CTers: Do yourself a favor and focus on plausibility

[Martin Weidmann]

Oswald was more than capable of making the shots that killed JFK. His longest shot was only 88 yards, less than half the distance he had to qualify at in the USMC. [quite]

Not one of the rifle tests that have been done to date have duplicated all of the conditions under which the supposed lone-gunman would have had to fire. In the one rifle test that duplicated most of those conditions, the 1967 CBS rifle test, only one of the 12 riflemen scored two hits in the required timeframe on the first attempt, and that was only because the test counted shots as "hits" even if they landed far down on the back or far out on the shoulder of the target silhouette, at least tripling the size of the target compared to Oswald's alleged shooting feat.

This one has been a favorite red herring argument of the CTs for years. No shooting in the history of firearms has ever been duplicated because every shooting has its own set of variables that cannot be duplicated. There is nothing about Oswald's shooting of JFK with his Carcano rifle that was beyond his capabilities.
Tell us why it is necessary to prove when Oswald zeroed his rifle. Is that a legal requirement to prove somebody committed a homicide with a firearm?
Now you are just making things up. Nobody put Oswald at another location in the TSBD DURING the shooting. Your lie refutes itself. How could Oswald be on the first AND second floors during the shooting. It's amazing somebody who has been at this as long as you have could come up with a claim so wacky.
So?
Oswald didn't buy the rifle for the purpose of killing JFK because he couldn't have possibly known 8 months prior to the act, he would be handed an opportunity to do that. A firearm is only traceable if the authorities have the weapon in their possession. When Oswald took the shot at Walker, he was able to leave the scene with his weapon. He didn't have that option when he killed JFK. Leaving the building with the rifle was not an option. Imagine if Oswald was holding the rifle when Baker confronted him. The encounter would have ended very differently and possibly badly for Baker since Oswald would have still had a live round in the chamber. Oswald could have bought better rifle but it would have cost him more money.
So what's your point. Nobody has said Oswald was stupid. Oswald was presented a golden opportunity to achieve fame by killing JFK. His options were limited. The time and place were dictated to him. He had to smuggle his rifle into work and then leave it behind when he fled the scene. Your whole premise is that Oswald planned to get away with the crime. I don't think that even crossed his mind. I think he was perfectly willing to trade his life for JFKs just as the three previous presidential assassins had done. Booth couldn't have been more conspicuous after he shot Lincoln. Everybody in the theater knew who he was when he leapt from Lincoln's box onto the stage. Guiteau and Czolgosz both committed their crimes at close range knowing they would be apprehended immediately. They didn't seem to care. Why do you assume Oswald would have.
Can you cite an expert in either wound ballistics or forensic medicine who shares your opinion on this or is this just another of your amateurish arguments.?
The only implausible claims are the ones made by you.

You've got to love how the mind of a fanatical zealot works!

Oswald was more than capable of making the shots that killed JFK. His longest shot was only 88 yards, less than half the distance he had to qualify at in the USMC. [quite]

Not one of the rifle tests that have been done to date have duplicated all of the conditions under which the supposed lone-gunman would have had to fire. In the one rifle test that duplicated most of those conditions, the 1967 CBS rifle test, only one of the 12 riflemen scored two hits in the required timeframe on the first attempt, and that was only because the test counted shots as "hits" even if they landed far down on the back or far out on the shoulder of the target silhouette, at least tripling the size of the target compared to Oswald's alleged shooting feat.

The fanatical zealot dismisses any conclusion based on actual tests, but he still "knows for sure" that Oswald could have made the shots, without any evidence to back that up!

This one has been a favorite red herring argument of the CTs for years. No shooting in the history of firearms has ever been duplicated because every shooting has its own set of variables that cannot be duplicated. There is nothing about Oswald's shooting of JFK with his Carcano rifle that was beyond his capabilities.

And here the fanatical zealot claims that Oswald had the capabilities to make the shots, when in fact he he never knew Oswald, never saw him shoot a rifle and only relies on what he has been told.

Now you are just making things up. Nobody put Oswald at another location in the TSBD DURING the shooting. Your lie refutes itself. How could Oswald be on the first AND second floors during the shooting. It's amazing somebody who has been at this as long as you have could come up with a claim so wacky.
So?

Oswald could have eaten his lunch at the first floor lunch room and then went upstairs to get a drink. Nobody is claiming this happened exactly "during the shooting", but regardless the fanatical zealot "knows for a fact" that Oswald was on the 6th floor when the shots were fired. Never mind that nobody has actually ever been able to put him there!

