The Dented Spent Cartridge

[Charles Collins]

Hi Charles.  The dented casing could have also been the result of a short cycle, which occurs when the shooter is operating the bolt in a very hurried fashion.  Basically, the casing does not get fully ejected and instead is caught and squeezed by the operation of the bolt in preparation for the next shot.  The shooter would then be forced to operate the bolt a 2nd time to finally eject the spent (and now dented) casing.

I'm not saying I adhere to this theory, but it is something to consider.

Thanks Bill, yes that does appear to be another possibility. However I would expect the dent to be different with respect to the end (or top edge if you will) of the cartridge if that were the case. Looking at a photo of CE 543, we can see the top edge appears to have no damage. The dent appears to have come from the side. I could be wrong, but if a short-cycle were the cause then I would expect the top edge to show some sign of the cartridge being squeezed. Maybe some curling or other damage. Here’s a photo of CE 543:

[Michael T. Griffith]

It is sad to see WC defenders still posting claims that have long since been soundly refuted.

No, the FBI did not duplicate the dent on CE 543 in any shell that was used to actually fire a bullet. No test has ever duplicated that dent in a shell that fired a bullet. CE 543 could not have been used to fire a bullet during the assassination.

This issue has been settled for years. Even some lone-gunman theorists have acknowledged that CE 543 could not have fired a bullet during the assassination. All those who believe in the mortal-error theory of the assassination acknowledge that CE 543 could not have fired a bullet during the shooting. But, most WC defenders don't want to admit this fact about CE 543 because it raises serious questions about their version of the shooting.

I would refer interested readers to my online article
"The Dented Bullet Shell: Hard Evidence of Conspiracy in the JFK Assassination."

I explore this issue in even more detail in chapter 17 of my book A Comforting Lie: The Myth That a Lone Gunman Killed President Kennedy.

Here is some of what Dr. Josiah Thompson says about the dented shell, CE 543, in his 2020 book Last Second in Dallas:

Things got really interesting when we photographed the three cartridge cases found near the corner window of the sixth floor of the depository and the live round found in the rifle.

I noticed something never mentioned in all the expert testimony or shown in any of the Warren Commission photographs. If you laid out the three cartridges alongside the live round, you could see a dent on the shoulders of two of the cases where they abutted the chamber of the rifle. The live round showed a similar but much less prominent mark. In contrast, the third cartridge case, designated CE 543, had no dent on its shoulder but a sharp dent in its lip. In its present form, this cartridge would not accept a projectile. . . .

According to Hoover, there was no mark like this on CE 543, only the magazine follower mark and the three strange marks mentioned by Nicol.

But the magazine follower mark could not have been caused on November 22 because that mark is caused by a lever under spring tension at the bottom of the magazine that presses against only the last round in the clip. Since the live round found in the rifle was the bottom round in the clip on November 22, it had its own follower mark. Even more important, Hoover’s letter mentioned that the three marks described by Nicol were absent not only from the other cartridge cases and the live round but also from the many cartridge cases produced in test firings of Oswald’s rifle. That clinched it: the cartridge case with the dented lip also had marks from a second Carcano, not Oswald’s. (Last Second in Dallas, pp. 178-179, 184-185)

In their book JFK Case Not Closed, Dave O'Brien and Johnny Cairns note some of the evidence that CE 543 could not have fired a bullet during the assassination:

The only marks that link CE 543 to the Carcano were produced by the magazine follower. These marks are caused by the pressure of the magazine follower on the last round in the clip, which pushes the remaining rounds in the clip upwards as their predecessors are chambered and then ejected from the rifle.

When the final round is chambered, the clip falls past the magazine follower and drops out of the bottom of the magazine well. While other cases had similar marks, the point is that these marks could not have been caused by the Carcano's magazine follower on the day of the assassination as the last round in the clip (CE 141) was unfired and still chambered in the rifle when it was found. . . .

CE 543 lacks a characteristic displayed by all the other cartridge cases (CE 544, CE 545 and CE 577) that have been chambered in the Carcano - a distinct impression along one side. Even CE 141 (the live round), showed a similar, if less pronounced, impression. . . .

If CE 543 is supposed to have been fired in the Carcano, how could it be missing this distinct impression? (JFK Case Not Closed, pp. 141-145)

[Charles Collins]

It is sad to see WC defenders still posting claims that have long since been soundly refuted.

No, the FBI did not duplicate the dent on CE 543 in any shell that was used to actually fire a bullet. No test has ever duplicated that dent in a shell that fired a bullet. CE 543 could not have been used to fire a bullet during the assassination.

This issue has been settled for years. Even some lone-gunman theorists have acknowledged that CE 543 could not have fired a bullet during the assassination. All those who believe in the mortal-error theory of the assassination acknowledge that CE 543 could not have fired a bullet during the shooting. But, most WC defenders don't want to admit this fact about CE 543 because it raises serious questions about their version of the shooting.

