Korean Mercenary’s Wild West - Chapter 14: Partial Full Metal Jacket
That would certainly be easier.
But in a blacksmith’s shop, problems should be solved in a way befitting a blacksmith to truly shine.
“Not with such a crude method. I’m thinking of giving you a solution, but what will you give me in return?”
Martin’s eyes shook wildly.
It was rage beyond excitement.
Just two days ago, Martin was the king of this blacksmith shop. But now James, a rolling stone, was trying to dislodge the planted stone.
James hadn’t actually done anything, but his very existence irritated Martin’s nerves.
He was sinking into a crisis of his own making.
Moreover.
‘Now even this Asian bastard is looking down on me.’
Martin scanned his surroundings and threw the gloves he was holding to the ground.
“Fuck, if you have a solution, I’ll be your little brother from now on, you yellow bastard.”
“And if it’s the opposite, I become your little brother?”
“Fuck that. You’ll become my slave.” Martin’s excited words grew rougher.
Max nodded willingly.
“Then we should make it equal. The loser becomes a slave. You all are witnesses.”
Everyone just watched Martin’s reaction.
Although George was the owner of the blacksmith shop, strangely enough, everything revolved around Martin.
‘I’ll take that central position away from you.’
The blacksmith shop would continue to be useful in the future.
Max pushed to make sure Martin couldn’t back out, “Let’s make the solution, that is, the terms of the bet, using lead but without defects like now. And getting approval from the client who requested the gun repair. Agreed?”
“You bastard, quite the smooth talker.”
“First, let’s spit out that rag you’ve got in your mouth.”
Though invisible, steam was pouring out of Martin’s head.
Regardless, Max continued with a smirk, “Now I’ll tell you the solution, so go fetch the materials.”
“….You do it, asshole!”
“If you want to be a slave, you should get used to it early.”
“Are you really crazy?!” Unfortunately, Martin wasn’t carrying a gun. Perhaps that’s why, even as he raged, his gaze kept slipping to Max’s pistol.
‘Think you’d win if you had a gun?’
Max snorted and spoke to George, “May I take a look around the blacksmith shop for a moment?”
“Huh? Oh, of course.” George nodded with a dazed expression.
Max walked past Martin and entered the blacksmith shop.
The blacksmith shop run by George Russell makes iron tools necessary for daily life.
Horseshoes, farm tools, and tools likely to be used at home were the main products.
Max was more interested in the equipment for creating things than the finished products.
There was an anvil of course, and vises for fixing materials to the workbench: tongs, drifts, slitters, center punches, bits, and even chisels.
Max’s eyes fell on a mold that looked like tongs that could make four round lead bullets simultaneously.
‘Pour in the melted lead, and after they’re made, just cut off the protruding parts like apple stems…’
And bullets are made. After that, fill paper cartridges with gunpowder and insert the lead bullets, and one complete bullet is finished.
What an easy process.
‘But it has too many drawbacks.’
Lead ball ammunition, like that from the rifle brought from Fort Leavenworth, had many problems.
The history of firearm development is the history of loading speed.
Considering the extremely slow loading speed, high misfire rate, and accuracy issues, it was better to make the bullets from scratch.
‘Bullets are more urgent than guns.’
Even when catching the gang, the third shot had misfired.
Just thinking about that moment was chilling.
The reason Max came to the blacksmith shop was to solve this problem. He only knew the theory, as he wasn’t a blacksmith in his previous life.
Max scooped up five bean-sized lead bullets into a small bowl.
At this moment, James quietly approached and asked in a low voice, “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“I just want to take a look. But why is that Martin guy acting up so much? George is the actual owner.”
James sighed softly and said, “Contrary to appearances, he’s supposedly very skilled. They say he does all the difficult work alone. That’s why even the military brings their guns here.”
“So that’s why George is at his wit’s end.”
‘I need to modify the plan.’
If Martin was an outstanding blacksmith, instead of crushing him, shouldn’t they try to build a good relationship?
As Max was firming up his direction, James asked, “But do you really have a solution?”
“Well…”
“Oh boy.” James’s face was full of anxiety.
Given Martin’s personality, it was obvious he would try his best to make Max a slave. But what James was worried about was that Max might kill Martin if push came to shove.
‘If he doesn’t want to become a slave, he’ll surely kill him…’
While hoping it wouldn’t come to that, a part of him wished for it. That’s how much of a thorn in James’s side Martin was.
While feeling conflicted and anxious, Max whispered something quietly. It was about the drawbacks of copper bullets.
‘Why is he suddenly telling me this?’
Leaving James with a blank expression, Max finished his brief explanation and went outside the blacksmith shop.
Then he handed out the existing lead bullets to people one by one.
Everyone waited for Max’s words with puzzled faces.
“Now, first grind the surface of these lead bullets by about 0.04 inches.”
“0.04 inches?”
That’s roughly 1 millimeter.
Of course, there was no modern grinder. They had to turn the round natural grinding stone in the blacksmith shop by hand.
But there was only one of those, so after George used it, the rest had to use small whetstones.
Max also held out a lead bullet to Martin, who was standing with his hands behind his back.
“Rub it hard, asshole.” (in Korean)
“What? You, bastard. I think you just swore!”
