My mentor at a former job is a very dear friend, and as a life long resident of Dallas Texas, he loved to tell me stories of the town I just moved to. He said that a few decades ago he met an employee of the Texas Department of Education, who just so happened to work on the fifth story of the Texas Schoolbook Depository building. Yes, his office was directly under "that window". My friend asked him what it was like to work there. The employee said, "It's awful. Imagine working at your desk, standing up to take a break, and every time you look out the window, about a dozen strangers are pointing at you."
There was an employee of the depository, Harold Norman, watching the Presidential motorcade go by from that very window. He not only heard the three shots fired, but heard the bolt action of the rifle between the shots.
Well, I don't know about you, but I think the place should be demolished....The city most likely imagines that income is generated by tourists from that awful day....perhaps a small plaque in a new, smallish park would suffice. What say you, Jeff?
@@user6008 Where can I see that statement? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance. Edit: I went back and watched the video where Mr. Norman described what he heard. The video is on RUclips, it's called 'Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?', at 1:23:18 in the video he describes clearly hearing 3 separate shots fired from the window above. "Boom...click click......Boom.......click click.......Boom.......click click.........was how he described it.
If this becomes a series, an episode on the gun that Gavrillo Princip used to kill Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary would be a good follow up episode I think.
Back in the early and mid 60's I was a teenager and used to deer hunt with my father and uncles in Pennsylvania. They did not have a lot of extra money to buy new guns, and since most of them were WW2 vets, they bought and hunted with old WW2 bolt action rifles. My aunt actually hunted with an old Italian 6.5 rifle that was just like Oswald's rifle. I remember those days when you could buy a M1 Garand for $89.95. Same gun today will start at over $2000.00...
that's ridiculous. he did not correctly identify the origin of the scope and did not even bother to research how much ammunition Oswald purchased. poorly researched. he's just a grifter.
@@b2tall239 Mark THE MAN WHO KEEPS ON GIVING - cmon guys, the format IS not that hard :D Ps. I am Just having fun with utmost respect for people involved. Dont bother.
As I recall, the scope on the Carcano was not a WWll Italian scope , rather a one from a company in Hollywood, California. I believe I read that in the Warren Commission Report. The S&W Victory revolver was reworked into snub nose configuration post WWll. I think they originally had a 4” barrel. They were still on the surplus market as late as the 1980s . Note; they were chambered for .38 S&W, not .38 Special. In mid-1963 surplus WWll rifles were everywhere. $15 could buy you a Carcano, Mauser,Enfield SMLE or an M-1 carbine. Ah, the good old days.
@@WALTERBROADDUS True,the .38S&W was made for the British under the lend lease program,they had a 5 inch barrel,the .38 Special with a 4 inch barrel was made for the US forces.
The Carcano had to have the scope remounted so that the target could be seen in the scope at 70 yards! Personally i like to see the target in the scope IN THE MIDDLE OF CROSS HAIRS at any time but apparently he dint think it was needed to see the target he was shooting at! 🤦♂🤣
The 4-power telescope, made by Ordnance Optics, had been attached to the rifle by a gunsmith at Klein's Sporting Goods , was made in Japan and wasn’t an Italian scope
So the gov. just so happened to find Oswald and just so happened to place him as the shooter. The gov. didn't want to give the weapons up for examination by a third party none gov. agency, the gov. imprisoned the man who killed Ozy and he died in prison. Wow. just wow.
@Mae An so such thing as "federal chads". If you can't see that this is suspect as all hell then Idk whT else to say to you. Not that winning you over is imperative or anything.
@@777SFINN777 It was also reported (on the Boiling Frog IIRC) that Ruby had died of pancreatic cancer. At autopsy his organs were found riddled witn cancer, except oddly his pancreas. Apparently the "conspiracy" theory supposed that he had been injected with cancerious cells while awaiting trial. He never made it to trial.
