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Bolt-Action Rifle Photographed in a Box

Overhead night photo of a scoped bolt-action rifle with a black synthetic stock lying inside an open cardboard box on grass

What This Image Shows​

An overhead night photograph of a bolt-action rifle lying inside an open cardboard box set on grass, lit by a harsh direct light. The rifle has a matte black synthetic stock with a textured grip and forend, a black rubber recoil pad, a telescopic scope in mounting rings, and a silver-grey bolt handle and barrel. A small tag or string hangs near the trigger guard, consistent with evidence handling. The toe of a shoe is visible at the top left of the frame.

No on-screen text accompanies the image, so it carries no caption, timestamp or agency marking of its own.

The weapon reported recovered after the September 10, 2025 shooting at Utah Valley University was described as a bolt-action rifle, and researchers have raised repeated questions about it: the model identification, the circumstances of the find in a wooded area, and the reported re-search that produced it. Those questions are collected in Gun and Bullet and Proof Not Tyler. This frame is presented as an image of a rifle of that general type; the archive does not establish chain of custody for it.

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