Qualifications: My Reply to Bob Vernon

[John Ritchson]

Greetings Bob:

Although I deign to cary on a 3rd party debate, on this [ONE] occasion I will do so

then I will take no further notice of [YOUR?] resident expert unless/until he posts his proofs and publishes his research for Peer Review, which must include his own personal experiences working with a WWII produced Terni made surplus M38 Carcano Short-Rifle, which he has never before fired, dissemble it and reassemble it with a dime as per the WC assertions just prior to firing it at a moving target from the proper elevated position, again as per the WC scenerio, and get off all three shots in the allotted time-frame hitting his target at least twice.

I would also recommend that he thoroughly study the Edgewood Arsenal Reports as well as the [sworn] deposition of the man in charge of those tests. [Note:] the gunsmith that reworked the alledged kill-shot Carcano not only had to reshim the offset scope but also had to rebuild the entire action due to the fact that it was in such poor working condition that it was concidered too unsafe to fire.

Between myself and my father we have rebuilt some 200 of those weapons over the the past 30 years and I've yet to see one that performs at best, even after

reworking, then as a one-shot deer rifle.

I am going to run your resident expert's replies past Col. Roberts so he can have a good laugh and I wish the Gunny was still alive so he could get in on the jocularity, as well as Frank de Haas. But, I definintly will run this by Al Carrier,

And Dave Emory over at Hornady, And Dick Casull if he is still around.

Bob, if this was simply a matter of opinion I wouldn't even bother with any of this but this man is attacking my credibility, qualifications, and my personal reputation in a public manner. In fact it seems to be downright personal, and I will brook no such nonsense from [ANYONE], [ANYWHERE], at [ANYTIME].

With All Due Respect:

************************************************************

********

K.B. wrote:[snip]> Paul, you have any cites to back this up? I am not as knowledgeable as you when it comes to ballistics etc, and I do not have an expert as Sam does to call re information John has posted, but I do have a few books and a bit of experience reloading and I have won my fair share of Turkey-shoots and as far as I have seen, John Ritchson is right on with everything he has posted that I have read. So who are your Carcano enthusiasts?

Greetings, One of the areas Mr. Burke and the rest of the LNers are real short on is authoritive cites in the relevent areas being discussed. Rather, their agenda appears to be one of debasement and denegration as examplified by their references to me as a Faker, Fraud, Cowardly Dog, and Buffoon all in a sophmoric attempt to trivialize and obfuscate the importance of my and other researcher's work in this case. These sort of tactics represent the last resort of those who know in their hearts the essential weakness of their case and are thus reduced to ad hominum, having failed to produce any real rebutal. For the record, I am constantly garnering feed-back and opinions from qualified professionals in the field of firearms ballistics to absolutely minimise any possibility of error before I even post an article.

I also make every effort to clearly separate qualified facts and opinions from speculation and/or guess-work. Occasionaly I will fail in this effort as is the norm, but the body of my work remains intact and presents a damning indictment to those who would perpetuate the LN myth. Looking at the LN contingent, one sees an impressive array of individuals with credentials and qualifications in every area but the field of firearms ballistics, joined at the hip with the spook crew who post from positions of anonymity. Together, they would have us believe they represent a united front espousing the truth of the JFK assassination when in fact they are nothing more than a collection of bags of mostly hot air with about as much substance as a fart in the wind.

Personally I think they know they have already failed to prevent the truth from coming out and are simply engaged in damage control by saturating this forum with BS in an ineffectual attempt to keep relevent discourse to a bare minimum, as well as using their under-handed tactics to create an unsavory atmosphere whereby new readers will be put off from joining in the discourse. Be that as it may, I'm resolved to undo that sort of mischief, at least as far as the ballistic evidence is concerned, by adding a relevent professional perspective to the JFK case. To that end, I've gained the support of a number of world-class people with impeccable credentials and unassailable reputations in their various fields of expertise. A list of those who have contributed to my work is as follows:

Alan Horst, German action specialist and old world gunsmith who declares that one may spend over a thousand dollars reworking a M38 surplus Carcano and still be left with a hundred dollar gun. [Note:]For a varifiable professional alternative opinion of the WWII M38, Alan can be reached at 406-454-1831. Frank de Haas, who started out in this business as a hobbiest after -WWII and ultimately became a world renown authority on center-fire turnbolt action rifles with the publication of his book, Bolt Action Rifles, which is now an almost universally held reference manual on the subject. He is a contributing editor of The American Rifleman, and has his shop in Orange City, Iowa.

Richard Hobbs, concidered by many including Carcano historian, Alexander Eichener, as a world authority on the Carcano rifle who after examination of CE-139/C2766 concluded it was in fact, a Moschettieridel Duce Carcano of Mussolini's Gardia del Duce, and not a cheap surplus field rifle that would be sold in a Chicago sporting goods store. [Note:] I believe there is an address and Phone# for Richard posted on Alexander Eichener's Carcano web-site.

Wolfgang Droege, founder of the Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing Co, Big Timber, Montana and creator of the Buffalo Rifle for Tom Selleck's movie, "Quigley Down Under" who also presented a custom 45-70 gold inlayed Creedmoor Rifle to former president Ronald Reagan.[Note:]Even though Wolfgang is not a Carcano expert per se he does make some of the world's most powerfull rifles and anyone who doubts the concept of knockdown power should see one of these rifles in action.

