Hathcock appeared to have had trouble duplicating the shooting. Perhaps he used a 5-6 second time limit that many have believed in since the book Six Seconds in Dallas. But another good shooter, Michael Yardley, using his best timing estimates, did not find it that difficult as mentioned in his magazine. Yardley clearly implied the Carcano was by no means a top-of-the-line gun, but it was sufficient in his 7-8 seconds testing. The following quote is from Yardley’s magazine.
“Regular readers of this magazine may remember that some years back, I was also in Dallas on the Kennedy trail. On that trip, I proved that the shots could be made with the 6.5mm Mannlicher Carcano rifle allegedly used by Oswald and fitted with a cheap ‘tin-whistle’ 4 power telescopic sight.
I made them repeatedly (half a dozen times) in the required 7-8 second time frame firing from the correct height, at the correct ranges at a vehicle moving at the correct speed using an exact replica of the Oswald rifle and scope and identical ammunition. On the first run, I hit the head target as a crossing shot at about 45 yards (which apparently Oswald missed), I also connected on the next two shots at 60 plus 90 plus yards respectively. [We did the shooting on a specially built range at the levy in Dallas - where Oswald is believed to have practiced for the shooting.]
The declared second shot - if you believe the Warren Commission official Report - was at an oblique angle (the famous magic bullet shot). It allegedly went through JFK’s back exited at his throat and went on to hit Governor Connally. The third shot - and many have suggested that there may have been more - was the killing shot where JFK’s head apparent is pushed back (leading to many suggestions that there was a second gunman positioned forward of the presidential cavalcade).
Here’s my bottom line from experience of using the weapon system. The Carcano is a poor gun, and the optical sight found upon it (as presented as evidence) was even worse - the sort of cheap thing with a moving reticule that was once used on air-rifles (I had something similar on my BSA Airsporter when I was a kid). The gun is up to the task, however - just. And, the shots with it are possible within the given time frame. I have made them again and again. Other reports notwithstanding, I believe any competent rifleman would have had a good chance of connecting at least once.”
If Yardley had tried the test taking 10 seconds, perhaps he may have found that a competent rifleman would have had even an easier time in getting those results.
Hathcock appeared to have had trouble duplicating the shooting. Perhaps he used a 5-6 second time limit that many have believed in since the book Six Seconds in Dallas.Perhaps?
But another good shooter, Michael Yardley, using his best timing estimates, did not find it that difficult as mentioned in his magazine.Estimates?
Yardley clearly implied the Carcano was by no means a top-of-the-line gun, but it was sufficient in his 7-8 seconds testing.So he is going with his own estimate to determine what the time-frame for the three shots was?
I made them repeatedly (half a dozen times) in the required 7-8 second time frameOswald is supposed to have made the shots, using a just re-assembled Carcano, in one go. No trials, no test firing and no repeated attempts.....
On the first run, I hit the head target as a crossing shot at about 45 yards (which apparently Oswald missed), I also connected on the next two shots at 60 plus 90 plus yards respectively.So, Yardley couldn't replicate what Oswald is supposed to have done in one go?
[We did the shooting on a specially built range at the levy in Dallas - where Oswald is believed to have practiced for the shooting.]Where is the evidence that Oswald practiced for the shooting? And how would he have been able to practice if the rifle is supposed to have been stored in Ruth Paine's garage from late September to a day before the assassination?
The gun is up to the task, however - just. And, the shots with it are possible within the given time frame. I have made them again and again.What "given time frame"? The one he estimated?
Other reports notwithstanding, I believe any competent rifleman would have had a good chance of connecting at least once.”What he seems to believe isn't really of any significance if he leaves out of the equation that the shooter only had a couple of seconds using a re-assembled rifle which allegedly had been stored in a garage, where it was moved around several times.
If Yardley had tried the test taking 10 seconds, perhaps he may have found that a competent rifleman would have had even an easier time in getting those results.Only 10 seconds? Why not 15?... Oh wait, the problem the WC had (which caused the SBT) is that, according to them, the shooter only had enough time to fire 3 shots. There may well have been more shots, but the WC did not want to explore that possibility.