[John Mytton]

...but he still "knows for sure" that Oswald could have made the shots, without any evidence to back that up!

Mr. SPECTER. Of what do your current duties consist?
Sergeant ZAHM. I am the NCO in charge of the Marksmanship Training Unit Armory at the Marksmanship Training Unit in the Weapons Training Battalion Marine Corps School, Quantico, Va.

Mr. SPECTER. Based on the tests of Mr. Oswald shown by those documents, how would you characterize his ability as a marksman?
Sergeant ZAHM. I would say in the Marine Corps he is a good shot, slightly above average, and as compared to the average male of his age throughout the civilian, throughout the United States, that he is an excellent shot.

Mr. SPECTER. How would you characterize that, as a difficult, not too difficult, easy, or how would you characterize that shot?
Sergeant ZAHM. With the equipment he had and with his ability, I consider it a very easy shot.

Sergeant ZAHM. I consider it still an easy shot, a little more difficult from the President's body position and increase in distance of approximately 40 feet, but I still consider it an easy shot for a man with the equipment he had and his ability.
Mr. SPECTER. Assuming that there were three shots fired in a range of 4.8 to 5.6 seconds, would that speed of firing at that range indicated in the prior questions be within Mr. Oswald's capabilities as a marksman?
Sergeant ZAHM. Yes.

--------------------------------------

Mr. SPECTER - Of what do your current duties consist?
Major ANDERSON - I am assistant head of the Marksmanship Branch, Headquarters Marine Corps.


Mr. SPECTER - I now show you a document marked as Commission Exhibit No. 902, which characterizes what was believed to have been the shot which struck President Kennedy in the head at a distance from rifle in window to the President of 265.3 feet, with the photograph through rifle scope identified on the document being the view which the marksman had of the President at the time the President was struck in the head, and I ask you again for an opinion as to the ease or difficulty of that shot, taking into consideration the capabilities of Mr. Oswald as a marksman, evidenced by the Marine Corps documents on him.
Major ANDERSON - I consider it to be not a particularly difficult shot at this short range, and that Oswald had full capabilities to make such a shot.

-------------------------------------

Mr. EISENBERG. Can you give us your position, Mr. Simmons?
Mr. SIMMONS. I am the Chief of the Infantry Weapons Evaluation Branch of the Ballistics Research Laboratory of the Department of the Army.

Mr. EISENBERG. Do I understand your testimony to be that this rifle is as accurate as the current American military rifles?
Mr. SIMMONS. Yes. As far as we can determine from bench-rest firing.
Mr. EISENBERG. Would you consider that to be a high degree of accuracy?
Mr. SIMMONS. Yes, the weapon is quite accurate.

JohnM

[Martin Weidmann]

Mr. SPECTER. Of what do your current duties consist?
Sergeant ZAHM. I am the NCO in charge of the Marksmanship Training Unit Armory at the Marksmanship Training Unit in the Weapons Training Battalion Marine Corps School, Quantico, Va.

Mr. SPECTER. Based on the tests of Mr. Oswald shown by those documents, how would you characterize his ability as a marksman?
Sergeant ZAHM. I would say in the Marine Corps he is a good shot, slightly above average, and as compared to the average male of his age throughout the civilian, throughout the United States, that he is an excellent shot.

Mr. SPECTER. How would you characterize that, as a difficult, not too difficult, easy, or how would you characterize that shot?
Sergeant ZAHM. With the equipment he had and with his ability, I consider it a very easy shot.

Sergeant ZAHM. I consider it still an easy shot, a little more difficult from the President's body position and increase in distance of approximately 40 feet, but I still consider it an easy shot for a man with the equipment he had and his ability.
Mr. SPECTER. Assuming that there were three shots fired in a range of 4.8 to 5.6 seconds, would that speed of firing at that range indicated in the prior questions be within Mr. Oswald's capabilities as a marksman?
Sergeant ZAHM. Yes.

--------------------------------------

Mr. SPECTER - Of what do your current duties consist?
Major ANDERSON - I am assistant head of the Marksmanship Branch, Headquarters Marine Corps.


Mr. SPECTER - I now show you a document marked as Commission Exhibit No. 902, which characterizes what was believed to have been the shot which struck President Kennedy in the head at a distance from rifle in window to the President of 265.3 feet, with the photograph through rifle scope identified on the document being the view which the marksman had of the President at the time the President was struck in the head, and I ask you again for an opinion as to the ease or difficulty of that shot, taking into consideration the capabilities of Mr. Oswald as a marksman, evidenced by the Marine Corps documents on him.
Major ANDERSON - I consider it to be not a particularly difficult shot at this short range, and that Oswald had full capabilities to make such a shot.

