How Fast Could Lee Harvey Oswald's Rifle Be Fired?

[Duncan MacRae]

An Interesting 1960's Analysis

[Fergus O'Brien]

This is an interesting question . Different people have different opinions on this topic im certain . For example some say WELL SUCH A RIFLE WAS FIRED ON YOUTUBE SEVERAL TIMES AND FASTER THAN OSWALDS SUPPOSED SHOOTING TIME . But such a test must be conducted firstly with the rifle in evidence and in the condition the rifle in evidence was in .In addition one must achieve a certain level of accuracy , remember Mr oswald is supposed to have had a neck and a head shot , so we need a certain amount of accuracy . Also i think the conditions of the 6th floor snipers nest need to be replicated .Such as kneeling on a hard Ply wood floor with a low sitting Window , and of course the confinement issues presented by not only Boxes but also by two Pipes sticking out from the wall at the left side of the window .

warren commission photos that i have seen show a Rifle mounted upon a stand , not merely leaning upon a box or boxes . no confinement issues really . I believe such circumstance would make shooting that bit easier and quicker .

And in terms of timing it would help if he had an accurate as is possible time for the first shot . In the above video the sequence is 103 frames long , thus shot one would be at about zapruder film frame 210 if i am not mistaken . But i know of no lone nut advocate who accepts that . The time has been pushed back to z160 some 50 frames prior by LN .And some try to push the timing back so far that the Limo would not yet have made the turn on to elm street .

I am inclined to think that the Warren Commissions 5.6 second time would be a bare minimal for 3 shots to be fired . I know Howard Donahue was reasonably close but he was an expert shot and oswald never was . And even at that CBS had to make the shooting easier .Jesse Ventura (and i know many will have views on him ) was also an expert shot both in earlier and later life and he found it difficult time wise .He said the rifle was a POS (many agree with him ) and he even hit a head shot .

So yes this is certainly an interesting question posed by Duncan and one that i am sure will be hotly discussed here , and i look forward to reading this discussion .

[Jack Nessan]

The FBI Tests of the carcano rifle by Frazier concluded the fastest the cycle time of the bolt of Oswald's carcano was 2.3 seconds, based on the fastest time of 4.6 seconds.

Mr. FRAZIER - Well, let me say this, I fired the rifle three times, in accordance with that system of timing it from the first shot with the chamber loaded until the last shot occurred--three times in 4.6 seconds, 4.8 seconds, 5.6 seconds, 5.8, 5.9, and another one a little over 6, or in that neighborhood. The tenth of a second variation could very easily be as a result of the timing procedure used. A reflex of just not stopping the stopwatch in a tenth of a second.

The numbers tell the story. Connally was wounded by the first shot, the shot that transversed JFK's throat. This is the only possibility.

[Jerry Organ]

I am inclined to think that the Warren Commissions 5.6 second time would be a bare minimal for 3 shots to be fired . I know Howard Donahue was reasonably close but he was an expert shot and oswald never was .

Donahue said the marksmen were given a few minutes to get used to the rifle, which most had never handled before. The familiarization was kept limited to ensure "fair" results on the firing course. Donahue also said it was really windy that day.

And even at that CBS had to make the shooting easier .Jesse Ventura (and i know many will have views on him ) was also an expert shot both in earlier and later life and he found it difficult time wise .He said the rifle was a POS (many agree with him ) and he even hit a head shot .

So yes this is certainly an interesting question posed by Duncan and one that i am sure will be hotly discussed here , and i look forward to reading this discussion .

Here's Ventura with James "Sandy Hook" Fetzer. We don't know how worn the bolt action is but we can see how heavy-handed Ventura was operating it.

[Fergus O'Brien]

So now should i call you a stalker ? lol .

We know CBS were less than honest in their approach to this test . And we know the results now . bolt jamming and even misfires . And they had several attempts , CBS did know mr oswald (who was not an expert as both crossman and donahue were ) could have only have had one yes ? .

[Michael T. Griffith]

The real question is, How fast could the rifle be fired accurately? In the one and only rifle test that used the actual alleged murder weapon itself, i.e., the WC's rifle test, which was done by three Master-rated Army riflemen, one of the shooters fired three shots in as few as 4.45 seconds, but he missed the head and neck area of the targets almost every time. As we see from the target boards themselves, the three riflemen missed the head and neck area of the targets 19 out of 21 times, even though they were firing at stationary targets, were firing from only 30 feet up, and took as much time as they wanted for their first shot.

When the Army's Ronald Simmons testified to the WC about the test, he tried to put the best possible face on the results. Yet, he admitted that, based on the riflemen's scores, the chances of scoring a hit on the third shot were 0.4, or 4 out of 10--and this was with Simmons' assuming that any bullet that landed inside the target silhouette was a "hit," even if it was far from the aiming point.

If you look at the later rifle tests that WC defenders claim duplicated Oswald's alleged performance, you quickly see that they did no such thing. None of them involved firing the actual alleged murder weapon itself. None of them involved firing in a cramped space nor through a half-open window. None of them involved riflemen who were considered to be no more than mediocre shots, much less poor shots, who had only rarely fired a rifle in the preceding year.