Ryan Crowe

Thanks James, Heck who knows, maybe something will pop up, interesting bunch of characters one meets at a shooting range LOL

Dixie was talking about the Palmdale/Lancaster guys, these people are still there training, I was asked one time to come join them but turned them down, from what I gatherd was they are militia types with ex special forces guys training these people, I have heard these are some serious folks, they feed you the "we arent anti U.S.A" But momma didnt raise no fool if ya know what I mean. Just thought I would let you know that these guys still exist out there in the desert, dont know about Barstow, but I have heard of a place that a guy mentioned called "Black Hills" out in Barstow, that is a "training facility". The reason it has stuck in my head all this time is "Black Hills" is the name for a famous ammunition company. I taught the guy what ammo to use and a brief lesson in skip shooting with a shotgun under cars etc. Anyway we got to talking and he pointed out a young girl who worked at the range, he said she had been to Black Hills also, She was a nasty lil thing with a handgun. What caught me the next week as I went back to the range as I do every week, and this same girl was all smiles and asked if I was a cop LOL, which was wierd as I had seen her NUMEROUS times as she worked at the range and she never asked me that.(cops get discounts) Anyway just thought I would mention this.

What about Felipe Vidal, didnt he admit to being part of the hit on Kennedy while being held in prison by Castro?

Hi Al, This has always struck me as strange, If one practices as much as the WC tried to make us believe Oswald did, then something would have turned up , empty ammo cartons, cleaning rods, bore patches, cleaning solvents, oil , etc. Of all the years ive been shooting, I never seem to get rid of something after I clean up after a shoot, just last night I found my bushing wrench for my 1911 that I was looking for for 6 months lol, and a set of NM sights for one of my M1's . I had stored these in a box in the garage and for the life of me couldnt remember where I placed them. IMHO Oswald was told to order that rifle, nothing more, nothing less. It reminds me of how the gangbangers work over here, telling the little guy to "hold" this until I need it. As they dont want anything linking them to the gun while not in use. It just makes no sense if Oswald owned that rifle and shot it as much as the WC said he did, that there was not "extras" found........Makes no sense. And his revolver goes right along with this....... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ryan, You may have a point about the rifle. I don't think there's any question in my mind LHO ordered it and had it in his possession. It gets pretty foggy after that. For someone that's been around guns, a cleaning kit is an essential. For someone who's not, who knows? Know of any of those gangbangers who sit around the kitchen table smokin crack cleaning their pistol after going to Wal Mart to buy a cleaning kit? Al, One thing I forgot to ask in my answer to your post... Since you been involved in many criminal investigations, how often have you gone to a crime scene at a house where gunplay was involved, and not found a cleaning kit or a box of ammo? RJS <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey Richard, Exactly right, IMHO Oswad knows from being in the Corps that a rifle must be kept clean, but again no cleaning supplies. LOL On the gangbangers, all they know is where the trigger is at, what I was talking about was Oswald hanging onto the gun, Having him order it and keeping it with him links him to it, while the real dirt bags use it when need be giving it back to Oswald for "safe keeping" if you know what I mean. LOL Gangbangers and cleaning supplies for firearms go together as well as they do with classical music.

Hi Al, This has always struck me as strange, If one practices as much as the WC tried to make us believe Oswald did, then something would have turned up , empty ammo cartons, cleaning rods, bore patches, cleaning solvents, oil , etc. Of all the years ive been shooting, I never seem to get rid of something after I clean up after a shoot, just last night I found my bushing wrench for my 1911 that I was looking for for 6 months lol, and a set of NM sights for one of my M1's . I had stored these in a box in the garage and for the life of me couldnt remember where I placed them. IMHO Oswald was told to order that rifle, nothing more, nothing less. It reminds me of how the gangbangers work over here, telling the little guy to "hold" this until I need it. As they dont want anything linking them to the gun while not in use. It just makes no sense if Oswald owned that rifle and shot it as much as the WC said he did, that there was not "extras" found........Makes no sense. And his revolver goes right along with this.......

I'll drink to that James, I think the fact that De Torres played with the Garrison investigation, im sure finding out who suspects and witnesses were in Garrisonns case is HUGE. As they ended up dead or ended up not wanting to talk after all, shows me he was most likley a clean up man covering him and his buddies tracks.

Is this the same Pamela Ray that thinks the new Los Angeles Police Dept training facility is a secrete prison that nobody knows about that is located off the 5 fwy in Sylmar California?

