They range from the beat up to the practically fresh from behind the gun counter, and represent a spectrum of weapons from the common place to the exotic.
Take the Russian-made Mosin-Nagnat stamped with the date 1944 and which comes with a folding bayonet that might have skewered a couple Panzer grenadiers back on the Eastern Front.
More likely, however, is that it was involved in the illegal killing of a deer or elk or bear somewhere in Washington.
The gun is one of 450 rifles, shotguns, bows and revolvers seized by the state's game wardens in recent years and is being auctioned off at this moment via Internet.
"They're all tied to poaching cases," says Lt. Steven Crown of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Enforcement Division.
It's the first time the agency has auctioned off seized weapons. Previously, the state's General Administration arm handled disposing of them, Crown says.
WDFW partnered with Nevada Public Auctions LLC to run the bidding -- there's 14 days and 21 hours left at this writing -- and then there will be a live auction early next month in Packwood, in eastern Lewis County.
"We didn't pick the spot," says Crown. "The vendor picked it. Packwood has an armory that can and is willing to accept that many guns and is secure."
He notes that all state laws are being followed, and that bid winners will need to pick up their purchases through gun shops with federal firearms licenses.
MANY OF THE RIFLES ARE TOPPED WITH SCOPES.
While the auction house will take a 16 percent cut, Crown says that all the rest goes into a pot to pay rewards to citizen tipsters and fund investigations.
"The proceeds go towards helping us stop poaching," he says.
Crown has no idea how much it will bring in, but has been surprised by the early bidding.
"Some I'm scratching my head on, and others I say, 'I can't believe it's up to that much already.' Online auctions are that way," he says.
The lot also provides a window into the weapons those who illegally take the state's wildlife prefer to use.
Topping the list, according to Crown, are a lever gun, the Winchester Model 94, and a small-caliber autoloading rifle, the Ruger 10-22.
"But there's a whole host in there ranging from a Benelli (Super Black) Eagle -- the bid's up to $650 -- to a Browning A Bolt that I'm sure will fetch a pretty nice price," he says.
Indeed, all the major manufacturers and then some are represented in the sordid collection.
There are also a number of revolvers that probably didn't illegally kill game but are tied to felons -- who legally aren't allowed to have guns but often have them anyway -- involved in poaching cases.
The scope and depth of the selection is surprising, but Crown notes that the seizures go back through 2007.
At several times during a phone interview he pointed out that the vast majority of the state's hunters are law-abiding sportsmen.
"A small number of people eat up most of our time and keep us hopping," he says, adding, "The folks responsible for the 450 (weapons) are just a small fraction of all the folks who are doing things by the books."
But despite his division's best efforts, poaching will likely continue, and as their store of seized weapons again become too large to deal with, more auctions will be held in the future.
Maybe you, like I, wouldn't feel right hunting with a gun that poached game, but at least most of the money you pay will go to a good cause.
To view the items yourself, go here, or cruise over to the Packwood Community Center, 13096 Highway 12, on March 10. Previewing begins at 8 in the morning and the live auction starts at 10:55 a.m.
