Ace Special Forces in Movies and TV Shows

Chapter 0044: 56 and a Half, Let's Learn About It!

During a break in training, Meng Jianguo called Zheng Yingqi aside and asked him:

"You've consistently stated that a designated marksman provides accurate fire for an infantry squad at medium to long ranges. What is your definition of medium to long range?"

This issue is now related to Meng Jianguo's training syllabus, and Meng Jianguo also has his own ideas.

"The effective range of the Type 81 rifle is 400 meters, but generally speaking, the engagement distance for assault rifles is around 300 meters, which is what we call close range. At this distance, most veterans can hit the enemy. The distance between 300 and 600 meters can be called medium range. As long as there's a scope, a trained shooter can basically achieve accurate kills within this range," Meng Jianguo explained, revealing the reason for his inquiry.

"Take the Type 85 sniper rifle in my hand as an example. Its effective range is 1000 meters, but beyond 600 meters, it's not just about simple aiming. Beyond 1,000 meters, there are many more factors to consider. Simply put, training a group of riflemen who can achieve accurate shooting within 600 meters is not difficult, but achieving accurate shooting within 600 to 1,000 meters is extremely difficult and has a great deal to do with individual factors."

The Type 81 rifle has an effective range of 400 meters, but its destructive power remains terrifying beyond 400 meters. It can even be lethal at a distance of 1500 meters. But does this mean that the user of the Type 81 rifle can accurately hit an enemy a kilometer away?

Of course not!

The farther a bullet travels, the greater the influence of air resistance, wind speed and direction, humidity, and gravity becomes—which is why snipers are difficult to train; not everyone can easily calculate these data!

Zheng Yingqi thought for a moment before saying, "Actually, I don't think a marksman needs to be equipped with a dedicated sniper rifle. In my opinion, a marksman is an upgraded version of a sharpshooter. Sharpshooters are largely dependent on personal factors, but marksmen can make up for it with equipment. A batch of high-quality Type 81 rifles with scopes can easily meet the needs of a marksman. We can even consider giving up the long-range requirement, as long as we can achieve accurate shooting at medium range."

Currently, the military does not have a matching scope, so the Type 85 sniper rifle is used as a substitute. The Type 81 rifle has good accuracy, but the accuracy of an automatic rifle cannot compare with that of a bolt-action rifle.

In fact, our army has long implemented theories similar to those of marksmen. The snipers of the 7th Company are essentially marksmen, but their training subjects have not been clearly defined, and they still have a tendency to be snipers.

Moreover, with the existing equipment, there are only a few weapons that a marksman can choose from. As the provider of the theory, Zheng Yingqi is also like a skilled cook without rice to cook.

After listening to Zheng Yingqi's words, Meng Jianguo asked, "So you mean that as long as your marksmanship is better than that of an ordinary soldier, and you use aiming devices to achieve accurate shooting at medium range?"

Zheng Yingqi nodded.

"I understand," Meng Jianguo said, feeling confident. The equipment requests could only be relayed to higher authorities, but whether they would be approved was uncertain. The PLA's greatest strength was overcoming difficulties—therefore, Meng Jianguo offered a choice that left Zheng Yingqi speechless:

"In that case, I think we should consider using the 56-inch model!"

The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle is a weapon that is not even a pseudo-military enthusiast. Zheng Yingqi knew nothing about it. As a weapon that is more than 56 or 56 years old, and especially a weapon that has long been phased out, who would turn to it for deployment?

"The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle is different from the Type 56 assault rifle (the name Type 56 is quite misleading). It is a copy of the Soviet SKS semi-automatic rifle, lightweight, highly accurate, and reliable in construction. Although it only has a ten-round magazine, it perfectly meets your requirements," Meng Jianguo said.

"During the Sino-Vietnamese War, the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle was outmatched by the Vietnamese army equipped with AK47s due to its rate of fire. However, this does not negate the excellence of this weapon. According to marksmen, this weapon is very suitable for marksmen and can even completely replace the Type 85 sniper rifle. The only problem is that the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle can only be modified by adding a scope."

In fact, Meng Jianguo had been pondering this issue for the past few days. The Type 85 sniper rifle has the longest barrel, but its center of gravity is too far forward, making it very difficult to control when firing from standing, kneeling, or sitting positions without support. This is not suitable for a marksman, who is an infantryman who moves with the squad, and a single firing method is too limiting.

For example, if there is an enemy 400 meters ahead that needs to be engaged, a typical 85 sniper rifle user must find a suitable place to fire from a prone position. However, with a 56 semi-automatic rifle, you can fire from the spot. You can use whichever position is the fastest and most convenient, which saves a lot of time.

From Zheng Yingqi's expression, Meng Jianguo could tell that he was completely unaware of the advantages of the 56 semi-automatic rifle, so he patiently explained the various advantages of the 56 semi-automatic rifle to Zheng Yingqi.

In fact, Zheng Yingqi got excited when Meng Jianguo said that the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle was a copy of the SKS. He didn't know anything about the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, but how could he not know about the SKS? That was a designated marksman rifle in a certain game!

As Meng Jianguo introduced the 56-and-a-half, Zheng Yingqi's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he even had the feeling of suddenly turning around and finding the person he was looking for in the dim light.

"Meng Ban, let's go find the company commander and ask him to find a way to get some Type 56 semi-automatic rifles to try!" Zheng Yingqi didn't want to wait a minute longer; he was really looking forward to the scene of the training platoon being equipped with Type 56 semi-automatic rifles.

……

"Type 56 semi-automatic?" Gao Cheng was also a little surprised after hearing Zheng Yingqi and Meng Jianguo's purpose. Coming from a military family, he was of course very familiar with the Type 56 semi-automatic. However, people have a blind spot. As a piece of equipment that had long been phased out or even discontinued from front-line troops, Gao Cheng did not include the Type 56 semi-automatic in his equipment considerations.

To put it more bluntly, he was able to get his hands on the Type 85 sniper rifle in the regiment because it was a standard active-duty weapon and the regiment had a considerable stock of Type 85 sniper rifles. However, the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle had long been removed from the list of standard-issue weapons, so Takashiro subconsciously overlooked this weapon.

Now, upon hearing Zheng Yingqi and Meng Jianguo mention trying to equip their troops with Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, Gao Cheng immediately recalled the advantages of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle.

"You know what, the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle is really suitable," Gao Cheng, also an impatient man, immediately said, "You guys go back first, I'll go to the regimental headquarters to submit an application and try to get us a batch of Type 56 semi-automatic rifles!"

(This is a novel, so certain factors are not considered, such as the procedures for applying for equipment.)