James, The young man next to Oswald kinda resembles a young Seymour....But then what do I know, I cant even see badgeman half the time LOL.

Any idea on what Hall's cause of death was?

James, You beat me to it LOL, I was just searching for such story and found it and was ready to post it here LOL. This article was wriiten in 1989 , I wonder what old Loren is doing now...Hmmm or Anybody know how to get in touch with Mr Lee Hancock to see if he has any news on Hall after he wrote that article?

Wasnt Hall wanted for Meth dist. or something to that effect awhile back? I think his son was caught but Hall was MIA. What is classic in the Hall interview is he denies Hemming, then looses his cool and says he has known him for 15 years, what also is classic is he mentions more then once of getting his head blown off for talking, heck all Weberman was asking was if he knew Hemming . It seems Hall feels that if he talks about Hemming in any detail he is going to be killed, I have a feeling there isnt much love between them LOL.

Yes the Gunny has passed on and is protecting heavens gates. What alot of folks dont realize is, he had 3 confirmed at 2500 meters....

Im sure many have lied at there death bed, especially to loved ones, if you think about what can happen to say your daughter if she decides to tell the truth, she can end up dead herself. One of the things that sticks out in the photo James posted is the guy has HAIRY arms, Like the man associated with Alpha 66. I dont recall Holt having dark hairy arms like that from the pictures I have seen of Holt.

I just watched this film showing Oswald with this group, I paused the film and the first number of the address on the door is 5.. I cannot see the last two numbers on the door. There is no doubt after watching that film that it is Celso Hernandez, imho Celso Hernandez and the unknown Aplha 66 associate picture James posted is the same man. When one watches the film on dvd it is VERY clear, in that film before these guys walk out of this office Oswald is standing inside leaning against a wall, they look at Oswald and then look at the camera and then head out the door.

That was excellent James, Thanks for posting the letter.

I would have to disagree with most of the above. In my experience the sabot is worthless as it is not accurate out of any rifle because it doesn't get the advantage of the lands and grooves aka rifleing which makes it a unstable projectile. That is the reason a shotgun with rifling is more accurate shooting rifled slugs then is a smooth bore with standard slugs. As far as Files and the .222 fireball and a shot from the knoll with a scope, again do you realize how hard this shot is useing a scope? One your FOV is VERY small,l eading/or trying to pan a shot with poor FOV being small on a moving target makes it it very difficult,and to say he had seen his shot hit is laughable as any experienced shooter will tell you once you fire the round you will loose your LOS IMMEDIATELY. A experienced shooter would use open sights for this shot IMHO as it would be easier to pan and lead with a open FOV at such close range. I have shot under this same type of conditions while training under stress fire on a moving target moving across, away and towards. With a scope its VERY difficult at close range as one will loose his LOS with different movements of the target because the FOV is so small,with open sights this is much easier but still difficult. With greater distance and a elevated position one must have alot of range time and training to shoot from a elevated position on a moving taget like the 6th floor, scope adjustments, pan, lead etc is something that takes skill and ALOT of practice. This is why Gunny Hathcock and fellow Marine Snipers could not duplicate what the WC said the shooter(Oswald) did in that amount of time, and he wasn't using a Carcano, probably the M40A1. Files claims that he actually had seen his round hit the president in the temple, again impossible as the recoil from the fireball would loose his LOS let alone his short FOV. One Shot One Kill is not a motto I would use for the assassination, more like Ambush. The Carcano nor any other rifles could have made the shots from the 6th floor like the WC said they did. Ask fomer Marine Sniper Craig Roberts about this and ask him what Gunny Hathcock's results were after trying to duplicate the shots. Now saying that a unstable (Sabot) round could have made those shots is not even a issue as its impossible. Craig Roberts also tried to dulplicate this task and had no succes like the WC said Oswald did, he tried it with the Carcano and his Rem 700 in .308 IMHO the Carcano was used to plant the evidence, were shots fired from the 6th floor? I would say yes as there is a lot of witness testimony to that. To score hits on a moving target that is moving away from the shooter is probably the most difficult shot to make, this might explain why the Gov was hit as the shooter didn't know how to pan/lead on a target moving away which ended up with shots over the president. If one believes Ed Hoffman and what he saw that day he said the the weapon was taken apart and then hidden. As far as Black Ops using a Sabot round,maybe at close range on a non moving target,but from the shooters I know and have shot with (Marine Snipers) (Army Snipers) they would tell you other wise If you do a search on a thread I started Ballistics/Marksmanship 101 you might want to read that as it will give you a better understanding. These are just my opinions from my experience behind a rifle.

