An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world - Chapter 7

An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world

Chapter 7   In the different world, there are no firearms regulations or wildlife protection laws.

Now, let’s talk about crows, raccoons, and foxes.

For these, I think shotgun shells are the way to go.

“Remington Shot Shell, 12-gauge, BB shot.”

Click

Yes, shotgun shells are sold in boxes of 25 rounds each.

They cost $15 per box.

The BB shot is in the form of scattered pellets, measuring 4.5mm.

Being able to buy ammunition is reassuring. With this, I can invest in a replacement barrel.

“Replacement barrel, Remington Model 870, 12-gauge, 26-inch smoothbore barrel.”

Where is it?

It’s quite mysterious, but you know, this magic bag truly seems bottomless. It can even accommodate long objects perfectly.

Let me pull it out…

Here it is, it’s mine!

I remember keeping this replacement barrel in the gun locker!

And look, my cash hasn’t decreased this time.

That means it’s free.

The things I had in my possession during my lifetime have been delivered as they were!

Such an incredible feature…

When I look at the muzzle, it’s equipped with a full choke. (※1)

This setting allows the BB shot to spread to about 50cm at a distance of 30 meters.

No, if I can have items delivered from my gun locker…

“RWS Diana M52.”

Wow!

It’s my other beloved gun, Diana!

Diana is a German-made air rifle that operates on a spring-piston mechanism.

Although it’s called an air rifle, it’s different from the airsoft guns used in airsoft games.

It’s a genuine airgun designed for hunting. The projectiles are 4.5mm diameter lead pellets. They have enough penetrating power to go through a crow’s neck, for example. The effective range is 40 meters.

With this air rifle, I can achieve a 2.5cm grouping at 50 meters with a benchrest position. I wonder why when using sabot slugs, I get a 5cm grouping at the same distance and position. I think it’s because the sabot’s accuracy is limited to that extent.

This is also an inheritance from my grandfather.

I mainly used it for crow and pigeon control.

It’s specifically for hunting without the need for a shotgun. And the cost of ammunition is cheap, around 7 yen per shot.

Compared to firearms using gunpowder, it’s much quieter and easier to handle.

It’s not popular these days. The trend is towards powerful pre-charged pneumatic air rifles that can be pumped up to 200 bar and shoot at that pressure. They have a range of nearly 100 meters…

But using this kind of equipment is very much like my grandfather.

Although it’s called a spring mechanism, it uses a much stronger spring than an airsoft gun, making it impossible to compress with human strength. So, a long lever is used to compress the powerful spring, similar to a lever action. It has a simple structure that uses the air pressure of the piston to propel the projectile. It’s incredibly sturdy. Since it’s designed for bird shooting, it has a huge and heavy 12x scope attached. The total weight is 4.5kg…

Both the M870 and Diana, it’s as if my grandfather predicted that I would become a hunter in this other world with this lineup…

“Hey Saran, how did you catch crows?”

Well, recently they’ve been calling me by my name without any honorifics.

I was told to stop using honorifics, it’s about time.

“Catching crows? Nah, I can’t catch them. I just scare them away… with scarecrows and bamboo bows.”

Oh, I see.

It’s difficult to catch crows, even in Japan.

After all, they’re clever creatures. They immediately flee beyond shooting range.

I went to a goat farm where crows were causing trouble, hid inside a wagon with a hollowed-out pumpkin, and wham, wham, wham!

I managed to bring down about ten crows, one after another.

Nearly a hundred crows sensed the danger as their companions fell one by one, and they started a frenzied dance while emitting loud warning cries, “Gaa-Gaa.” Next, I switched to a shotgun and launched anti-aircraft fire at the crows flying in the sky!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I fired continuously and got another five crows.

In total, I took down fifteen crows. But, of course, the others all managed to escape eventually.

“Shin is amazing, but shotguns are impressive too! You manage to hit things that are flying so well!”

Saran was also surprised. It’s impossible to hit birds in flight with arrows.

Shotgun pellets, on the other hand, are tiny projectiles that spread out in all directions, more than a hundred of them flying at once.

With that, there’s no chance for the crows to escape.

“I’ll hang this up, and the crows won’t come near.”

Saying that, I hand over the crow’s carcass to the goat farmer.

Please distribute them to neighboring farmers as well.

“Raccoons and foxes, they come out at night, don’t they?”

… They are nocturnal animals. Deer are the same in that regard.

Raccoons are native to North America and were not originally found in Japan. However, due to individuals trying to keep them as pets influenced by anime and then releasing them due to the aggressive nature of real raccoons, they have become feral and their population has increased even in Hokkaido, Japan. I’ve seen them myself.

It was trapped in a box trap.

Growling and trying to bite humans. They are extremely aggressive. It was dangerous, and I couldn’t release it from the trap, so I inserted the barrel of an air gun through the gaps in the net and shot it in the head to put it down. They’re not cute at all.

In Japan, discharging firearms after sunset is a violation of the Firearms Control Law.

You must never do it.

But this is a different world. We don’t care about that here.

On a full moon night, we wait together with Saran in the fields where raccoons are said to appear.

They approach stealthily!

Using this air gun…

I can’t see through the scope…

“Saran… I’m counting on you.”