Another amazing production by Mark Felton. An habitual abuser of RUclips, I watch way more YT in my retirement than I ever did television when I was employed. What I find astounding are the tight production values of every Felton Production. He nails his topic and usually in around ten minutes. An impatient and peevish person, I have seen (but not watched) many videos about very mundane subjects that hang in there for 13, 15, 19 minutes, all to explain how to get a wine stain out of one's shirt, or how to tie a knot that one can untie in three seconds. The economy of these videos, that doesn't play to the bottom feeders, but constantly tests the viewer who has been paying attention, by framing topics in ways that stimulate the the pedestrian history buff, but that also satisfy the professional historian. Thank you, Mark Felton. You are the best teacher I have ever encountered, and I was a university librarian and administrator for 43 years, and my speciality is at the opposite end of Mark Felton's deserved position as a brilliant thought-provoker and explainer. I could expand on any subject concerning academic administration, ad infinitum.
This is a fantastic idea for a series! From Vasily Blokhins Pistol to the derringer that killed Lincoln, there's a lot of infamous weapons with very interesting stories.
The scope was actually manufactured in Japan and imported into the US via a company in Hollywood, CA. called Ordnance Optics. It was actually a 4 X 18 scope designed for a .22 caliber rimfire rifle and was not at all suited to the 6.5 mm Carcano. The scope mount was also of Japanese manufacture, but was originally designed under a contract from the Chilean government for Mauser sniper rifles their army had in its possession. Klein's in Chicago was likely able to get these extra components on the cheap, and simply move them out the door for a few extra dollars above basic retail for the Carcano and turn a profit. But from any kind of a knowledgeable perspective, neither the scope nor the mount were really suited to the rifle in question.
FBI initial tests indicated the scope was badly misaligned to the rifle and Oswald couldn't have struck Kennedy with it. This misalignment could have been caused by the police sloppy handling of evidence. It's also entirely possible Oswald knew the scope was badly misaligned and used the iron sights instead. At the distance he is believed to have fired from, lethal hits were entirely possible. 86 yards is not a long distance for a practiced rifleman.
Thanks for answering a few questions for me. I've read in many publications that the scope " itself" was a cheap Japanese knock-off with very low power, as you said. We went to the book depository and it's very interesting to visit it for yourself. I don't know how much target shooting or hunting you do ( I target shoot, I'm not big on killing animals), then you'll know how difficult it is to hit a moving target at 80 yds. Especially with a cheap low power scope, and you're under a staggering amount of stress and pressure and terrified of what's going to happen to you afterward. How often did Oswald practice? Who sighted in the scope and at what distance? They also mention the gun being disassembled at one point. By whom? When? If you have a chance to go to the book depository, go. It really is a fascinating and unsettling look at our history up close. It's a tear jerker. Thank you very much for your input. Stay safe in this mad world.
@@828enigma6you can c look early see the head shot to the right of JFK's temple as an entrance shot in the zspruder film.Had it actually came from behind, Kennedy would have moved forward and there would have been a huge exit wound to the front of f his head.
I used to work a security job in Glenarden, MD. The building that stored these items (and many others) was part of our patrol area. One of the lobby guards and I became friends and he took me in the storage area once, to show me around. He showed me box these were in, and he opened it so I could see them. I didn't get to touch them, though. The building used to stand at the SW corner of Evarts St and Brightseat Rd, across from the Landover mall. I think there's a gas station or liquor store on that site now.
Good thing you didn't get to touch them. Your finger prints someday being found by one of the many crusading investigators could get you snared in the next conspiracy theory! 😏
@brianarbenz7206 Imagine that headline: "US Marine born 7 years after assassination of JFK gave Oswald rifle. DOD linked directly to murder in Dealy Plaza." 😆😆😆
@@scout3058 Some of the conspiracy believers would have gotten around that inconvenient fact. They'd claim a faked birth record, your chin being different in one picture than in another, or you name it.
Interesting video. Thanks for posting Mark. Just a couple of points: At 2:58 the video says that, "the rifle was found at the sniper's nest". The rifle was actually found between some boxes on the sixth floor near the top of the stairs at the north west corner of the TSBD, diagonally opposite the sniper's nest. At 3:37 the video says that, "Oswald was not found in the book depositary building". While climbing the north west stairs with the TSBD supervisor, Roy Truly, policeman, Marrion Baker, spotted Oswald standing in the doorway of the second floor lunchroom facing into the lunchroom. Baker aimed his gun at Oswald and told him to come forward. When Truly confirmed that Oswald was an employee, both Baker and Truly continued up the stairs to search the TSBD. Oswald then entered the back door of the clerical office, on the second floor, where he was seen by Jeraldean Reid. He crossed the office leaving via the office front door and went down the south east stairs to exit the TSBD at the front entrance. He was carrying an unopened bottle of coke.