“Rub it. 0.04 inches evenly.” Max smiling while saying this made it even more annoying. Martin grumbled but rubbed the lead bullet.
‘You must be curious about the result too.’
Martin grounded down the surface quite meticulously.
A moment later, lead bullets with ground surfaces were produced. Though less precise than machine-made ones, they were adequate for plating with copper.
“Now melt some copper.”
Not much was needed. A fingernail-sized amount would do.
They poured the melted copper into molds and put the lead bullets inside. This way, they coated the surface of the lead bullets with copper.
Max had them lightly polish the rough exterior to make a perfect round shape. As the smooth copper bullets encasing lead took shape, Martin’s face, who was watching, began to harden.
“….W-what is this?”
The so-called Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) bullet.
Max held the copper bullet in front of Martin’s wavering eyes. “Well, shall we test it?”
“……”
People watched with curious eyes as Max loaded the bullets into the revolver.
He made two bullets by inserting one regular lead bullet and one copper bullet into oil-soaked cartridges. Then.
Click.
He pushed the bullets into the chamber with the loading rod.
With a fancy backspin, he holstered the revolver.
“Wow…” Someone let out an exclamation of admiration.
And at that moment.
‘An Asian gunman?!’
Brett, a young white man who had been inconspicuous until now, shouted, “Now I remember! Are you perhaps that Asian who caught the Five Joaquins Gang?!”
“Huh!” Hollen, who had also been unremarkable, burst out in shock.
Martin was the most flustered. His face turned pale.
“When you said you caught a gang on your way here, was that it?”
“Didn’t I mention who it was?” To George’s question, James feigned innocence as he answered.
He hadn’t mentioned it because of the bounty, but it seems the rumors had already spread.
In fact, only Max and James were unaware, but the newspaper in Jackson County had covered the Five Joaquins Gang incident in big headlines.
That was just three days ago.
Brett made a fuss, and George looked at Max with an astonished gaze. “Now I see why Holliday hired you.”
On the other hand, Martin wanted to deny this situation.
‘He must have caught them by luck… How could an Asian do that?’
But contrary to his inner thoughts, he was biting his nails nervously.
Meanwhile, a small sigh escaped from Max’s lips. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked at Brett, who had interrupted the flow.
Everyone’s attention was elsewhere despite having a full metal jacket bullet 30 years ahead of its time right in front of them.
‘What’s so great about some gang?’
Clap clap.
“Come on, that’s not what’s important right now.” Max brought everyone’s attention back and held out two coins.
“Take a good look at these 1-cent coins.”
People’s eyes focused.
Max tossed the two coins into the air as if flicking them.
Simultaneously.
Bang!
Two gunshots that sounded like one rang out.
The two coins danced through the air, and people’s gazes followed the coins as they fell to the ground.
*
Martin stared with his mouth wide open at what was placed on Max’s palm.
One coin was dented, the other had a hole through it.
Honestly, hitting two coins in mid-air with bullets seemed like cheating.
The copper bullet was impressive, but Max’s marksmanship was astounding.
It proved that catching the gang was definitely not a coincidence.
‘I’m screwed…’
Martin’s breathing began to quicken.
Max’s bullet lecture began. “As you can see, the difference between the bullets is clear, right?”
Nod nod.
“Lead spreads out as soon as it hits, but the copper-coated one does so to a lesser degree. That’s why it has superior penetration. Naturally, lead won’t stick to the barrel and bore either.”
“To think such a difference just from covering it with copper…”
“Even so, how can you prove that with just one shot…?” Martin tried desperately to deny it.
“What more do I need to prove? Want to get shot yourself?” Max’s eyes looked like he would shoot right now if he could. Anyone with a brain would have understood the results from just that test.
Martin had a few rebuttals, but he couldn’t open his mouth.
If he did, he felt Max would really kill him.
Moreover.
“Tick, tock, tick, tock…” Suddenly, Max thrust his face close to Martin’s and made strange sounds like a madman.
“W-what are you doing?”
“The time of freedom you have left before becoming my slave.”
“!”
Dark circles rapidly appeared under Martin’s eyes. As if driving in the final nail, Max glared at him and opened his mouth.
“Ding.”
“?”
“Your free time is over. I’m thirsty, so go get me some water.”
“….” In that moment, Martin’s face turned ashen.
An era where bets don’t end with just bets.
Martin’s breathing became rough, and the faces of his wife and children flashed before his eyes.
“I won’t say it twice. Go. Get. Water. If you don’t want to die.”
The killing intent in Max’s eyes made Martin took a step as if pushed by fear.
Despite seeing the novel bullet, only silence filled the room.
James had an awkward expression, and fear was evident in the eyes of George and the employees.
Max, who had come to deliver a lunchbox, had taken over the blacksmith shop.
In the suffocating silence.
Max, who had been glaring at Martin’s back, opened his mouth, “The copper bullets we just made have a disadvantage. Does anyone know what it is? Ten dollars for the answer.”
‘That’s so out of the blue.’
Brett and Hollen exchanged glances, wondering if they had heard wrong.
‘Is this question appropriate for the current situation?’
But Max was more serious than ever. After all, the purpose of visiting the blacksmith shop was to make proper bullets.
However, unfortunately, people only exchanged glances, and no one opened their mouth.
Except for James, who thought:
‘Max just told me about this earlier…’