Excellent stuff guys, Was Robert Oswald ever asked who this man was?

I always felt this was interesting regaurding Oswald and 544 Camp St. THE HSCA QUESTIONS SAM NEWMAN Cornwall: I know that initially you were asked questions about whether or not LEE HARVEY OSWALD had ever been in your building or even temporarily had space there. Newman: He did not have any space. He could have been connected with the Cubans. But if he did, I didn't know anything about it. Cornwall: Let me explain to you just so there is no misunderstanding. Whatever you stated on that subject previously wasn't under oath and this is, we are not conducting a criminal investigation. We are just trying to find out what the facts are. You are not suspected by our committee of engaging in any illegal activity. All we want to do is unscramble the events as best we can. Newman: I wouldn't have known LEE HARVEY OSWALD if I had seen him at that time. I might have seen him. I don't know. I had a lot of people in and out and I wasn't around there that much. Cornwall: A number of people who were directly or indirectly associated with the building or its occupants have indicated that he was there for at least a short period of time. Newman: Who do you mean, people that occupied -- some people that rented the place, you mean? Cornwall: Yes. Newman: That he was there? Cornwall: That he was in the building and had space for a short period of time. Newman: From me? He didn't rent no space from me... Cornwall: Do you recall the event when OSWALD was arrested in New Orleans in the summer of 1963? Newman: I remember that. Cornwall: You remember he was passing out --- Newman: Pamphlets with the 544 Camp Street on it; that was news to me. So he had to be connected with the Cubans. He didn't have no space, no rented space from me. Cornwall: What did you do to investigate that, just for your own curiosity, when you found out he was down passing out pro-Castro literature. Newman: I didn't do anything. If it happened, he had to be with the Cubans, that's the only place he could have been. Cornwall: What kind of Cubans were those? Newman: Some Cubans and some Americans. American people connected with it. Cornwall: Guy Banister was a conservative, it that correct? Newman: I think so. Cornwall: And he is the one that asked you to allow this Cuban group to have space. Newman: He said they was good friends of his. Cornwall: They were also conservative, correct? Newman: Yes. Cornwall: And conservative in the sense that, in particular, they were anti-Castro; weren't they? Newman: That is right. Cornwall: The literature however, was pro-Castro, wasn't it. Newman: I don't remember. Cornwall: It was liberal, it was left-wing literature, right? Newman: Left-wing. Cornwall: Why would you have assumed then that the left-wing literature and OSWALD was associated with this Cuban group in your building which was clearly anti-Castro? Newman: I couldn't say he was with the Cubans. I'm not sure. If he wasn't with the Cubans, he was with Banister. Banister had a lot of characters in and out of there. Cornwall: That would not have made sense either, would it? Newman: Why? Cornwall: Because Banister was not left-wing, he was conservative, right? Newman: You are right. But you couldn't tell much about Banister. Cornwall: Well, tell us what conversations you had with Banister after that event, relating to it though. Newman: After what? Cornwall: After it was discovered OSWALD was on Canal Street passing out pro-Castro literature. Newman: I never discussed it with him. He was a peculiar person. He didn't want you to discuss anything with him. That's the kind of guy he was. Cornwall: Other persons who were in the building and were associated with Banister have told us that Banister was very upset when he found out about the pro-Castro literature with the Camp Street address stamped on it. Newman: Could have been. I don't know much about it. Edward Suggs can tell you about that. He was in Banister office 90% of the time; every day almost. [NARA HSCA 180-10101-10379]

Hi Chris, I think what Lee was asking about is the Sabot round that is when someone inserts a plastic collar into a larger caliber casing in order to fire a smaller caliber bullet. The problem with these rounds is there are not stable and doesnt get the spin from the rifling so its accuarcy suffers greatly. I believe there was a spent 7.62 casing with a sabot collar on it found on a roof of a Daley Plaza building in the 70's, Not sure of a exact date. Looks like me and you are on the same page here, from the photos that show the smoke it looks like someone had there mind else where and forgot to run some clean patches to remove the oil from there barrel.

