The First Shot

[John Corbett]

   What you are describing above is not a "plan". Certainly not a "plan" by anyone with military training such as Oswald. This stuff about a shooter firing a rifle almost straight down through a 1/2 open window and then sitting down and firing 2 more shots with a bolt action rifle is not reasonable when applied to Oswald. Max Holland started this rubbish and for whatever reason some of you have bought into it. There is No Evidence that Oswald or anyone else did this cockamamie maneuver.

Oswald was trained how to shoot a rifle. He was not trained as a sniper or an assassin. He needed on the job training to figure that out. Not surprisingly, he failed in his first attempt. The second time around he missed his first shot as well but then settled down and scored hits with his next two shots. I guess experience is the best teacher.

   And if the shooter was serious about this "more shots on goal" hooey, he would Never have used a bolt action rifle to begin with. ALL of this is totally "out there"!

Oswald used a bolt action rifle because that's what he had and he chose that particular rifle because it was cheap and so was he. It should have been sufficient for his attempt to kill Walker but he choked and aimed high, maybe because he failed to take into account that either the scope or the fixed sights were set for much longer ranges than he tried to kill Walker from. His killing of JFK wasn't exactly world class shooting but it was good enough to get the job done. One complete miss and the two hits were spaced almost a foot apart. That kind of marksmanship would win you the booby prize at your local turkey shoot, but it was good enough for what he had in mind.

[Royell Storing]

Oswald was trained how to shoot a rifle. He was not trained as a sniper or an assassin. He needed on the job training to figure that out. Not surprisingly, he failed in his first attempt. The second time around he missed his first shot as well but then settled down and scored hits with his next two shots. I guess experience is the best teacher.
Oswald used a bolt action rifle because that's what he had and he chose that particular rifle because it was cheap and so was he. It should have been sufficient for his attempt to kill Walker but he choked and aimed high, maybe because he failed to take into account that either the scope or the fixed sights were set for much longer ranges than he tried to kill Walker from. His killing of JFK wasn't exactly world class shooting but it was good enough to get the job done. One complete miss and the two hits were spaced almost a foot apart. That kind of marksmanship would win you the booby prize at your local turkey shoot, but it was good enough for what he had in mind.

    You guys continue trying to make LN Oswald fit. He does Not. And this stuff you are now pushing was cooked up close to 50 yrs after the fact. When your original LN theory "just don't hunt". The elapsed firing time for the 3 shots has now been expanded from 6+ seconds to almost 11 seconds. Your "experience is the best teacher" applies to the LN Theory having fallen apart. And here you guys are going Humpty Dumpty and trying to put it back together again. With a new and improved elapsed firing time pushing 11 seconds. Which only makes the SS look like the "Sad Sack" you are trying to turn Oswald into. I do believe Oswald was involved. But as a shooter? Nope. Oswald was the classic "inside man". 

[Zeon Mason]

Why would you assume Oswald fired the first shot in a sudden panic? He had ample time to study the layout. Why couldn't he have decided ahead of time, that he could probably get off a shot after the limo turned onto Elm and maybe 2 or 3 more after the limo cleared the tree. That first shot was the most difficult one but he had a better chance of scoring a hit than if he didn't take that shot.

He could have had the same mindset of hockey or soccer players. They know that the more shots on goal you take, the greater your chances of getting one past the goalie. Even if he missed that first shot, he would still have the chance to take the later shots. I wouldn't second guess his choices given that he succeeded in what he was trying to do.

1. Do you agree that the closer the 1st shot is to the limo as it goes  down Elm st, the quicker the shooter had to adjust/ move the rifle to track the target JFK?

2. Do you agree that the iron sights on the MC rifle used by the TSBD shooter were probably zeroed for the range of 200 yards ( or meters ) ?

3. Do you agree that when the MC rifle was found that  scope was out of alignment so bad that it required shims under the mount? The metal bracket was not bent so it looks as though the scope reticle could  never have been adjusted properly with the elevation nob.
4. In your opinion , if the scope had been previously zeroed for a range of 100 yds , would it have lost that zero if the rifle was disassembled?

5. Do you agree that the 3 stacked  boxes in the SN 6th floor TSBD were most likely used as a rifle rest by the TSBD shooter and thus indicate he had thought out in advance how he was going to fire his rifle in a calm controlled manner.?

6. Do you agree that the window was only open approx 15.5 inches per the WC photo using a surveyors measuring stick?

If you answered yes to the 6 questions above, then you must concede if the shooter stood up to take an early  1st shot, that he was taking a roll the dice 1st shot totally contrary to what appears to be his original plan to wait for the limo to go down Elm st far enough so that he had an easier shot using the box platform and when everyone is looking away from TSBD at the limo.

[John Corbett]

    You guys continue trying to make LN Oswald fit.

Oswald made Oswald fit.

He does Not. And this stuff you are now pushing was cooked up close to 50 yrs after the fact. When your original LN theory "just don't hunt".