-------------------------------------

Mr. EISENBERG. Can you give us your position, Mr. Simmons?
Mr. SIMMONS. I am the Chief of the Infantry Weapons Evaluation Branch of the Ballistics Research Laboratory of the Department of the Army.

Mr. EISENBERG. Do I understand your testimony to be that this rifle is as accurate as the current American military rifles?
Mr. SIMMONS. Yes. As far as we can determine from bench-rest firing.
Mr. EISENBERG. Would you consider that to be a high degree of accuracy?
Mr. SIMMONS. Yes, the weapon is quite accurate.

JohnM

Ask for evidence and get an opinion..... Hilarious!

[John Mytton]

Oswald's Marine Training

In accordance with standard Marine procedures, Oswald received extensive training in marksmanship.773 During the first week of an intensive 8-week training period he received instruction in sighting, aiming, and manipulation of the trigger.774 He went through a series of exercises called dry firing where he assumed all positions which would later be used in the qualification course.775 After familiarization with live ammunition in the .22 rifle and .22 pistol, Oswald, like all Marine recruits, received training on the rifle range at distances up to 500 yards, firing 50 rounds each day for five days.776

Following that training, Oswald was tested in December of 1956, and obtained a score of 212, which was 2 points above the minimum for qualifications as a "sharpshooter" in a scale of marksman--sharpshooter--expert.777 In May of 1959, on another range, Oswald scored 191, which was 1 point over the minimum for ranking as a "marksman."
https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/chapter-4.html#capability



Oswald rapid firing at over twice as far as the headshot.



Oswald rapid firing at over three times as far as the headshot!





JohnM

[Michael Capasse]

(May 06,1959 MCAS | El Toro CA)
Oswald scored one point above the minimum for the lowest grade.

Marksman Qualification = 190
Oswald Score = 191

“To become qualified as a sharpshooter the Marine Corps is of the opinion that most Marines
with a reasonable amount of adaptability to weapons firing can be, so qualified.
Consequently a low marksman qualification indicates a “rather poor shot” (Vol 19 pages 16-18)

[John Mytton]

(May 06,1959 MCAS | El Toro CA)
Oswald scored one point above the minimum for the lowest grade.

Marksman Qualification = 190
Oswald Score = 191

“To become qualified as a sharpshooter the Marine Corps is of the opinion that most Marines
with a reasonable amount of adaptability to weapons firing can be, so qualified.
Consequently a low marksman qualification indicates a “rather poor shot” (Vol 19 pages 16-18)

(December 21, 1956; Camp Pendleton in California)
Oswald score qualified him as a SHARPSHOOTER!!!

Sharpshooter Qualification = 210
Oswald score = 212

BTW your quote came from Colonel Folsom who being a desk jockey was hardly qualified to be making expert shooting analysis. Hahaha.

Mr. ELY - What is your job in the Marine Corps, sir?
Colonel FOLSOM - My primary duty is head, Records Branch, Personnel Department, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.

----------------------

What do some actual Expert Marine Officers say about Oswald's shooting abilities.

Mr. SPECTER. Based on the tests of Mr. Oswald shown by those documents, how would you characterize his ability as a marksman?
Sergeant ZAHM. I would say in the Marine Corps he is a good shot, slightly above average, and as compared to the average male of his age throughout the civilian, throughout the United States, that he is an excellent shot.

How about the question of Oswald's capabilities to take the head shot?

Mr. SPECTER - I now show you a document marked as Commission Exhibit No. 902, which characterizes what was believed to have been the shot which struck President Kennedy in the head at a distance from rifle in window to the President of 265.3 feet, with the photograph through rifle scope identified on the document being the view which the marksman had of the President at the time the President was struck in the head, and I ask you again for an opinion as to the ease or difficulty of that shot, taking into consideration the capabilities of Mr. Oswald as a marksman, evidenced by the Marine Corps documents on him.
Major ANDERSON - I consider it to be not a particularly difficult shot at this short range, and that Oswald had full capabilities to make such a shot.

Then lastly, what was the difficulties of Oswald with his equipment of taking the Dealey Plaza shot?

Mr. SPECTER. How would you characterize that, as a difficult, not too difficult, easy, or how would you characterize that shot?
Sergeant ZAHM. With the equipment he had and with his ability, I consider it a very easy shot.

Oops!

And finally let's put Oswald's last Shooting Qualification into historical perspective.