Hi Lee, 1) The smoke IMHO came from a well oiled barrel, when ones cleans a rifle/barrel usually one runs a oiled patch threw the bore to keep rust away,this is something one forgets about from time to time and when fired can create a good amount of smoke.The Remington Fireball would be the LAST weapon I would want to use in a situation like that. 2)Same answer as above,IMHO why waste the noise of a fire cracker when one could be shooting. 3)Yes this is possible but IMHO The MC was used,but only to link that rifle back to Oswald.One has to read between the lines when listening to Hemming: )IMHO the shots that the WC said that came from the 6th floor is IMHO impossible,sabot or no sabot.This scenerio was tested by the best and could not be duplicated. 4)I will assume you are speaking of a 1911 .45acp? No this wouldnt make a entrance the size of a peach,the 1911 fires a 230 grain fmj around 850-900 fps making it a slow and heavy round, plenty of knock down power with a well placed shot but not with a entrance of a peach,about a little over the size of the round with a exit the size of maybe a ping pong ball maybe smaller. Yes it would exit the back of the head, the skull is fragile and will explode when hit with a fast moving projectile as there is more kinetic energy/rifle round. Hope that may answer your questions Lee, I try to make my answers more simple and not get into all of the ballistic terms as it can create confusion and thats something we dont need any more of

Hi Antti, I beieve Hemming said that Hall had taken his rifle (the Johnson) and was headed to Dallas.James Richards would be the guy to answer this question for ya, Here is a little history on the Johnson rifle. The US Army tested the Johnson Rifle exhaustively in 1938 at Fort Benning, comparing it's functions with early "Gas trap" M1 rifles. These tests found a few weaknesses to the overall Johnson design but the army was impressed by the concept, inviting Mel. Johnson to re-submit the design for further testing at a later date . With the failure of the design to win acceptance with the US Army and later the Marine Corps., Johnson successfully sold the rifle, now the M1941, to the Dutch for use in the Far East colonies with their Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch leger (KNIL - The Netherlands East Indies Defence Force) troops who were commanded from the Island of Java, in what is now Indonisia. The rifles and machine guns that were delivered saw extensive use against the Japanese before the Dutch colonies were overrun. The undelivered rifles and machine guns intended for KNIL use were now impounded at Cranston. This large consignment of semi-automatic rifles and selective fire machine guns caught the eye of the USMC and a quantity of each were obtained from the embargoed stocks.These weapons were used to equip the fledgeling USMC paramarine units. The 1st Parachute Battalion USMC, was issued the Johnson 41 LMG at the following levels- "Gun, machine, .30-caliber, Johnson, light" - HQ Company ...........................................6 guns Parachute Companies ..............................81 guns The level of issue of Johnson rifles is not known from the data that details the LMG issue scale. This Battalion was also issued with 565 " Gun,submachine, .45 caliber, w/folding stock" (presumably Reising Model 55's). The USMC used these rifles and LMG's in their Solomon Islands campaign and for a short time afterwards until M1 rifles were obtained in numbers. An Interesting fact can be found in the 1943 edition of "The Blue Jackets Guide" were in the naval weapons section there is a picture and description of the Model 41 Johnson rifle . The text also states quite plainly that the M1 rifle was not a standard naval weapon, which adds another quirk to the Johnson story. But here is whats the most interesting when it comes to the Johnson rifle, During the 1960's invasion of Cuba the CIA armed the cuban exiles who took part in the "Bay of Pigs invasion" with large quantities of both Johnson 41 rifles and '41 LMG's. It is hoped that a still photo can be obtained of this, as movie footage exists showing these irregular troops with the weapons has been seen by a number of people who have told me of this fact.

