War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1140 Bullet Cases

"Same as this gun"

In the room, the little girl Lu Xinda didn't notice the eyes of Xia Shushi and Jima, and pointed to the submachine gun in the suitcase and said, "But the gun I've seen is painted with green camouflage paint."

Speaking of this, Lu Xinda looked up at Xia Shushi again, pointed to the Ithaca 37 trench shotgun that he still held in his hand and said, "And there are also such shotguns."

"Where are they now?" Wei Ran asked before everyone could speak.

“At Home in Lae”

Lu Xinda said affirmatively, "Since Iger almost got into trouble with that submachine gun, he was taken into the attic by Chris's father, and even the entrance to the attic was sealed off, and the stairs were also demolished."

Hearing this, Wei Ran changed his greeting in Russian after thinking for a while, "Well, everyone just arrived today, so settle down and have a good rest for a day."

In fact, there was no need for him to call, the girls who came together had already started to allocate their own rooms.

I have to admit that although the wooden house looks old on the outside, every room is in very good condition. Not only are they equipped with air conditioners, but even the bedding seems to have been replaced with new ones.

"Victor, what about the bikini and the beach?" Jima didn't ask dissatisfied until this time, those things were all promised to him by Wei Ran.

"We've just arrived, there's no rush."

Wei Ran waved his hand, "Compared to this, you should contact Greva as soon as possible and ask him to ask Iger to help him get something."

"What?" Jima asked immediately.

Wei Ran briefly recounted the suitcase and weapons in the attic mentioned by Lu Xinda just now and reminded the woman named Wanqiu to help send them over legally as quickly as possible. Then Wei Ran picked up the The Ithaca 37 trench shotgun that Xia Shushi had been playing with.

After this inspection, he found a lot of interesting things.

Like most American trench guns of World War II, this shotgun has a 20-inch barrel and comes with the iconic steel heat-resistant grille and bayonet mount.

However, the magazine of the trench gun in his hand is not the original 4-round magazine, but a 5-round magazine that is completely linked to the bayonet seat has been replaced.

In addition to this obvious small change, on the right side of the receiver of this trench gun, there is also a metal ammunition clip with 6 rounds of copper shell shot stuck.

"Tang Translation"

Wei Ran called to Translator Tang who was still busy helping everyone with their luggage, "I have a question that I need you to answer."

"Mr. Wei, please tell me," Tang Translator immediately stopped what he was doing and asked.

"When did Mr. Simpson's father die?" Wei Ran asked.

"It was about four years ago"

Translator Tang explained, "Before he passed away, he lived in this house all the time. He was an old man who liked to be lively. At that time, I just came to Australia to study and found a job on this farm. My job at that time was to take care of Karan. gentlemen."

"Does Mr. Karan have any hobbies?" Wei Ran thought for a while, and added, "Why did he pass away?"

"I like shooting targets. It's just outside at the small shooting range at the foot of the mountain. He walked very peacefully. He even took care of the shotgun in your hand the night before he died. He never woke up the next day. I've been here."

Translator Tang paused and continued, "But I have never seen him use this shotgun. Of course, he has never seen him use the submachine gun in that suitcase. In fact, he never allows anyone to touch his guns." .”

"What weapon does he usually use to shoot?" Xia Shushi leaned forward and asked.

"There"

Translator Tang pointed to a locked door on the first floor, "All the guns he used for shooting targets are kept there."

While speaking, Translator Tang took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and opened the padlock on the door.

As the solid wood door was pulled open, Wei Ran, Ji Ma and Xia Shushi couldn't help but slightly opened their mouths.

The space behind this door is really not big, it is only two square meters and there are no windows.

But there are rows of solid wooden gun racks against the walls on both sides of the room, and there is a wooden shelf directly in front of it.

On the gun racks on both sides, there are also various old-fashioned weapons. There are Enfield, the Owen submachine gun still in the outer suitcase, and the Ithaca 37 shotgun. The only difference is this one. Not just trench guns.

In addition, there are classics such as the Remington 870, as well as the M1 Garand, the M1 Carbine and even a few old-fashioned double-barreled shotguns that are not cheap to look at.

Of course, there are quite a few pistols here, and on the right gun rack closest to the door, there are several small shotguns with scopes that use .22 bullets and several air guns that shoot lead bullets.

"These guns were Mr. Callan's favorite during his lifetime"

Translator Tang pointed to the several shotguns and air guns that fired .22 bullets and said, "He likes to shoot the rabbits and mice that can be seen almost everywhere on the farm on the balcony of the bedroom on the second floor, and occasionally invites the resting cowboys to compete. Whoever wins gets a day off with pay."

“What a lively old man”

Wei Ran said that he had handed over the trench gun still in his hand to Jima behind him for help, and walked into this small gun warehouse, walking along the passage less than one meter wide between the two rows of shelves After taking two steps, I came to the wooden shelf facing the door.

There is nothing else on this shelf. The upper layers are filled with bullets of various calibers, the middle is filled with various shell casings, gunpowder and bullet heads, and the lower layer is filled with gun cleaning tools, gun oil, and supplies. High-pressure gas cylinders for airsoft guns and such.

Stepping on a wooden box containing bags of empty shell casings that had obviously been stored for a long time, Wei Ran rummaged through the shelf, and actually found one box after another on the top shelf, each from 1955 to 1960 , 12-gauge copper-cased shells produced by several companies.

"Come and do me a favor"

Wei Ran called Tang Translator to come in, and took out all the unpacked 12-gauge copper shells on the shelf.

