It was only then that Claude remembered that the promised seven days had already passed.
So, he apologized to Eriksson and said that he wouldn't be helping him at the docks that day. He called for a carriage and prepared to go to Big Hammer's forge in the south of town.
Claude then noticed that his three companions had already boarded the carriage and were ready to follow them to gain some experience. Claude had spent a thale and seven riyases on the sight. Just what kind of thing was that sight that he had spent a thale and seven riyases on?
Well, I guess I'll just go.
The four of them went to Big Hammer's forge together. When Mike saw Claude and Welikro arrive, he took out the sight that he had already made.
It had to be said that although Boss Mike was a burly man, his craftsmanship was really good. The sight he made was dark, and the edges were polished smooth and round. It felt very comfortable to touch.
Claude paid attention to the size and how straight the center of the sight was. He used Mike's measuring tools to measure it and found that it didn't deviate in the slightest from what he had made.
Claude showed a satisfied smile and thanked Boss Mike.
Mike breathed a sigh of relief. Custom-Made items like that were usually paid for in advance. He was worried that the customer who made the order wouldn't be satisfied with it and might even say that it wasn't what he wanted.
Even though he didn't have to worry about the customer going back on his word since he had the blueprints, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble, especially when it came to people like Claude who had the backing of their parents.
Claude and Mike exchanged pleasantries. One of them expressed his satisfaction with Big Iron Hammer's craftsmanship and skills, while the other said that a generous customer like Claude should visit more often in the future. Big Iron Hammer would definitely give him a good price.
After chatting for a long time, Claude bade farewell and walked out of the yard with his companions with their crosshairs.
Eriksson suggested that Claude go home to get his gun first and test it out at the docks to see if it was as useful as Claude bragged about.
Even though it was the Altronis' private jetty, firing a gun there might accidentally injure someone. After all, it was surrounded by stone houses and wooden huts. The alley was bustling with people and there was even a small market right next to the jetty. So, Claude shook his head.
"Are you stupid? My house's dock is by the lake. Can't you just shoot into the lake? How could anyone get hurt there …" Eriksson said angrily.
"But there's nowhere to put a target in the lake …" Borkal still hadn't figured it out.
"Why do you need a target? Just throw a piece of wood into the lake and let it float on the surface.
You blockhead! "
Eriksson was right, it was a good idea.
The four of them then rode in the carriage to Claude's red brick house.
After Claude went to the attic to get his gun and gunpowder, he took the carriage to the Altronis' private jetty.
Borkal paid the four sunars for the carriage. He was the slowest and was caught by the coachman.
The moment the carriage stopped, Claude, Welikro and Eriksson jumped off the carriage at the same time and ran towards the docks. Borkal didn't know how to react. He was going to ask everyone to fork out one sunar each for the ride.
Borkal grumbled about how his companions weren't loyal and entered the jetty grumbling. He saw Claude fitting the sight onto the muzzle of his gun while Eriksson and Welikro watched from the side.
After rubbing some butter on the outside of the muzzle, Claude successfully fitted the sight onto the barrel. He used a small screw to make a small hole in the barrel and screwed it in to secure the sight.
But before he did that, he had to aim the crosshair at the central axis of the gun barrel.
After fixing the sight, Claude had to adjust the center of the crosshair.
As the crosshair was on the lid of the cartridge and not the crankshaft adjustment of the standard, Claude had no choice but to adjust the distance to the center of the crosshair.
The crosshair was divided into five parts, the thickest at the bottom and thinner as it went up. It was like an elongated cannula.
There was no helping it. Claude had calculated that the highest point of the crosshair would be a millimeter lower than the crosshair on the lid. That meant that he would be able to hit the target at a distance of 50 meters.
If he was further away, like a hundred meters, he would have to start from the second part of the crosshair to the center of the crosshair. He had to adjust the number of sections of the crosshair to act as the crankshaft adjustment of the standard.
When Claude finally finished adjusting the crosshair, Welikro used all his might to toss a small piece of wood into the lake. As it was just a piece of wood, it was light and didn't use much force. So, he only managed to toss it about 20 meters away, and that was after it floated on the surface of the water.
"It's fine," Claude said, "I'll try it out a few times."
After loading the gunpowder and gun, he clamped the match and lit it. He placed the gun on the stand and took aim.
Putting aside everything else, the sight alone made him feel much more at ease. He felt a sense of familiarity from the bottom of his heart. He aimed at the highest point of the crosshair through the U-shaped hole on the cover, then aimed at the floating wooden blocks in the lake and pulled the trigger. The match sizzled as it was stuffed into the cartridge box. Boom! Grey smoke billowed into the air.
Claude was a little annoyed that he didn't hit the piece of wood.
The shot landed in the lake behind the small wooden block, less than a finger's distance away from the small wooden block …
He continued to wipe the barrel of the gun and poured in gunpowder, tamped it down, inserted the gun, tamped it down again, held the match, lit it, placed it on the stand, took aim again, and fired.
A total of four shots were fired. The first three shots were fired at the side of the small wooden block. The distance was very close, almost touching the small wooden block. Only the fourth shot truly hit the small wooden block. It even sent the small wooden block flying a few meters away from the water …
When he turned around, he realized that while he had been focused on shooting, his three companions were staring blankly at the small piece of wood in the lake that had been hit.