Oswald was 17 when he scored "212" and then at 19 he scored "191", so Oswald was older and more experienced yet scored less, what changed between these two events? How does that even make sense, well, considering at the time Oswald's poor relationship with the Marines and the fact in a few months he was about to lie about his Mother to get out of the Marines and then defect to the Enemy and then try to reject his American citizenship, says all we need to know.

1. Oswald brings joy and happiness to the Marines and scores "212"
2. Oswald was court-martialled for illegal possession of a firearm.
3. Oswald was court-martialled for a second time for assaulting a superior officer.
4. Oswald spends time in the Brig and seemingly becomes disillusioned with this whole Marines thing.
5. Oswald's unit arrives in Taiwan, where he suffers a nervous breakdown and is sent back to Japan.
6. Delgado a fellow Marine describes Oswald on the firing range as not "giving a darn", seeing this as a "joke" and not being very "enthusiastic".
7. Oswald scores "191"
8. Just a few months after his "191", Oswald makes up a Bogus story about his injured Mother and is soon after released from active Duty.
9. Oswald defects to the enemy.
10. The enemy rejects Oswald, so Oswald in a rage of self harm, rips open his wrist which bleeds excessively and the wound requires a number of stitches. Oswald in his Historic Diary" describes his suicide attempt, "watch my life whirl away. I think to myself. "how easy to die" and "a sweet death""

JohnM

[Royell Storing]

Mr. SPECTER. Of what do your current duties consist?
Sergeant ZAHM. I am the NCO in charge of the Marksmanship Training Unit Armory at the Marksmanship Training Unit in the Weapons Training Battalion Marine Corps School, Quantico, Va.

Mr. SPECTER. Based on the tests of Mr. Oswald shown by those documents, how would you characterize his ability as a marksman?
Sergeant ZAHM. I would say in the Marine Corps he is a good shot, slightly above average, and as compared to the average male of his age throughout the civilian, throughout the United States, that he is an excellent shot.

Mr. SPECTER. How would you characterize that, as a difficult, not too difficult, easy, or how would you characterize that shot?
Sergeant ZAHM. With the equipment he had and with his ability, I consider it a very easy shot.

Sergeant ZAHM. I consider it still an easy shot, a little more difficult from the President's body position and increase in distance of approximately 40 feet, but I still consider it an easy shot for a man with the equipment he had and his ability.
Mr. SPECTER. Assuming that there were three shots fired in a range of 4.8 to 5.6 seconds, would that speed of firing at that range indicated in the prior questions be within Mr. Oswald's capabilities as a marksman?
Sergeant ZAHM. Yes.

--------------------------------------

Mr. SPECTER - Of what do your current duties consist?
Major ANDERSON - I am assistant head of the Marksmanship Branch, Headquarters Marine Corps.


Mr. SPECTER - I now show you a document marked as Commission Exhibit No. 902, which characterizes what was believed to have been the shot which struck President Kennedy in the head at a distance from rifle in window to the President of 265.3 feet, with the photograph through rifle scope identified on the document being the view which the marksman had of the President at the time the President was struck in the head, and I ask you again for an opinion as to the ease or difficulty of that shot, taking into consideration the capabilities of Mr. Oswald as a marksman, evidenced by the Marine Corps documents on him.
Major ANDERSON - I consider it to be not a particularly difficult shot at this short range, and that Oswald had full capabilities to make such a shot.

-------------------------------------

Mr. EISENBERG. Can you give us your position, Mr. Simmons?
Mr. SIMMONS. I am the Chief of the Infantry Weapons Evaluation Branch of the Ballistics Research Laboratory of the Department of the Army.

Mr. EISENBERG. Do I understand your testimony to be that this rifle is as accurate as the current American military rifles?
Mr. SIMMONS. Yes. As far as we can determine from bench-rest firing.
Mr. EISENBERG. Would you consider that to be a high degree of accuracy?
Mr. SIMMONS. Yes, the weapon is quite accurate.

JohnM

     The main point that the slick Specter avoids in this WC Q/A, is SPECTER's admittance that 3 SHOTS were fired in a MAX firing time of 5.6 SECONDS. THAT, was a mistake. The appraised difficulty of these 3 shots Never takes into consideration that the 3 shots were fired by the bolt action carcano rifle in only 5.6 SECONDS MAX. The only considerations specifically mentioned are: (1) Range, and, (2) Equipment used. This is typical of these 1 sided WC Q/A's. Especially the Q/A's conducted by Specter. Both the Kellerman and Tomlinson Q/A's are an absolute Railroading. Nowhere close to "fact finding".