Oswald's sack in the Sniper's nest.

[Martin Weidmann]

I didn’t see anything that required rebuttal. Unless I missed it, Mytton hasn’t responded to this thread at all since he posted the first one. This is unusual, I hope he is just busy and is okay.

This is definitely my own conjecture:

Going from memory, Ruth Paine has said that she doesn’t remember seeing the rifle in the belongings she transported to her house from New Orleans. And that she suspects the rifle could have been in the duffel bag. That makes sense to me. LHO could have disassembled it  (so that less of it would stick out of the top of the duffel bag) and further concealed it in the blanket before he packed it into the duffel bag. At some point the disassembled rifle (in the blanket) was removed from the duffel bag and placed on the floor of the Paine’s garage. If this theory is true, then LHO should have had a pretty good idea of how long to make the paper bag in order to conceal the disassembled rifle while transporting it into the TSBD.

Sealing both ends of the paper bag is your idea. It just doesn’t make sense to me that it was necessary or desirable.

Your conjecture fails to take in account that Michael Paine said he removed the blanket with content from Ruth's car and placed it in the garage. If you believe that the rifle was in a duffel bag, wrapped in a blanket, then what was the camping equipment that Michael Pained said he thought was in the blanket he took from the car?

[Martin Weidmann]

Even disassembled, the rifle would have been longer than the typical military duffel bag and therefore would have had to stick out exposed to view (it was not possible to completely hide it among his clothes). The typical bag like I was issued had 3 grommets spaced at ninety degrees apart around the top opening that were placed over a fourth grommet which included an integral elongated ring. This procedure closed off the top and then a hook with a spring closure attached to the end of the carrying strap was then hooked to the elongated ring over the grommets to secure everything. If something thin (like a rifle) needed to stick out because it was too long, one of the three grommets could be left off of the elongated ring to create a small opening so the rifle could stick out. And the remainder of the top opening would be closed. Wrapped up in a blanket among the rest of their possessions, it apparently didn't attract suspicion from the Paines. But it certainly wouldn't have looked like part of his clothing if he took it to the TSBD.

In my opinion, the genesis of the curtain rod idea came from seeing the Paine's curtain rods (which were stored on a shelf in their garage). The were enclosed in none other than brown shipping paper similar to the stuff used by the TSBD shipping department. It is easy for me to believe that LHO most likely saw those curtain rods in the garage at some point. And just as easy to believe that his idea for getting his rifle into the TSBD disguised as curtain rods came from seeing them and the wrapping paper operation at the TSBD. It was a decent idea that fooled Frasier, and, if questioned by coworkers, he could have said the same thing to them.

Do you also have an idea about how Oswald transported his rifle on a public bus to New Orleans without being noticed? And if you do have such an idea, why would he need another one to transport the rifle from Irving to the TSBD?

[Charles Collins]

Your conjecture fails to take in account that Michael Paine said he removed the blanket with content from Ruth's car and placed it in the garage. If you believe that the rifle was in a duffel bag, wrapped in a blanket, then what was the camping equipment that Michael Pained said he thought was in the blanket he took from the car?

It was Ruth Paine's conjecture (see my original statement below). I only added my opinion. If Michael remembered doing that, then the most likely answer is that Ruth's conjecture was not correct. The point is that it is possible that LHO could have sent it back disassembled in order to shorten the length so that it would be less likely to be recognized as a rifle. Or simply so that it would fit better in the blanket and/or station wagon.


Going from memory, Ruth Paine has said that she doesn’t remember seeing the rifle in the belongings she transported to her house from New Orleans. And that she suspects the rifle could have been in the duffel bag

[Charles Collins]

Do you also have an idea about how Oswald transported his rifle on a public bus to New Orleans without being noticed? And if you do have such an idea, why would he need another one to transport the rifle from Irving to the TSBD?

Well, let me see... ummm... maybe he could have transported it on the bus (disassembled) in his duffel bag wrapped in a blanket with one end sticking out....

[Colin Crow]

Going from memory, Ruth Paine has said that she doesn’t remember seeing the rifle in the belongings she transported to her house from New Orleans. And that she suspects the rifle could have been in the duffel bag. That makes sense to me. LHO could have disassembled it  (so that less of it would stick out of the top of the duffel bag) and further concealed it in the blanket before he packed it into the duffel bag. At some point the disassembled rifle (in the blanket) was removed from the duffel bag and placed on the floor of the Paine’s garage.

So now the duffel bag idea is not making sense to successfully transport the rifle.

[Jerry Freeman]

  I assume James Fetzer and the like are nice people.

Wrong. Fetzer is an idiot.

In 2013, officials of the University of Minnesota said that "Fetzer has the right to express his views, but he also has the responsibility to make clear he's not speaking for the university."[19] He is retired and no longer employed by the university.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Fetzer#Promotion_of_conspiracy_theories

[Jerry Freeman]

So now the duffel bag idea is not making sense to successfully transport the rifle.

What makes sense is--- Oswald never had a rifle. That would explain the transport issues.

[Charles Collins]

So now the duffel bag idea is not making sense to successfully transport the rifle.

Not into the TSBD “hidden amongst his clothes” as was suggested. Because of its length, it would have stuck out of the bag (not be hidden) and he might be questioned about what it was. Then he would have had to come up with a story anyway (curtain rods wrapped up in a blanket??). The paper bag was a more believable story because it looked similar to the wrapped up curtain rods he likely saw in the garage and what someone might expect curtain rods to be contained in.