrated, was not very good at the Songling Town Armed Forces Training Ground.

But when they moved to the training ground down the mountain, they could barely be considered passable...