"How did you do it?" Welikro felt like he was going to go crazy. Even if he had the old Gally mark 3 he had at home and was already familiar with the gun's characteristics, he didn't think he would be able to hit the piece of wood in the lake within four shots.
The reason was simple. When he took aim, he had to mentally subtract the distance of error. For example, he had to aim a finger's length away from the top left of the piece of wood. But that was the lake and there were small waves in it. Coupled with the ripples created by the movement of the piece of wood in the water, Welikro had trouble estimating the distance and it was easy for his eyes to get blurry.
Welikro was sure that he would have to rely on luck to hit the wooden block in the lake, but he believed that he wouldn't be able to hit it three times in a row. Even if he did, it would still count as a hit since he would be shooting right next to it and into the lake.
"It's all thanks to this crosshair," Claude said with a smile.
He picked up a small piece of wood and drew a simple diagram on the ground. "From here, aim the U-shaped hole on the cover at the highest point of the crosshair. Then, aim at the piece of wood in the lake. Hold the gun steady and pull the trigger. You'll be able to hit the target."
"Boa, do you understand? Give it a try. Do as I say," said Claude as he handed the gun to Borkal.
Boom! The piece of wood was hit once more and it bounced out of the water.
"Haha, I told you I'm talented at shooting, didn't I? You guys didn't believe me and I hit it on the first shot!
Hooray! "
Claude watched with his mouth agape as Borkal bounced around. All he could do was curse him for being a lucky bastard!
Why did it take him four shots to hit the piece of wood in the lake while Borkal hit it on the first shot?
Now that it was Eriksson's turn to shoot, Claude finally regained his confidence.
That fellow didn't hit the piece of wood even after firing seven times. Every time, he almost hit it. Just like Claude's first three shots, his shots only grazed the piece of wood and hit the water.
Borkal waved his hands around as he tried to teach Eriksson how to aim. However, he forgot how he aimed the first time he hit the piece of wood. The more he talked, the more confused he became. In the end, Claude had to explain to them how to aim in three points and one line.
Eriksson fired another three shots and finally hit the piece of wood in the lake.
Finally, it was Welikro's turn. However, he only shot once before stopping. His shot was quite off target and missed the piece of wood by about half a meter.
"What's wrong with you?" Claude felt that Welikro was behaving rather strangely.
Welikro smiled bitterly. "I can't use your gun and aim like that. I'm worried that if I use your three-point and one-line aiming method, I'll forget about my ability to adjust my aim and aim automatically. Really, your aiming method is really easy to use. Even a newbie would be able to grasp it easily.
Even though it looks really ugly on the tip of the gun, I have to admit that it's really useful. "
Borkal walked over and said, "Claude, I'm sorry. I thought you were doing this a few days ago. What's it called again?
That's right, a ready-made sight is a waste of money.
Now, I admit that I was wrong. This ready-made sight is really useful and useful. I want to install one on my gun too.
Can you bring me to Big Hammer's smithy to have a talk with the big boss? "
Claude smiled bitterly. "This is called a ready-made sight, not a ready-made sight.
It won't be a problem if you want to install one. I have the blueprints with me. I can accompany you to Big Hammer's smithy to have a talk with Boss Mike later. You'll pay for the ride. "
"You guys cheated when we came in the afternoon and left me to pay for the ride," said Borkal with dissatisfaction.
Said Borkal discontentedly. But he soon had an idea about the sight. "By the way, Claude, do you think more people will buy it if we make more of it and put it out for sale?
It's such a convenient sight with three points and one line. Haha, even a newbie would be able to hit the target easily. There'll definitely be a huge market for it. "
Claude shook his head. "I'm sorry, Boa. I don't intend to get involved in this business. If you want to do it, go ahead. But you have to be prepared to make a huge loss."
"Why?" Borkal didn't understand.
"First, this thing is expensive. Mine costs one thale and seven riyases, and that's a discount Boss Mike gave me on account of my father. Second, Boss Mike's craftsmanship is superb. It's made by hand. Do you think anyone would be willing to spend more than two or three thales for it?
Secondly, this sight sight is installed on this aubass mark 2 standard matchlock, it's the same for yours. When the time comes, I'll have to fix it and adjust it again before it can be used. It's not something you can use just by installing it on it.
Apart from me, who else can you get to calibrate this thing?
But I'm not willing to do it for someone else.
Third, older muskets aren't suitable for this kind of sight. For example, Wero's Gally Mark 3 has a flared muzzle. You won't be able to install it even if you wanted to.
"Most importantly, Wero already said that he can't use my aiming method to shoot because it'll cause a lot of confusion to his own shooting skills and instincts.
So, there's no way you'll be able to keep this business going. Everyone who has a gun has their own way of shooting. Those who don't know how won't spend money to buy this thing. Got it? "
"Is that so …" Borkal said disappointedly.
Claude shrugged. What he didn't tell Borkal was that the biggest customer of the crosshair sighting device was the military. It was most useful to new recruits who had just entered the military and could turn them into excellent shooters in the shortest time possible.