And In That Vein

JayG had a post up a couple of days ago talking about a Bowie vs a chef's knife, and the reaction of the terminally uninformed about each of them.

So while we're on the subject of perception vs actuality, observe:

Two of these rifles spent time in the military, and one most certainly has a kill or two to its credit.  The question for the class is, what two are the military rifles, and which of the two has the bloodiest past?

Answer: the middle two, and the top one of the middle two is the most dangerous.

Top Evil Black Rifle - Saiga .223. Number of confirmed kills...zero. Time in military service...none. It was sold as a hunting rifle (I still have the original stock and foregrip for it) and dressed up by a previous owner, although I did do the trigger conversion. If you picked this one, go sit in the corner stupid.

Top wooden stocked rifle - Mosin Nagant 91/30 made in the Tula armory circa 1943. This one is the killer, all of them during that time frame were issued to Russian troops who then went on to face down the Wehrmacht. Every existing Mosin made before 1945 has likely had a Nazi in its sights. The bayonet underneath goes with this rifle. Anyone up for shishkabob?

Middle wooden stocked rifle - Arisaka Type 30 carbine, made in the Tokyo arsenal sometime between 1902 and 1904 going by the serial number. They were used in Imperial service during the Russo-Japanese war and were replaced starting in 1905 or so with the more robust T38, but some of the T30s saw service with Russia and England during WW1. I don't know the history behind this one, but I suspect it ended up at a Japanese school as a training rifle and was a war souvenir from WW2 (I base this assumption on the lack of non-Japanese markings or modifications). It may or may not have kills to its credit, being a carbine it probably doesn't (they weren't issued to front-line ground troops, but they were issued to cavalry). For the record, this is my favorite gun. I really don't know why.

The bottom one is a model 60 Marlin. If that one scares you seek professional help.