King of the Wilderness-Chapter 92 - 90: Winchester Model 70 Rifle Customization
Two days later, Lin Yu’an received a call from Earl.
"Lin, tomorrow at ten in the morning, at that ’Old Gun Barrel’ bar in the west of the city, I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll take you to meet an old friend."
"He is willing to craft a genuine Winchester M70 for you by hand."
Lin Yu’an knew the old friend Earl mentioned, Hops, a living legend in the gun manufacturing circles of Texas and all of America.
This elderly man, nearly eighty years old, was once one of the top gunsmiths at Winchester Company, involved in the refinement and customization of several classic models of the M70.
After retiring, he opened a small private gun workshop in a small town on the outskirts of Austin, serving only those fated individuals who truly understand and cherish guns, providing personalized customization services.
Lin Yu’an was filled with anticipation, as this was a rare opportunity to get intimately acquainted with the craftsmanship and culture of gun manufacturing.
An M70 custom-made by Hops holds value and significance far beyond those assembly line products found in stores.
The next morning, Lin Yu’an arrived on time at the ’Old Gun Barrel’ bar, where Earl was already waiting, still dressed in his well-worn faded denim getup, a rolled cigarette hanging from his mouth.
"Let’s go, Lin."
Earl spoke concisely, leading Lin Yu’an to a seemingly unremarkable, even somewhat rundown, red brick warehouse.
The iron door of the warehouse was tightly shut, with an old, rusted sign hanging on it, painted with faded letters reading "Hops Precision Machinery."
Earl stepped forward and knocked on the iron door.
As they entered the workshop, a mix of gun oil, metal cutting fluid, and wood shavings greeted them.
Several precision lathes sat quietly in the center, with the walls covered in various gun blueprints and specialized tools.
An elderly man with graying hair, wearing bifocals and overalls stained with oil, was carefully grinding a trigger component, and he looked up upon hearing the sound.
"You’re here, Earl."
Hops saw Earl and merely nodded faintly, then turned his gaze toward Lin Yu’an.
"Is he the one you mentioned?"
"Yes."
Earl responded and then said to Lin Yu’an, "This is Hops, Winchester’s retired chief gunsmith. Tell him your requirements."
After speaking, Earl walked over to the side, lit a cigarette, and leaned against a huge tool cabinet, blowing smoke rings.
Facing this legendary gunsmith, Lin Yu’an spoke with neither humility nor arrogance, "Mr. Hops, I need a Winchester M70, bolt-action, caliber .300 WSM."
"Mainly for use in Alaska, it needs to withstand all possible weather and game, requiring absolute reliability and precision."
Hops set aside his work and carefully wiped his hands with a cloth.
"Your demands are high, and let me make it clear, here I only make classic things, not interested in those fancy polymers and adjustable cheek pieces."
"What I make are guns that can last a lifetime and be passed on to grandchildren."
"Hops, that is exactly what I want."
"Follow me."
Hops seemed somewhat satisfied with Lin Yu’an’s directness and began leading him on a journey of custom material selection and design.
"The soul of a good gun begins with its action."
Hops took out a Winchester M70 ’pre-64’ controlled-feed action from a wooden cabinet, shimmering with a cold metallic sheen.
"This is a raw, yet to be finalized blued controlled-feed action."
"The claw-like extractor hook can grip the case bottom like an eagle’s talon, ensuring the bullet is fed smoothly into the chamber under any extreme condition, with absolutely no jamming."
"I will perform ’precision polishing’ on this action, using ultra-fine lapping paste to ensure every lockup is flawless."
Hops led Lin Yu’an to a massive precision lathe, pointing at several heavy metal rods wrapped in oiled paper.
"These are top-tier Krieger match-grade stainless steel barrel blanks, made from 416R steel. According to your request, I will precisely machine them to 24 inches."
He went on to explain in detail, "The machining process starts with a specialized gun drill equipped with internal coolant channels, drilling a perfectly straight inner bore in the solid steel rod at extremely slow speeds."
"Next is reaming, using a more precise reamer to expand the bore to a precise .300 caliber, with a tolerance controlled to within one ten-thousandth of an inch."
"The most crucial step is rifling—I will use the most traditional ’single-point hook cut method’ to rotate and advance inside the barrel, removing only a few micrometers of metal at each pass."
"After finishing one groove, I’ll adjust the angle to cut the next. A total of six perfect grooves will be formed, with this barrel taking several hours on the machine."
"This process is very slow but ensures each groove’s depth, width, and twist angle are perfectly uniform, incomparable to modern mass-production ’broaching methods.’"
Hops led him to a pile of fragrant wooden blanks.
"Next, the stock. In my custom guns, only wooden stocks are allowed. If you want something made from engineering plastic, you can go to a gun store."
Without hesitation, Lin Yu’an replied, "I want black walnut."
"Good taste."
Hops stroked a black walnut blank with tiger-striped grain and deep color.