I would refer interested readers to my online article
"The Dented Bullet Shell: Hard Evidence of Conspiracy in the JFK Assassination."

I explore this issue in even more detail in chapter 17 of my book A Comforting Lie: The Myth That a Lone Gunman Killed President Kennedy.

Here is some of what Dr. Josiah Thompson says about the dented shell, CE 543, in his 2020 book Last Second in Dallas:

Things got really interesting when we photographed the three cartridge cases found near the corner window of the sixth floor of the depository and the live round found in the rifle.

I noticed something never mentioned in all the expert testimony or shown in any of the Warren Commission photographs. If you laid out the three cartridges alongside the live round, you could see a dent on the shoulders of two of the cases where they abutted the chamber of the rifle. The live round showed a similar but much less prominent mark. In contrast, the third cartridge case, designated CE 543, had no dent on its shoulder but a sharp dent in its lip. In its present form, this cartridge would not accept a projectile. . . .

According to Hoover, there was no mark like this on CE 543, only the magazine follower mark and the three strange marks mentioned by Nicol.

But the magazine follower mark could not have been caused on November 22 because that mark is caused by a lever under spring tension at the bottom of the magazine that presses against only the last round in the clip. Since the live round found in the rifle was the bottom round in the clip on November 22, it had its own follower mark. Even more important, Hoover’s letter mentioned that the three marks described by Nicol were absent not only from the other cartridge cases and the live round but also from the many cartridge cases produced in test firings of Oswald’s rifle. That clinched it: the cartridge case with the dented lip also had marks from a second Carcano, not Oswald’s. (Last Second in Dallas, pp. 178-179, 184-185)

In their book JFK Case Not Closed, Dave O'Brien and Johnny Cairns note some of the evidence that CE 543 could not have fired a bullet during the assassination:

The only marks that link CE 543 to the Carcano were produced by the magazine follower. These marks are caused by the pressure of the magazine follower on the last round in the clip, which pushes the remaining rounds in the clip upwards as their predecessors are chambered and then ejected from the rifle.

When the final round is chambered, the clip falls past the magazine follower and drops out of the bottom of the magazine well. While other cases had similar marks, the point is that these marks could not have been caused by the Carcano's magazine follower on the day of the assassination as the last round in the clip (CE 141) was unfired and still chambered in the rifle when it was found. . . .

CE 543 lacks a characteristic displayed by all the other cartridge cases (CE 544, CE 545 and CE 577) that have been chambered in the Carcano - a distinct impression along one side. Even CE 141 (the live round), showed a similar, if less pronounced, impression. . . .

If CE 543 is supposed to have been fired in the Carcano, how could it be missing this distinct impression? (JFK Case Not Closed, pp. 141-145)

My mistake, it was the HSCA experts who duplicated the dent.



There is no Warren Commission testimony stating that the FBI laboratory duplicated the dent in Commission Exhibit 543 (CE 543).

The original Warren Commission testimony regarding the dent in CE 543—which is one of the three cartridge cases found on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository—comes from FBI firearms expert Robert A. Frazier.

The Actual Testimony (Volume III)When Frazier testified before the Commission, he explained that the dented mouth of the cartridge was a random occurrence that happens during the mechanics of loading or firing, rather than an intentional replication or a permanent defect of the rifle:

Mr. Eisenberg: “Mr. Frazier, I notice that the lip of CE 543 is dented in. Can you tell us how that dent might have occurred?”Mr. Frazier: “Yes, sir. This dent occurs when the cartridge is fired, or during the loading cycle, when the cartridge is forced into the chamber and the side of the case strikes the edge of the chamber, or upon ejection when the cartridge case is thrown out of the rifle and strikes the side of the receiver or the scope mount, or some outside object. It is a very common thing to find dented cartridge cases among fired cases, and it does not indicate any malfunction of the weapon, nor does it affect the firing of the cartridge.”— Warren Commission Hearings, Volume III, p. 433

Where the "Duplicate" Idea Comes From:

The concept of "duplicating" the dent originated later during the 1978 House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) investigation.When HSCA ballistics experts test-fired Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano rifle to examine the mechanics of the weapon, one of their four test-fired cartridges naturally duplicated the exact same type of neck dent seen on CE 543.This mechanical duplication proved to the committee that the dent on the original evidence shell was caused naturally by the rapid firing and ejection sequence of that specific rifle, rather than being damaged afterward or planted.


The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) Volume VII report, specifically the Firearms Panel Report, details that the dented cartridge case (CE 543) was a common artifact of the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle's normal ejection mechanism, not evidence of tampering. The panel concluded that test-firings (T-1 to T-4) resulted in similar, consistent dents, validating earlier FBI testimony. For more details, visit History Matters Archive.