Richard Casull, founder of Freedom Arms, Freedom Wyoming and creator of the world's most powerfull revolver, the .454 Casull Magnum and like Wolfgang Droege has forgotten more ballistics than most people will ever know.[Note:] Dick openly scoffs at the idea firearms lack knockdown power and is more than happy to give critics a taste of the power of his remarkable pistol which performs on par with many rifles.

Wayne Leek, ballistician for the Remington Arms Company and creator of the Fireball XP-100.[Note:] even though Wayne is closed mouthed about the disposition of many of his proto-type XP-100s he is more than happy to expound upon the performance capabilities of one of the world's most powerfull and accurate varmit *HANDGUNS* which BTW, can be fired quite easily from a two-handed combat stance.

Bert Waldron, Sniper(US Army) 113 confirmed kills with a varified cartridge expenditure of 1.3 cartridges per kill, as compared to the world infantry expenditure of 10,000 to 50,000 cartridges per kill.[Note:] Bert can be contacted through the editor of Guns Magazine. Also, he is a quiet and unassuming person and if asked about jet-effect and retro-recoil he will just shake his head and smile, but his eyes speak volumes.

Craig Roberts, sniper(USMC) 26 year police veteran, specialist in sniper and counter-sniper tactics, author of the book, "Kill Zone" which is a professional sniper's perspective of the JFK assassination which blows the LN theory right out of the water.[Note:] I concider Craig a personal friend and collaborator on the JFK case, and I strongly recommend carefull study of his book. Craig can be reached via email at craig@ionet.net, if memory serves.

Carlos(Gunny) Hathcock, sniper(USMC) the Marine Corp's premier sniper with 93 confirmed kills including history's longest single kill-shot of 2,500 meters, nominated for the congressional Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam, former chief instructor of the USMC Sniper's School, at Quantico, Virginia.[Note:] Gunny Hathcock proved the impossibility of the LN scenerio during tests he personally conducted at Quantico and although he is now suffering from MS he is still more than happy to poke holes in the LN scenerio. He can be reached through Craig Roberts.

Dr. Joel Ham, professor of physics who wishes to keep his school out of the public debate but has proven by demonstratable scientific method the irrelevency of the jet-effect with respect to firearms ballistics.

Dr. George E Miller, professor of physics and supervisor of the nuclear reactor facilities at UC Irvine who is assisting me with my NAA evaluation of the ballistic evidence.

These are some of the people who I concider to be more or less in my corner, who roughly share my views on the subject of firearms ballistics and I urge the readers of this forum to carefully compare these qualified professionals with the collection of political scientists, piss doctors, jet mechanics, computer nerds, wannbes and nobodies that comprise the LN contingent and then ask yourself," Who then is best qualified to address the ballistic issues of the JFK case?" "Who then represents the more credible authority?" "Whose opinions possess the greater validity and are more deserving of serious concideration?"

Finally, I want to add that all of the derision, the snide innuendo, the ad hominum lables, the feeble attempts at denegration, the smart-ass remarks and week-kneed mockery heaped upon myself and the other serious researchers on this NG by the LN collection of misfits will not detract me one iota from my agenda and goal of seeing justice done in the JFK case.

With Regard:

John Ritchson(SSGT. 499th TC USATC HG US Army Class of 69)

(Gunsmith/Ballistican, [black Eagle, Gunworks]

(survivor of the SE Asian Games 11Bravo7-Tet 1970)

************************************************************

******

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds

new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it) but"That's Funny..."

Isaac Asimov

************************************************************

******

Posts in this topic

John ritchson Qualifications Today, 04:53 AM

[James Richards]

Gunny Hathcock proved the impossibility of the LN scenerio during tests he personally conducted at Quantico and although he is now suffering from MS he is still more than happy to poke holes in the LN scenerio. He can be reached through Craig Roberts.

Just to bring things up to date, Hathcock passed away in 1999.

James

[John Ritchson]

Gunny Hathcock proved the impossibility of the LN scenerio during tests he personally conducted at Quantico and although he is now suffering from MS he is still more than happy to poke holes in the LN scenerio. He can be reached through Craig Roberts.

Just to bring things up to date, Hathcock passed away in 1999.

James

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Greetings James:

Yes, I was infomed by Col. Roberts that the [Gunny] had gone on his final patrol after I got back online after having been away for some time. [May he rest in Peace]

He and my father both grew-up in Arkansas in the same neck of the woods as it were and both learned to shoot in order to put meat on the family table.

In the local jargon of the area they were known as squirrel-barkers in which one places the shot in such a manner as to not actually impact the squirrel but close enough that the impact shock-wave knocks out the squirrel and it drops out of the tree without damaging any of the meat.

His great strength as an effective sniper lay in his ability/patients to remain absolutely motionless for hours at a time under unbelievably adverse conditions waiting for the right moment to get off his shot, and I can't recall a single instance where he [Ever] needed a second shot.

Such was the caliber of the man, and such would have been the caliber of the man who actually killed JFK, and such was definintely [NOT] the caliber of Lee Oswald. On this point Al Carrier and myself are in absolute agreement; a point to which Col. Craig Roberts also concures.

Respectfully:

Edited January 25, 2005 by John Ritchson