Why the first shot missed

[Zeon Mason]

So I understand it right,  that an earlier closer shot at the JFK limo just beginning to start down Elm st , would actually be a MORE difficult shot because the rifle sight would have to be moved  laterally FASTER than it would at a range 2x farther from the limo?

[Charles Collins]

So I understand it right,  that an earlier closer shot at the JFK limo just beginning to start down Elm st , would actually be a MORE difficult shot because the rifle sight would have to be moved  laterally FASTER than it would at a range 2x farther from the limo?

Yes, that is one factor that makes it significantly more difficult. Another factor is the steep angle of an early shot. If one believes that a shot was taken around Z133, then the assassin would have had to be standing up. And a standing shooting position is much less stable than a sitting position (on box D) with the left forearm supported by the boxes in front of the window.

[Michael T. Griffith]

Again, this is ludicrous. Even the WC balked at the idea that their sixth-floor gunman could have missed both JFK and the entire gigantic limousine with his first, closest, and easiest shot. The limo was 21 feet long and 6.5 feet wide!

Fast forward to 1979 when the HSCA's photographic evidence panel (PEP) admitted that a shot was fired while the limo was beneath the oak tree and that JFK begins to visibly react to this shot in the Zapruder film before the limo drives behind the freeway sign. This remains a devastating admission, which perhaps explains why this finding was so hotly debated inside the HSCA. Everyone realized the implications.

Yet, any honest person with decent eyesight can see that, yes, starting at Z200, JFK suddenly freezes his waving motion with his right hand, starts to bring his right hand toward his throat, and starts to rapidly turn his head to the left. During this same time frame, Jackie suddenly starts to turn her head from left to right to look at JFK. Most of the HSCA experts who analyzed the Zapruder film acknowledged that these movements meant that JFK must have been shot before Z190.

[Jack Trojan]

The answer is obvious. Oswald missed the 1st shot because his scope was misaligned. After he took the 1st shot, he saw a puff of smoke where the bullet struck the pavement next to the limo. He said to himself, "Damn it, I knew I should have practiced with the rifle and sighted in the scope ahead of time before trying to whack the POTUS. Any sharpshooter knows that!" Then he bolted in another round and used the iron sights instead and took the magic bullet shot. The one that entered JFK's back and out his throat. Oswald was now dialed in and waited for Greer to slow down the limo to the turkey shoot point (Z313) so multiple shots would sound like echoes and Oswald's 3rd magic frangible bullet would explode in JFK's head. That's some fancy shootin!

Oswald must have been a sharpshooter savant, too dumb to practice but quick-witted enough to improvise on the fly. With all those magic bullets, he was definitely a magician, to be sure!

[Andrew Mason]

The answer is obvious. Oswald missed the 1st shot because his scope was misaligned.

Spending time coming up with theories why the early first shot missed seems a bit premature.  You first have to explain why there is so much evidence:
1. that the first shot occurred after z186 and
2. that JFK quickly reacted to it, (and why there is no evidence that JFK continued to smile and wave after the first shot)..

See discussion under "The First Shot" thread where the consensus is that he first shot hit JFK and the issue is whether it occurred around z195 or so or as late as z222.