Why did Oswald go get his revolver?

[John Corbett]

Uh, no. Probably it would have made more sense right before the JFKA to ask himself "Shall I go to Irving and get the clunker rifle that is traceable to me out of Ruth Paine's garage, with all the risks that will entail, or should I check the classified ads for a better rifle that isn't traceable to me?" Indeed, in 1963 you could buy a gun in Texas or Arizona from a GUN DEALER with no ID at all.

There you go again. Trying to guess what Oswald's thought process would have been instead of just following the tangible evidence that tell us unambiguously he killed two guys that day.

I don't know why you would second guess Oswald's decisions given that he succeeded in doing what he set out to do, maybe for the first time in his life. Usually the Monday morning quarterbacks choose to second guess the losing team.

[Lance Payette]

There you go again. Trying to guess what Oswald's thought process would have been instead of just following the tangible evidence that tell us unambiguously he killed two guys that day.

I don't know why you would second guess Oswald's decisions given that he succeeded in doing what he set out to do, maybe for the first time in his life. Usually the Monday morning quarterbacks choose to second guess the losing team.

Hello? I was responding to YOUR speculation that it would have "made more sense" for Oswald to check the classifieds back in March.

Short memory?

[John Corbett]

Hello? I was responding to YOUR speculation that it would have "made more sense" for Oswald to check the classifieds back in March.

Short memory?

And I was responding to your suggestion Oswald could have checked the classifieds in November. This was your red herring issue, not mine. I try to focus on important stuff, like the evidence. I don't get sidetracked on the silly stuff.

[John Corbett]

Let’s consider the revolver since he ordered it about six weeks before he ordered the rifle. It does seem reasonable that if he intended to use the revolver to shoot Walker, he most likely wouldn’t expect to get away with it because using a revolver would typically need to be at a relatively close range with other people being present. Under those conditions using a separate P.O. Box makes less sense.

However, it seems to me that by March 12, 1963 LHO had probably devised his plan to shoot at Walker with the rifle at night from behind the backyard fence and his expectations of getting away with it would have been more reasonable. In fact it appears that he planned to do just that (get away with it). And he apparently delighted in learning from the news accounts that the DPD apparently didn’t even consider that anyone would try to make an escape from the scene via public transportation. Under these conditions, using a separate P.O. Box would seem to me to make more sense. He wouldn’t need to maintain the P.O. Box any longer than it took to obtain his rifle. So the expense would have been minimal and prudent in my opinion.

Whether or not it would have made sense for him to get a second PO box to receive the rifle, the fact is he didn't so that becomes a moot point. There is ample evidence he ordered the rifle from Klein's, ample evidence he received it, ample evidence he fired it at Walker, and ample evidence he used it to kill JFK.

Oswald's note to Marina indicated he thought there was a real possibility he would not be coming back after killing Walker. He gave her specific instructions as to what to do if he did not.

The curious thing is why he missed Walker at such short range. I've read the suggestion Walker might have leaned over just as Oswald fired, ala The Day of the Jackal. I think the answer might lie in the fact it was such a short shot. The Carcano's fixed sights are zeroed for 200 meters which means at that range it would shoot high if Oswald didn't make an adjustment in his aim point. The scope was adjustable but if Oswald didn't adjust it, the same problem would have occurred. It's all academic. Oswald missed and likely would never have been identified as the assailant had he not killed JFK.

[Lance Payette]

Whether or not it would have made sense for him to get a second PO box to receive the rifle, the fact is he didn't so that becomes a moot point. There is ample evidence he ordered the rifle from Klein's, ample evidence he received it, ample evidence he fired it at Walker, and ample evidence he used it to kill JFK.

Oswald's note to Marina indicated he thought there was a real possibility he would not be coming back after killing Walker. He gave her specific instructions as to what to do if he did not.

The curious thing is why he missed Walker at such short range. I've read the suggestion Walker might have leaned over just as Oswald fired, ala The Day of the Jackal. I think the answer might lie in the fact it was such a short shot. The Carcano's fixed sights are zeroed for 200 meters which means at that range it would shoot high if Oswald didn't make an adjustment in his aim point. The scope was adjustable but if Oswald didn't adjust it, the same problem would have occurred. It's all academic. Oswald missed and likely would never have been identified as the assailant had he not killed JFK.

I thought it deflected off the window frame?

[Charles Collins]

Whether or not it would have made sense for him to get a second PO box to receive the rifle, the fact is he didn't so that becomes a moot point. There is ample evidence he ordered the rifle from Klein's, ample evidence he received it, ample evidence he fired it at Walker, and ample evidence he used it to kill JFK.

Oswald's note to Marina indicated he thought there was a real possibility he would not be coming back after killing Walker. He gave her specific instructions as to what to do if he did not.

The curious thing is why he missed Walker at such short range. I've read the suggestion Walker might have leaned over just as Oswald fired, ala The Day of the Jackal. I think the answer might lie in the fact it was such a short shot. The Carcano's fixed sights are zeroed for 200 meters which means at that range it would shoot high if Oswald didn't make an adjustment in his aim point. The scope was adjustable but if Oswald didn't adjust it, the same problem would have occurred. It's all academic. Oswald missed and likely would never have been identified as the assailant had he not killed JFK.

Robert Oswald wrote in his book “Lee” that he thought his brother Lee had no previous experience with rifle scopes. But it seems to me that LHO would have known to zero the scope at the distance he intended to shoot at Walker. However according to FBI agent Frazier, it took the shocks of several shots for the scope reticle to settle into a stable position. If LHO didn’t realize this and relied on just one shot for his zero adjustment, then the scope’s reticle could have still been unstable. This could have resulted in it being slightly off when he shot at Walker.

[Lance Payette]

Talk about "overthinking," I give you Exhibit A.