They had just finished their tossing, and a few cowboys also drove a pickup truck to deliver a sumptuous dinner.

Under the crowd watching, a series of Australian delicacies were brought to the long table on the first floor by several cowboys and Tang Translator.

"Because Mr. Simpson's family is busy with business in China for the time being, I can only entertain you on behalf of Mr. Simpson. I hope you don't mind."

While speaking, Tang Translator poured everyone a glass of wine that was said to be brewed by the farm itself, and at the same time introduced the dishes served one by one.

In addition to the meat pies that can be seen everywhere in Australia, the meals on this table also include fried medium-rare kangaroo meat and fresh oysters with only lemon.

Of course, in addition to these, what makes the girls more satisfied is the king crab and South Australian lobster, as well as the steak that was said to be killed in the morning and the roasted lamb chops and lamb legs.

Compared to such a sumptuous dinner, Tang Translator just drank a glass of wine with everyone, and then left the table knowingly, leaving room for everyone to talk.

"Mr. Simpson is warm and generous," Wei Ran said with a smile.

"I guess it's because we're afraid we'll leave the picky ones alone," Xia Shushi said with a smile.

"Compared to your business, where are we going to play in the next few days?"

While Sui Sui was talking, he poked a piece of kangaroo meat with a fork and took a bite, then let go of his mouth with a frown, and gave the piece of meat with teeth marks directly to Wei Ran, "This is delicious, I'll trade it for your king crab."

"I really appreciate you"

Wei Ran let the girl pull away the king crab in front of him, grabbed the fork that was still stuck on the piece of meat, took a bite of this piece of kangaroo meat, and then let go because of the indescribable special taste Mouth.

Seeing everyone, especially Jima looking at him eagerly, Wei Ran thought for a while and said in Russian, "It will be Christmas in Australia in a few days, Soseki and I will try to finish our work before Christmas, and then go back to Brisbane Find a beach and have fun for a few days."

Before Jima, who was already smiling, said something, Wei Ran said again, "Anfisa, you have to help us these two days, Jima, you are responsible for keeping an eye on Greva, and urge him to let Iger Find that suitcase and that shotgun and bring them over."

"No problem," Anfisa and Jima responded in unison.

"Before Christmas, you were wronged at Mr. Simpson's farm for a few days." Wei Ran said apologetically to the girls headed by Sui Sui.

"I wouldn't mind staying here a little longer if it was every day."

While talking, Maya, like Sui Sui, poked the lobster meat with a fork and stuffed it into her mouth without table manners.

"That's right"

Lola, whose mouth was already full of food, echoed vaguely. At the same time, she did not forget to pinch an oyster filled with lemon juice, and the oyster held by Lu Xinda, who was only one or two years younger than her, He touched it lightly, and then ate it in one bite.

"If it's the same food tomorrow, I'd like to stay for a few more days." Jima said, and had almost finished his share of kangaroo meat. "What kind of meat is this? It tastes really good."

Before he finished speaking, Xia Shushi and Wei Ran poked their untouched kangaroo meat and put it on his plate.

After a hearty dinner, Wei Ran called Shang Ji Ma for help, and the two of them unpacked the copper-cased shotguns they dug out before the meal, took out one each and put it in a sealed box. The two bullet casings in the bag were compared.

Unfortunately, at least from the current production information, the two bullet casings brought back from Kobe do not belong to any of the copper casing bullets found here.

That being the case, Wei Ran simply greeted Tang Translator, and the three of them brought the copper-cased shotguns for comparison, the Ithaca 37 shotgun found in the room, and a few picked out from the storage room. The period-appropriate 12-gauge shotgun has arrived on the range.

The shooting range at the foot of the mountain is not big, and the furthest target is only about 50 meters away. These targets are also steel targets painted with various colors and some household garbage such as broken pots, bowls, bowls and buckets. .

After some preparations, the three of them each loaded four bullets into the shotguns in their hands, selected their targets and pulled the triggers.

For a while, gunshots rang out in this open space, and there were gradually more cowboys watching the scene around.

Obviously, the goal of the three people is not to hit the target at all. Instead, every time they change the bullets, they are very careful to drop all the empty shell casings drawn out on the table, and when the temperature drops, they immediately put them into In a waterproof sealed bag, and the corresponding gun model is written on it.

The test firing of all the selected shotguns was completed in less than 10 minutes, and bags of marked shell casings were also put into the bag by Anfisa, together with the two guns that Wei Ran found from the devil. She and her sister brought the casing of the bullet, still in a vacuum bag, into her room.

Contrary to Wei Ran's expectations, Anfisa made a new discovery within less than 5 minutes.

"I haven't started comparing the casing marks yet, but I found something new in the casing."

As Anfisa said, she was already sitting opposite Wei Ran and Xia Shushi, then put the opened sealed bag on the table, took out the copper casings of the two 12-gauge shells, and then took out one of the casings Pull out a packet of desiccant.

What Wei Ran didn't expect was that after the bag of desiccant was taken away, Anfisa pulled out a ball of black absorbent cotton from it with tweezers in his hand, and then dumped it out of the shotgun shell. The bullet casings of two 9mm Par rounds and a slightly deformed bullet head were used!
"9 mm par bomb"

Anfisa picked up the bullet with tweezers and said, "Boss, you may need to test fire all the 9mm pistols. Of course, there is also the Owen submachine gun. If I remember correctly, it uses It's also a 9mm Parr."

Hearing this, Wei Ran and the three looked at each other, then got up and walked to the storage room not far away.

(End of this chapter)