Guns & Outdoors Forum

Ok, yesterday AM I was engaging in one of my retirement past times, arguing on the internet, and I was told that Oswald could not have done it because no one can shoot a bolt action ww2 rifle accurately at the rate the Warren commission says happened from the Zabruder film.

This afternoon I was practicing some offhand sweating some weight off. When I got done, I got a wild hair.

So, set the stage. Oswald had a rest, a scope, an 81 yard target that was for arguments sake 10 MOA high and 8 MOA wide moving slightly at an oblique at 11 mph. He missed once. The time between the 2 hits from the film frames was 4.8 to 5.6 seconds. A Carcano full rifle like he was using with the correct 6.5 bullets, will shoot pretty well. Not as well as a Rem 700 although with newer 700's that is debatable. But it will hold under 6 moa easy, at least the one I shot did. 6.5 Carcano is .004 larger than US std. Hornady used to run them once a year. They got a bad rap because US companys were loading ammo that was to small to engage the rifling.
range
200 yards, Xring is 1.5 MOA, bone stock 03A3 down to the 1944 rebarrel. 150gr 06 soft point that has been in the basement for decades, sling and mat so I am the rest..

https://rumble.com/v7b1pua-warren-commi ... right.html
10 seconds for 3 hits, time between hits 5 sec, AKA dead on warren commissions guess and I didnt miss.

So hitting a target that is about 4x as large, even moving away is hardly out of the realm of possibility.

I like your experiment! There have been numerous documentaries that have made the same point but there's nothing more fun than doing it yourself.

Kinda how I looked at it

Well. . .the National Match standard course for rapid fire is 10 rounds in 60 seconds for 200 yards and 70 seconds for 300 yards, with a mandated reload somewhere in the middle, and a perfect score requires results of 1 MOA or better. Oswald would have needed something in the realm of a 4 MOA and was operating at about a third the distance. . . with a rifle pretty well suited to shooting at that distance.

But I lean more to the theory of Oswald making the neck shot, and the "pink mist" was caused by a negligent discharge from a AR15 in the Secret Service chase car whose agent lost his balance when the driver stomped on the gas..

In my mind it’s if Oswald did it.

It’s who told him to.
#tinfoilhat

CPJ 2.0 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:31 pm In my mind it’s if Oswald did it.

It’s who told him to.
#tinfoilhat

The same person (people) who told Ruby to take him out.

Bigslug wrote: ↑Thu Jun 11, 2026 12:46 pm Well. . .the National Match standard course for rapid fire is 10 rounds in 60 seconds for 200 yards and 70 seconds for 300 yards, with a mandated reload somewhere in the middle, and a perfect score requires results of 1 MOA or better. Oswald would have needed something in the realm of a 4 MOA and was operating at about a third the distance. . . with a rifle pretty well suited to shooting at that distance.

But I lean more to the theory of Oswald making the neck shot, and the "pink mist" was caused by a negligent discharge from a AR15 in the Secret Service chase car whose agent lost his balance when the driver stomped on the gas..

There was a whole book about that theory that I read. It actually made a lot of sense.

I do not remember, was Oswald supposed to be using military ammo? I do know that with my Carcano and military ammo you are lucky to hit a 12 inch target at 50 yards.

If I ever plan on committing a serious crime with a firearm in the future, I'll be sure to make sure my wife takes a picture of me holding the weapon while I hold up a current newspaper, just to authenticate the moment.

rberg wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2026 1:17 am I do not remember, was Oswald supposed to be using military ammo? I do know that with my Carcano and military ammo you are lucky to hit a 12 inch target at 50 yards.

As I recall, supposedly a Winchester equivalent to the mil spec load, sort of like the "Garand safe" M2 ball repro ammo being produced today.

Supposedly. . .

Bigslug wrote: ↑Thu Jun 11, 2026 12:46 pm Well. . .the National Match standard course for rapid fire is 10 rounds in 60 seconds for 200 yards and 70 seconds for 300 yards, with a mandated reload somewhere in the middle, and a perfect score requires results of 1 MOA or better. Oswald would have needed something in the realm of a 4 MOA and was operating at about a third the distance. . . with a rifle pretty well suited to shooting at that distance.

I used an SR which is a NM 200 target. The SR-3 is the same scoring rings with the 8 ring black to give the same sight picture at 300.

The 10 ring is 7 inches at 200. 3.39 MOA. To clean in 200 rapid its a 3 moa target in the sitting position from standing with a reload.

Oswalds target was approx 11moa high and 8 moa wide at 81 yards with the target moving almost straight away at 11mph, more if you include shoulders. He missed completely once from a rested static position and the neck could be called a miss. He wasnt NM material.

CPJ 2.0 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:31 pm In my mind it’s if Oswald did it.

It’s who told him to.
#tinfoilhat

No doubt in my mind the shot can be done. Why he got to that point is the only question that is relevant.

rberg wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2026 1:17 am I do not remember, was Oswald supposed to be using military ammo? I do know that with my Carcano and military ammo you are lucky to hit a 12 inch target at 50 yards.

Got a buddy with a Modelo 38. It will hold what Oswald needed to hold. Remember, he only hit twice, and the neck was a miss on an 11x8 MOA target, along with the one in the sidewalk.