Chapter 44: The First Gun Hunt After Rebirth

The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle had a long barrel; it was the service rifle Li Long had used most frequently across his two lifetimes.

To be honest, the recoil was certainly greater than that of the QBZ-95 or the QBZ-03, but it wasn't nearly as massive as some people on internet forums claimed.

Li Long remembered the first time he participated in a militia live-fire drill. Following the instructions of the militia company commander at the time, Xu Chengjun, he had tucked the buttstock firmly into the hollow of his shoulder. When he pulled the trigger, it felt like a sharp tap against his shoulder, and that was all.

After firing five rounds, his shoulder wasn't even red. After another five, it felt no different.

Those people online who claimed the Type 56 had such violent recoil that your shoulders would ache uncontrollably were likely describing one of two things: either they hadn't tucked the stock firmly into their shoulder as required—causing the recoil to slam into them—or they were simply bluffing, having never actually fired one, spreading rumors through hearsay.

Looking at this Type 56, it was obvious it had been used frequently. He held the handguard under the barrel with one hand and gripped the handguard below the trigger with the other. Tilting his head, he tested the stance and found it very comfortable. This gun was clearly a well-used tool.

Watching Li Long's practiced movements, Harimmu and Yushanjiang both felt relieved. If he had been a greenhorn, it would have been a lost cause. Although Harimmu had asked Li Long earlier, it was only now that they were certain.

Li Long had brought nineteen rounds this time. He gave two rounds to each of the two children, leaving fifteen. He hesitated for a moment and decided not to pull out the rest; he planned to leave whatever remained to Yushanjiang after they finished hunting the wild boar tomorrow morning, as a way to repay the favor of borrowing the gun.

For these pastoralists who owned firearms, ammunition was the scarcest resource.

In the past, guns had been distributed to them, primarily due to the international climate at the time, and later to protect livestock property. After the Reform and Opening-up, these policies gradually ceased. Later, their guns were progressively confiscated as domestic gun control policies were implemented.

The current period was a time when firearm usage was most widespread and when ordinary people had the easiest access to them.

After chatting with Yushanjiang for a while longer, Harimmu led Li Long away from Yushanjiang's home.

On the way, Harimmu told Li Long that Yushanjiang had mentioned he had previously had this gun zeroed by a professional. Therefore, it would hit exactly where aimed. It wasn't like Harimmu's gun, which had never been zeroed and wasn't very accurate, requiring him to aim slightly lower.

Li Long understood. As he carried the rifle, he was careful not to let the front sight or the rear sight hit anything.

Upon returning to Harimmu's house, Li Long hung up the gun, set down the jade, and then followed Harimmu to feed the sheep. The two also made a special trip to the spot where the wild boar had been rooting.

The location was east of Harimmu's winter shelter, just over a mountain ridge. Li Long could see a large patch of snow pushed aside at the bottom of the slope; the tracks left by the wild boar covered an area roughly the size of half a football field.

"We will ambush them there," Harimmu said, pointing to a pine forest on the ridge. "That spot is downwind. Wild boars have an incredible sense of smell; if they catch a scent from a different location, they won't come here. The pine forest there is very dense, so they won't be able to charge up."

Li Long had heard of how formidable wild boars could be, but to be honest, despite living two lifetimes, this was his first time hunting one, and he felt a surge of excitement.

After scouting the area and determining the ambush site, the two walked back.

That night, Li Long squeezed onto the wooden kang bed with Harimmu's family, not falling asleep until very late.

However, it felt as though he had only slept for a moment before Harimmu woke him.

Li Long climbed up, saw that the others were still sleeping, and quietly put on his outer clothes. He took the leather coat and the rifle handed to him by Harimmu, and the two stepped outside.

It was still very dark outside. Harimmu said

"Load the bullets first, but do not disengage the safety—to avoid accidental discharge."

Li Long naturally knew these basics. He loaded his ten rounds one by one. Theoretically, the chamber could hold one more, but Li Long chose not to.

He estimated it would be difficult to fire all ten rounds. After all, those boars were intelligent and alert; once a shot rang out, they would bolt immediately. He might only get one or two shots.

With the gun ready, the two wrapped themselves in leather coats and hurried toward the pre-arranged spot.

Li Long estimated it was at most after five in the morning. For this part of Northern Xinjiang, which had a two-hour time difference from the mainland, it was truly quite early.

But his drowsiness had long been chased away by the biting cold and the excitement of the hunt.

The leather coats were very rudimentary, made directly from sheepskin and cloth. The sheepskin hadn't been well-tanned and was somewhat stiff; Li Long suspected they were the work of the herders themselves—simply tanning the whole hide and sewing it into a garment shape with cloth.

They were ugly, but they were truly warm; once wrapped tight, not a hint of wind could get in.

After walking for half an hour, they reached the pine forest. They each found a suitable position to lie prone and prepared their shooting rests.

Following Harimmu's example, Li Long patted down the snow in front of him to make it firm, leaving a groove in the middle. He then unfastened his leather coat, spread it on the snow, and lay down, adjusting himself until it felt right.

Then came the long wait. Because the leather coat was beneath him, and to ensure he could fire at any moment, Li Long didn't dare roll the sides of the coat up around his body.

As a result, his back was freezing.

After lying there for a while, Li Long felt he was about to freeze solid. He moved around on the ground to stay limber and glanced at Harimmu.

Harimmu remained motionless, but he had the leather coat wrapped around his body.

Li Long cursed his own stupidity. He was currently downwind, so even if he wrapped up, he could just slowly loosen it when the boars appeared.

He blamed his own nervousness; seeing that Harimmu was an experienced hand, he hadn't been so foolish.

He slowly pulled the sides of the leather coat up to cover his back, and after a moment, he felt a bit warmer.

He didn't know how long he waited, but it felt as though the sky grew darker for a moment before beginning to lighten slightly.

Li Long's eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. More than once, he had peered through the sights at the area where the boars had been rooting, fantasizing about encircling a boar's head or chest within the sight picture.

He also knew that when hunting wild boars, one shouldn't aim for the massive ones; it was best to avoid uncastrated males, as their meat was incredibly gamey.

It was best to hit a female pig that was one or two years old.

Of course, it all depended on luck.

Finally, there was movement on the opposite ridge. In the silent night, the sounds of grunting, panting, and running echoed.

Then, with a "rumble," a large "army" charged down from the opposite side.

Li Long was startled. He had expected a family of boars—maybe six or seven—but he hadn't expected over a dozen!

The largest one looked to be at least two or three hundred kilograms; it was a male boar with fully developed tusks.

It was more than half the size of a domestic pig!

Most of the charging boars were black and mottled, varying in size. The largest was that male, while the others consisted of five or six that were similar to large domestic pigs, weighing just over a hundred kilograms, and seven or eight smaller ones, around fifty to seventy kilograms, likely born that year.

The male boar ran the slowest. While the others had already charged down the slope and begun rooting in the freshly turned grass, it was still on the ridge, its snout twitching alertly as it sniffed the air. Only after sensing no danger did it slowly charge down.

By this time, the leather coat on Li Long's back had fallen open. He flexed his stiff fingers, and his sight was already centered on a female boar weighing about sixty kilograms.

He didn't need a big one; he just needed a single, lethal shot!