frightfiction Chapter 239 Hunting Elk at the Alkali Field
Chapter 239 Hunting Elk at the Alkali Field
Sun Weimin tied the rope around his waist to the fawn's leg, then pulled it back. He was about to call for Lao Qin to help, but then he thought of Lao Qin's heartfelt words and felt a pang of guilt, so he let him do it.
"Li Ju'an! Did you bring any wine?"
He remembered that Li Ju'an was on the hillside. This was strange; how could there be no one on the hillside in such a short time? He examined the footprints on the ground and found that the people had long since run away, which made him feel depressed.
"Brother Qin, did you bring any wine? Just a little bit will do. This deer blood is fresh, don't waste it."
Old Qin completely ignored him. What good deer blood wine could you possibly make from a fawn's blood? He figured Sun Weimin was just trying to fool people with this deer blood wine again.
Having made a fool of himself, Sun Weimin remained silent and could only drag the deer cub, following the footprints of Li Ju'an and the others, towards the other side of the mountain. He had come for the bear tracks, and he knew that Li Ju'an was fast, so he was probably also there to snatch the bear.
They were all hunters, so there had to be a first-come, first-served rule. Why was it that the bear tracks he found ended up benefiting Li Ju'an? He hadn't even had time to light a fire, had just taken a bite of venison, and was dragging his prey towards the direction of Li Ju'an's tracks, saying, "Qin Pao Tou'er, someone's stealing the bear, you can't fall behind. Falling behind means getting beaten, only moving forward brings victory!"
At this moment, Li Ju'an, whom he was thinking about, was pulling down a stick on the hill above the alkali field area.
In the past, there would be large artificial alkali fields left by the older generation in the mountains, specifically to attract deer. Now, he has built small artificial alkali fields, so that as long as a herd of deer comes in, there is a chance they will step into the trap.
The northwest wind picked up. In such harsh weather, the hunters, treading on wild boar skin skis, could barely move.
Li Ju'an stood atop the hill, searching for the hunting dogs. Below him lay an artificially created alkali field, about half a foot in diameter and three feet long.
Old Zhang from the security department, dragging his leg, quickly crouched behind the snowy slope on the hillside and said, "I'm really getting old. I'm already exhausted after just two steps."
Li Ju'an laughed and said, "Brother Zhang is more agile than me. My knees are trembling from the cold."
It was minus forty degrees Celsius, freezing cold. The group had been searching for trails, making snares, and chopping wood in the mountains, and were already freezing. When they took off their gloves, their fingers were so stiff they were trembling.
Suddenly, a faint whimper of a dog was heard. Li Ju'an didn't even need to listen to it to know that it was Tiechui sneaking back again.
He turned his head and saw that Iron Hammer was smug and dared to stick out his tongue in such cold weather, as if he was showing off.
A short while later, commotion appeared upwind in the distance; a group of elk appeared at a distance of about 800 meters.
The moose is called "Handahan" or "Handahan" by the locals.
This time, there was no leading male stag. The group glanced around but didn't see the pair of beautiful, ornate six-pronged antlers. There were only four or five female deer and half-grown fawns.
When the elk appeared, the group became alert and stopped chatting. They all raised their guns and straightened their faces. Li Ju'an raised his gun while sitting, using his knees to support his balance.
He glanced through the scope with his right eye and muttered, "Good girl Iron Hammer, you've done it again."
The smell in the alkali field area dissipates slowly. It takes several days for the salt to seep into the soil and attract elk and deer. Now, this group of elk has arrived unexpectedly. Hammer, dusty and covered in snow and mud, clearly has been working hard. He slipped and used the smell to alert the elk, driving them away and forcing them to come here.
Lu Zhiqiang rarely praised him, saying, "I will never damage Iron Hammer again. He's a really good dog. Oh, by the way, Li Ju'an, don't let that bastard Sun Weimin sell Iron Hammer. We can't bear to part with it."
Song Desheng joked, "I haven't seen you buy anything. You're so stingy. You just want to take advantage of Iron Hammer's benefits."
Lu Zhiqiang snapped his gun shut, aimed ahead, and continued talking, saying, "Our good Iron Hammer is priceless. Who could sell her? Not even a thousand catties of gold could buy her, understand?"
The herd of elk were very alert. After being driven to this area, they smelled the scent of the alkali field. The female deer kept twitching their noses, but they did not approach the area. They stopped about 800 meters away.
Li Ju'an, holding his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, aimed at the correct distance, thinking to himself: Come closer, come closer, pretty girls.
His Type 56 semi-automatic rifle was unmodified; it was the standard Type 56 semi-automatic rifle given to him by the head of the forest farm. It has a 10-round magazine capacity, an effective range of 400 meters, and a maximum range of 1500 meters.
If the deer herd could get within 500 meters, his chances of hitting them would be high. Now the deer herd is 800 meters away, still far from the alkali field, hesitant to move forward. He can see them, his scope is on them, but he hasn't fired.
That's how mountain animals are, especially herbivores. The slightest breeze or noise can startle them, and they'll turn and run. Let alone the loud bang of his gun. If the first shot hadn't hit, all his work on the alkali field would have been for nothing. And whether any deer would come to lick the soil afterwards would be a matter of luck.
The group remained motionless on the snowy slope when Li Ju'an suddenly spotted Da Hu leading his pack of dogs off to track them down. Da Hu was about 800 meters away from the elk, to the west of the deer herd, well behind them. A gust of wind blew, filling the air with the scent of hunting dogs. The smell assaulted the deer's nostrils, making them restless and hesitant to enter the alkali field.
Lu Zhiqiang cursed, "Da Hu is going to mess things up this time."
The dogs in the dog-catching ring were too far from their prey and were upwind, putting them at a significant disadvantage. Suddenly, Sun Weimin's shout came from not far away: "Li Ju'an!"
Several people tensed up simultaneously, secretly thinking, "This is bad."
Sure enough, as soon as the deer heard human voices, they didn't care about the salt flats anymore. Of course, survival was the most important thing, and the deer turned around and ran away.
The elk's hooves were already slippery on the shady slope, and the melting snow made it even more slippery. Li Ju'an aimed at the nearest elk and decisively pulled the trigger.
The gun fired 56mm half-shot, a flash of flame erupted from the muzzle, the spent cartridge was ejected, the gun rose, and with the recoil, he was jerked backward.
A bullet pierced the neck of a female moose, going in through the small eye and out through the large one. Blood flowed from her tender neck, but the mother moose was still able to struggle and continue to escape.
The dogs led by Da Hu became excited, barking all the way, and swooped down on the elk on the snow slope.
Nine hunting dogs barked loudly and charged uphill, their paw pads making it easy for them to climb the snow slope. The dogs' scent made the pack even more panicked, and they couldn't turn back immediately.
The elk herd was thrown into disarray. Gunshots rang out from behind, and a pack of hunting dogs appeared in front. The elks were bewildered, and their first reaction was to run! They scattered and fled.