Interesting Photos

[Robert Prudhomme]

Here is an interesting collection of photos shared with me by Bart Kamp.

http://www.prayer-ma...htbox[group]/1/

As best as I can tell, the rifle photos were taken from the 6th floor of the Dal-Tex Building. I looked closely at the cars in these photos and could not find anything newer than a '63 Chev Impala, meaning it is very likely these photos were taken not long after the assassination.

Notice anything unusual about the rifle?

[Ian Lloyd]

No foresight?

There seem to be cops milling around the street outside the TSBD and quite a few people standing around there...not sure if I see Robert West in one of the pics - I wonder if these were taken during one of the assassination reenactments?

Also looks like the scope is strapped on - can the bolt be operated and a cartridge ejected?

Edited May 11, 2016 by Ian Lloyd

[Gary Murr]

Hey Robert:

Portions of the Shel Hershorn Dal-Tex photo's were discussed a few years ago here on the Ed Forum. See the link below [if it works!]

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=2908

[Guest]

Thank you Gary, I will add this to my blog post.

Much appreciated.

[Robert Prudhomme]

No foresight?

There seem to be cops milling around the street outside the TSBD and quite a few people standing around there...not sure if I see Robert West in one of the pics - I wonder if these were taken during one of the assassination reenactments?

Also looks like the scope is strapped on - can the bolt be operated and a cartridge ejected?

Very observant, Ian! Yes, there is no foresight on the rifle, and the scope does appear to be fastened to the rifle with two wraps of tape. And no, the bolt cannot be opened and drawn back with that rear piece of tape in the way. Clearly, the scope was cabbaged onto the rifle merely for the photo session.

What is really interesting is the rifle itself. If you look closely under the stock, you can see a protruding box magazine that clearly identifies this rifle as a 6.5mm Carcano, although I do not think it is the same model as Oswald allegedly owned, that being an M91/38 short rifle. The barrel looks a bit too long to be a short rifle, although I could be wrong, and I would venture a guess it is a 6.5mm Carcano long rifle, either an M91 or an M91/41. Whatever it is, the stock has been customized and either the barrel cut short or, at the very least, the front sight removed.

The removal of the front sight is itself unusual. In 1963, scopes on hunting rifles were not that common, while it seems that everyone today owns one; to the point many rifles are made without sights, as they are unnecessary with a scope mounted. For this rifle not to have a front sight indicates someone intended to eventually mount a scope on it, although I hope they used something a bit more substantial than two wraps of tape to mount it.

So, if this rifle is a Carcano, that scope is not only poorly mounted, it is in the wrong location. As can be seen on C2766, it is necessary to mount the scope offset to the left to 1) allow the en bloc clip to be top loaded into the magazine and 2) to allow the bolt handle to stand up and be pulled back without running into the scope.

Now, if this rifle was intended to have a scope mounted on it, it tells us something else. If it was an M91/41, with standard twist rifling, cutting the barrel short would not have much effect on accuracy, and mounting a scope on this rifle would be a great idea. However, if it was an M91, with progressive twist rifling, cutting the barrel short removes the tightest part of the rifling, and this thing would be about as accurate as a slingshot. The only people who would waste a good scope by mounting it on this rifle are people who don't understand what progressive twist rifling is.

I seriously think these photos may have been taken shortly after the assassination. As I said earlier, the newest car I can find in these photos is a '63 Chevrolet Impala, and those would have been for sale in the showrooms in the fall of 1962.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Robert Prudhomme

[Robert Prudhomme]

Hey Robert:

Portions of the Shel Hershorn Dal-Tex photo's were discussed a few years ago here on the Ed Forum. See the link below [if it works!]

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=2908

Thanks Gary.

[Michael Walton]

Thanks for sharing these as I've never seen them before. 3/14 is especially interesting because the white car in the middle lane is in just about the right position of where the Z313 shot was fired.