Ryan, A few things I can add here - The shots from the alledged sniper's nest were not only difficult because the target was moving away but add the difficulty of the target also moving down an incline (towards the underpass) and following the curvature of the road (left to right I believe). As an example compare the difficulty of shooting skeet to shooting trap. The MC was a terrible choice as a sniper weapon because it is not a "high powered rifle", it's a carbine. Carbine's such as the M1 are great for close quarters fighting because they have shorter barrels and are lighter than rifles. They are lousy sniper weapons. If I had been a shooter from a elevated position and I was serious about my business I'd probably have taken the "tried and true" weapon that had been the choice of snipers through the three previous major conflicts, the Springfield '03. I'm also highly suspicious of the fact that we're supposed to believe that Oswald, despite his military training, would have attempted his "mission" with four rounds in a clip which holds six rounds. I'll try and find the WC testimony - there's a passage with one of the FBI agents describing the problem that they had with the MC scope. It wasn't zeroed. They listed the ranges that they tested it at and the amount of "kentucky windage" needed to hit a bull. Funny thing was that they fudged some of the numbers and if you know where to look it'll jump right out at you. I'll scare it up. Keep up the good work. Chris <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Chris, You said.... The shots from the alledged sniper's nest were not only difficult because the target was moving away but add the difficulty of the target also moving down an incline (towards the underpass) and following the curvature of the road (left to right I believe). As an example compare the difficulty of shooting skeet to shooting trap. Exactly correct, what alot of folks do not realize is that the FOV is very small through ones scope at this distance, with the limo moving the way it was, changing speeds and after each shot most folks do not realize what it takes to find ones LOS/target after each shot,let alone get back into position.The MC was pure Garbage,and what I always hear in the shooting community is a 12 dollar rifle for a million dollar job. As for the M1 Carbine, you are correct this is a lousy long rage rifle and only good for CQB, plus its cartridge is nothing more then a beef up .38 The M1 Garand 30-06 is a different beast on its own, a rifle I am very familiar with, very accurate in the right hands.This rifle was also used in WW2, Korea and Vietnam as a Sniper rifle. The only problem I have with the Garand being used is its empties being ejected,but its quick break down is something that is valuable in a situation like this, which only takes a quick pull of the trigger housing and its in two half pieces. The only thing that was a set back for the Garand was its optics and there location,If you were not right handed well then forget it But great out to 600 meters with or without optics, plus you get quick follow ups. If I was in the 6th floor that day,I would have been a on looker as that position is flat out horrible.Also with the range within the Grassy Knoll and the limo I would not even use a scope as it would be useless and make things even more difficult. The 03 is a great and very accurate rifle that is definetly tried and true,and not a bad choice by anymeans even today, I would never feel "under accurate" with the 03. Excellent post Chris,and thanks for adding your comments.I myself sometimes find it hard to describe to non shooters the assassination scenerio, im more of a hands on type of shooter,Glad your here. Ryan

Hi Folks, My name is Ryan Crowe, I have really found interest in the JFK assassination after a friend pointed out the shooting scenerio to me.I looked into the scenerio of what the WC said Oswald achieved and through fellow shooters and myself realized it couldnt be done that way. I have been shooting high power rifle comps for 14 years, I have learned alot from shooting along side of Military and Police Snipers and have trained/coached under them as well, I also teach private handgun lessons. I have studied and continue to study the ballistics of handgun and rifles and there capabilities. I have also studied military firearms which is my biggest hobby,the firearms which I have studied range from WW1 to present,one rifle that I enjoy shooting in High Power comp at 600 meters is the M1 Garand.The rifle I use for Long range comps beyong 600 meters is a custom built Rem 700 in .308 caliber. I have been asked in what some say is my experties in firearms to either desribe certain firearms in photos related to people who might be involved in the assassination to there capabilities, Basically all shooting aspects of the assassination. My main reason in being here is to describe to the non shooter the shooting aspect of the assassination,I will try my best in helping anyone who might have a question or questions. Thank you, Ryan Crowe

A better explanation of the south knoll shot,also when I said flat trajectory I say this as a longer shot as Grassy knoll shot would be very close makeing it seem a little more downward of a angle. To recreate this for the throat shot, I found that the angle of the moving limo to the shot origin I came up with was minimal but the speed of the limo was between 14-15mph. This would have caused, in my estimation, a azmuth offset of under 2min and no elevation change due to the high elevation of Elm at this point. FOr the headshot, the angle was almost doubled, but the speed of the limo had decreased to roughly 7mph to compensate. This again would give an azmuth offset at roughly 2min but an elevation offset of roughly 1min, due to the lower elevation of Elm at this point and the decreased distance, creating a greater angle. As you would be aware, these minimal adjustments would be easily overcome by the visual tracking and minimal surveillance of the terrain. This would however explain the shot impact to the left side of his head, due to the drastically changing speed of the limo just prior to impact. It would be likely that the shooter overcompensated. This is also why I believe the knoll shooter missed, as the angle was much greater and the distance was much shorter, so the decrease in speed would have been much more difficult to pan as the shot was going off, causing the shooter to miss in front of the target. This is explained by a fellow shooter,as I am just to darn sick to think straight Hope this explains things a little better.

Mr Simkins, One last thing, Where you asked about another rifle from the 6th floor being able to make those shots, I was thinking bolt action (not thinking clearly) If a very skilled shooetr was up there with a M1 Garand (using this rifle as it was common back then)Then I would have to say that they would have a better chance,but again those shots were very difficult and I still dont think it could be done. Also on shooter location and shots fired question,The only thing other then the rythm shots (canyon shooting) is using a rifle like the M1 Garand where you have semi auto capablities for quick follow up shots.