"This piece of A++++ grade wood, I will first have you assume various shooting postures, using professional tools to precisely measure your arm length, hand shape, neck length, and cheek rest habits."
"On the grip, I will carve anti-slip diamond patterns for you, each diamond hand-lined and hand-carved, ensuring sharp edges and a solid grip."
"The stock surface will undergo oil immersion and polishing, with heated linseed or tung oil thinly applied, then let sit in a constant temperature room for twenty-four hours for complete penetration."
"Until the surface of the stock presents a velvety, restrained deep sheen emanating from the wood, and is completely waterproof."
Hops continued: "The trigger, I’ll replace it with the top-notch competition-grade trigger group for you, like Jewell or Timney."
"The trigger pull can be precisely adjusted to your most comfortable 2.5 pounds, firing crisply without any extra travel."
In the following days, Lin Yu’an became a regular at the Hops workshop.
Earl came by a few times as well, silently watching from the side, occasionally exchanging glances with Hops, seemingly very satisfied with Lin Yu’an’s performance.
Lin Yu’an was not just a customer, more like a student eager for knowledge.
He watched how Hops transformed cold metal and rough wood, step by step, into a soulful work of art.
Even with Hops’ permission, he participated in some simple tasks, like oiling and polishing the gun stock.
His mechanical engineering knowledge allowed him to fully grasp the principles behind these crafts.
His unparalleled focus and hands-on ability also made Hops, the solitary old gunsmith, gradually develop a genuine appreciation for him.
Finally, on a sunny afternoon, Hops solemnly took out a brand new rifle from its custom gun case and handed it to Lin Yu’an.
It lay there quietly, like a sleeping piece of art.
The deep blue light of the gun body and the glossy walnut stock complemented each other, every part fitting seamlessly, exuding the beauty of mechanics and the warmth of craftsmanship.
Lin Yu’an lifted it, resting it against his shoulder.
The stock fit perfectly against his cheek, the walnut wood, after countless oil immersions, felt smooth and warm like jade.
The grip’s size and angle were also just right, the entire gun’s center of gravity and balance achieved an exquisite equilibrium!
"Go give it a try, kid."
Hops pointed to the private range behind the manor.
Lin Yu’an conducted a simple zeroing calibration, then loaded a .300 Win Mag bullet, pulling the bolt, as smooth as Dove!
He took a deep breath, aimed at the bullseye a hundred meters away, his index finger lightly resting on the trigger with just 2.5 pounds of pull.
"Bang—!"
A low, reverberating roar! The powerful recoil absorbed steadily by his body through the perfectly fitting stock.
He could clearly feel a new, clean bullet hole appear at the center of the bullseye.
Lin Yu’an didn’t pause, pulling the bolt again, the hot casing firmly grasped and ejected by the claw-shaped extractor, a new bullet smoothly chambered.
"Bang!" Another shot.
The second bullet hole, right next to the edge of the first.
"Bang!" Third shot.
The three bullet holes formed a tight triangle on the hundred-meter target paper.
Earl, leaning back in the distance, upon seeing this result, finally showed a barely noticeable smile on his once tense face.
He extinguished his cigarette, knowing he hadn’t misjudged the person.
"Kid, well done." Earl walked over, his voice calm.
"Hitting stationary targets at a hundred meters like this shows the gun is good, and you have talent. But in the wild, prey won’t stand still."
"Come on, I’ll take you to a place where you can truly stretch your abilities."
Earl brought Lin Yu’an to a private shooting training ground in the Texas countryside, simulating complex terrain.
In the week that followed, he gave him a "three-lesson teaching" is practical shooting skills training like those of the US Military snipers.
He would have Lin Yu’an immediately drop and shoot after intense exercise.
"On the battlefield, there’s no time to calm your heartbeat, you must learn to utilize its rhythm! Fire decisively at the moment the reticle swings past the target center with each heartbeat!"
Under Earl’s guidance, Lin Yu’an practiced repeatedly, gradually mastering how to adapt to his body’s movements for precise shooting when his heartbeat was like a drum.
"In the wild, anything that can stabilize your rifle is your friend. Quickly find and utilize them, it’s a basic survival skill."
Lin Yu’an began using various irregular objects as support, shooting from unstable kneeling and standing positions at different distance targets, quickly grasping the essentials.
Earl pointed at a flag fluttering in the wind in the distance: "The last lesson I teach you, and the most important one."
"In the wild, wind is your biggest enemy, you must learn to roughly gauge wind speed and direction by observing the movement of leaves and the drifting ground dust."
He didn’t teach Lin Yu’an complex formulas, but imparted some practical experience mnemonics.
And required Lin Yu’an to engrave in his mind the bullet drop data of his rifle at 200 meters, 300 meters, and 400 meters through extensive live ammunition shooting.
Lin Yu’an’s body condition and spatial perception, enhanced by the Golden Finger, played a huge role at this moment!
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(This Chapter has quite a few pictures because I increasingly love each one as I look at them...)
(There will be 3 Chapter updates today. Totaling 9K)
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