What "original LN theory" would that be. The WC findings have needed no revision.

The elapsed firing time for the 3 shots has now been expanded from 6+ seconds to almost 11 seconds.

You seem to be operating under the popular misconception that the WC concluded that Oswald fired his 3 shots under 6 seconds. That was never a WC conclusion no matter how many times the CT side has asserted it was. Six Seconds in Dallas was a book written by Josiah Thompson. He's and LN. Maybe he chose to that scenario because it was the most improbable and therefore the easiest to attack.

Your "experience is the best teacher" applies to the LN Theory having fallen apart. And here you guys are going Humpty Dumpty and trying to put it back together again. With a new and improved elapsed firing time pushing 11 seconds. Which only makes the SS look like the "Sad Sack" you are trying to turn Oswald into. I do believe Oswald was involved. But as a shooter? Nope. Oswald was the classic "inside man".

The WCR never had a great fall. It still stands tall almost 62 years after it was first released and has needed no revisions to remain viable. Meanwhile on silly conspiracy theory after another has fallen by the wayside. Badgeman, Greer did it, storm drain shooter, Mortal Error, etc. None have stood the test of time.

[Zeon Mason]

@ Royell:

It’s not Humpty Dumpty. It’s more like the 6 Million Dollar Man. We have the technology. We can rebuild him … faster … stronger … better than ever 

[John Corbett]

1. Do you agree that the closer the 1st shot is to the limo as it goes  down Elm st, the quicker the shooter had to adjust/ move the rifle to track the target JFK?

Yes, that's one of the reasons the first shot was the most difficult, but not the only reason.

Do you agree Oswald had a better chance of hitting JFK by taking that early shot than by not taking it.

2. Do you agree that the iron sights on the MC rifle used by the TSBD shooter were probably zeroed for the range of 200 yards ( or meters ) ?

I have just learned within the past day that the Carcano fixed sights were actually zeroed for 300m but could be sight adjusted by positioning the front sight even with the top of the rear sight for 400m or to the bottom of the rear sight for 200m. I had always believe they were zeroed just for 200m.

3. Do you agree that when the MC rifle was found that  scope was out of alignment so bad that it required shims under the mount? The metal bracket was not bent so it looks as though the scope reticle could  never have  ever been adjusted properly with the elevation nob.

It has long been exaggerated how badly the scope was misaligned. As found, it aimed a little high and to the right which the WC speculated could have aided the shooter given that he needed to lead his target by aiming high and to the right. Oswald may or may not have known this but whether by skill or blind dumb luck, the shooter managed to hit JFK with 2 of his 3 shots. We know this because the 2 recovered bullets were both positively matched to Oswald's rifle to the exclusion of all other weapons in the world.

4. In your opinion , if the scope had been previously zeroed for a range of 100 yds , wouid it have lost that zero if the rifle was disassembled?

There are any number of reasons the scope could have been misaligned. Maybe during the disassembly/reassembly process. Maybe when he dropped the rifle behind the boxes. Maybe it was never properly zeroed. What we do know is the shooter used that rifle to put two shots into JFK and there is ample forensic evidence that tells us that shooter was Oswald.

5. Do you agree that the 3 stacked  boxes in the SN 6th floor TSBD were most likely used as a rifle rest by the TSBD shooter and thus indicate he had thought out in advance how he was going to fire his rifle in a calm controlled manner.?

Yes, but that wouldn't preclude him from giving himself an extra chance by taking the harder early shot. Even if he only had a 1% chance of hitting JFK with that shot, he still improved his chances by that 1%.

6. Do you agree that the window was only open approx 15.5 inches per the WC photo using a surveyors measuring stick?

I don't remember how wide open the window was but I have no reason to dispute that figure.

If you answered yes to the 6 questions above, then you must concede if the shooter stood up to take an early  1st shot, that he was taking a roll the dice 1st shot totally contrary to what appears to be his original plan to wait for the limo to go down Elm st far enough so that he had an easier shot using the box platform and when everyone is looking away from TSBD at the limo.

There is nothing that tells me that Oswald's original plan was to wait until the limo was past the tree before taking his first shot. I have always said there is no way to know what Oswald was thinking either before or after the shooting. We are left to guess. We have no way of knowing whether Oswald planned to take that early shot before the motorcade arrived or whether he acted on the spur of the moment. He never told anybody what he was thinking. We are left to guess. My guess is that Oswald intended to take that early shot after the limo has passed his window.

[Tom Graves]

You seem to be operating under the popular misconception that the WC concluded that Oswald fired his 3 shots under 6 seconds. That was never a WC conclusion no matter how many times the CT side has asserted it was. Six Seconds in Dallas was a book written by Josiah Thompson. He's and LN. Maybe he chose to that scenario because it was the most improbable and therefore the easiest to attack.

What does "He's and LN" mean?