“Understood…”

Saran quickly illuminates with my flashlight. The raccoons momentarily freeze in their tracks.

And then! Bashu!

I hit one, but they all managed to escape!

…Well, of course. A 4.5mm air gun spring is insufficient in power against raccoons. The same goes for foxes; I’ve never been able to catch one with this air gun.

Air guns have about 70% power at 50 meters, and it halves when reaching 70 meters.

Spring air rifles are for birds, I suppose…

The next morning, Saran and I yawn together. We stayed up all night but didn’t catch a single one…

“Stop, stop, stop! We should use a bear trap for raccoons!”

The bear trap, prohibited in Japan. But of course, this is a different world, so we don’t care about that.

Box traps are no good. They hardly ever work.

Why would they be lured by the bait inside the box trap when there are delicious vegetables and fruits right in front of them? It’s incomprehensible. If you’re going to use a box trap, first enclose the field with an electric fence to prevent them from entering.

Wild animals don’t have the concept of “waste.” They take a bite of the tastiest parts of the vegetables, leaving dozens of them spoiled. If several animals come every night, the vegetable field will be completely destroyed.

The reason bear traps were prohibited is that they are triggered by just stepping on them, and any caught animal invariably gets injured. Since it would be a problem if cats or dogs got caught, officials wanted to ban them. With a box trap, you can capture animals without injuring them and release dogs and cats, so it can be considered a safe trap. But unless you’re extremely unlucky, it’s hard to catch anything with those.

$40 each… In the United States, they’re not prohibited…

Should I buy ten of them…

I set up a lot of these, I caught two raccoons in one night.

In a week, I caught nine of them. One fox too.

I put down the caught raccoons with a shot to the head from the air gun.

Everyone was delighted when I brought raccoons and foxes.

They wanted to make fur coats out of them.

After about a week, all the kids were wearing raccoon fur hats.

At the back of the hats, those fluffy striped tails were swaying.

They’re adorable!

“Now, Saran-san.”

“Yes.”

Sitting face to face at Saran’s house, though it’s also my home in a way. Well, I’m just a lodger, though.

“I always thought elves were a hunting people, but are there no others who hunts?”

“Not so much lately… It’s mostly just me.”

“That’s why there’s a shortage of hunters, causing the increase of fearless wild animals and expanding the damage.”

“That’s right.”

It reminds me of the situation in rural Japan. It’s the same, isn’t it?

“Now, Saran-san.”

“…Please drop the honorific.”

By the way, how are my finances?

It’s been two weeks since I arrived in the elven village. I’ve already spent about 100,000 yen in Japanese currency.

Ammo expenses, trap costs, and other hunting supplies.

It may not seem like a big deal, but with no current cash income, it’s clear that this will eventually lead to financial trouble.

“By the way, we receive a lot of vegetables and fruits from the farmers.”

“Yeah, our dining table has been really lavish lately. Your cooking, Saran, is delicious, and I’m very satisfied. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Saran is smiling.

Hmm, this won’t do. Saran doesn’t seem to be thinking about anything.

“By the way, human merchants visit this village, right?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of things do the merchants buy?”

“Furs, horns, nuts, and goat cheese.”

“Hmm…”

I once tried putting deer antlers in a magic bag.

Couldn’t buy anything. Seems like bartering is a no-go.

“I do want some cash income…”

“Money, huh?”

“Yes. I don’t need money for our current lifestyle”

“Yeah.”

“But to buy bullets for the gun, I need money…”

“Is that so…”

“What should we do?”

“…”

The elves here have absolutely no interest in making money.

That’s understandable.

However, there’s a good chance they’re being exploited and getting severely underpaid for valuable things.

After all, they trade salt for fur.

“…We might need to visit a human town once.”

“…Should we consult the village chief?”

―――Author’s Note―――

※1. Choke

A constriction. It is designed to slightly reduce the diameter near the muzzle of the barrel. This is used to adjust the spread of shotgun pellets. Normally, a cylindrical part threaded into the muzzle is replaced to set the choke. Naturally, a greater amount of constriction results in less pellet spread.

Recently, the use of large-diameter lead shot has been banned, and it has been replaced by steel shot and alloy shot. However, with older firearms, shooting steel projectiles can cause damage, so it is necessary to confirm with the manufacturer if they are compatible.

※2. Pre-charged pneumatic air gun

An air gun that incorporates a high-pressure air cylinder and is pre-charged with compressed air up to 200 atmospheres using an external pump. It releases the compressed air to propel the projectile. This type of air gun has high power and can be used to hunt not only birds but also quadrupedal animals such as foxes, raccoons, and tanukis. It is currently the most popular type of air gun with a range of nearly 100 meters. Since there is ample air in the cylinder, it can shoot dozens of rounds once charged, and many models are equipped with a magazine for rapid-fire. Due to its precision engineering, the price of a pre-charged pneumatic air gun is over 300,000 yen, making it more expensive than inferior shotguns or rifles.

In recent years, larger-caliber pre-charged pneumatic air guns, such as 6.35mm (.25 caliber) and 7.62mm (.30 caliber), have been developed, and they are increasingly used for hunting foxes, raccoons, and tanukis, which are prohibited to be shot with rifles under the Firearms Control Law. They are also used for dispatching deer caught in traps.