@@2Tubist Oswald did prefer Dr. Pepper, but from the Warren Commission report, page 6: _Within about 1 minute after his encounter with Baker and Truly, Oswald was seen passing through the second-floor offices. In his hand was a full "Coke" bottle which he had purchased from a vending machine [on the west wall] in the lunchroom [on the second floor]._
A Dallas policeman interviewed said that when a roll call was done just after lunch (after the shooting) Oswald was the only employee missing. (Did he leave with his "curtain rods?")
The US FBI recently re classified all information on this for another 25 or 50 years. This tells me someone in the detail is still alive and they are protecting them.
@Proud Veteran KITDFOHS, our government is so bad right now with all the lies. It has progressively gotten worse over the last 30 years. I haven't watched US news sources for 17 years now, so I can get the known facts and unbiased opinion. Not false lies to spun a narrative that our news has become so great at doing
Listen to the blowback podcast season 2 covering the CIA’s relationship with the Kennedy’s through his term and their distaste for him after the bay of pigs and operation mongoose. It will make your hair stand up
Only one correction - the rifle was not discovered by the alleged snipers nest, it was found between boxes by the stairwell descending to the lower flows of the Texas State Book Depository building - this was an excellent documentation of this historical weapon.
There are actually multiple errors in this video. For example, he keeps referring to Oswalds handgun as a "pistol" . . . when it's a revolver. This makes me question the reliability of all of his videos . . .
@@QED_ My God man, give him a break, everyone makes little mistakes. Yet it makes you question his validity?? Besides, you should research for yourself and don't take anything anyone says as gospel
Infamous Weapons.. way to grab my attention again Mark. Please continue this series, and am stunned to see the growth your channel has experienced the last year or two. Hope you're living the good life!
I likee the way you tell histories stories !No romancing or anything like! Thank you for all the research and hard work on your videos! Keep them coming!
fun fact regarding the photo of the forensic officer holding the rifle above his head. The individual was simply bringing the rifle to the basement to hand it over to the FBI, when coming out of the elevator (or stairs?) he faced a horde of journalists waiting for an update from police so he raised the weapon up to prevent anyone from touching it. So he was not "showing off" as many thought...
Good thing he held Oswald's rifle up so nobody could contaminate it. Somebody might have contaminated Oswald's fingerprints which were clearly on the Carcano rifle!
@@radar0412 It was a palm print. The FBI found no prints on the gun. T he palm print showed up after a couple of Dallas cops took the gun to the funeral home where LHOs body was kept. According to the funeral home owner they cops put the palm print on the gun there.
Yep, was gonna post this. Question; was Ordnance Optics the importer for the 4x18 scope which was made in Japan?.....OO was not the manufacturer I'm guessing.
There are actually multiple errors in this video. For example, he keeps referring to Oswalds handgun as a "pistol" . . . when it's a revolver. This makes me question the reliability of all of his videos . . .
@@QED_ In fairness, mate - that's not a distinction a ton of people would make. I'm a gun nerd and I differentiate between pistols and revolvers, but not everyone does. Seems a slim reed upon which to hang a broad scepticism regarding Dr. Felton's entire work...
@@danjohnston3422 Sure . . . but here it's relevant because multiple cartridges were found next to Tippit's body. So "Oswald" shot Tippit . . . then stopped to eject each of the shells from the revolver (not pistol) so that police could find them later (?)
Small point - the rifle was not found right in the sniper's nest but hidden elsewhere on that same floor between boxes of books, and was on his route to exit the floor, so maybe a late thought to dump the gun instead of taking it with him.
Great episode but I'm disappointed that you didn't mention the other man allegedly murdered that day by Oswald, Dallas police officer J D Tippet. Hopefully in future episodes you'll discuss the FN1910 used by Gavrilo Princip to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, the guns used by the police in the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde, and the dueling pistols that resulted in the shooting death of Alexander Hamilton.
@@slowturtle6745 There never was an official investigation into the Tippit murder. Various eyewitness accounts (and an improbable sequence of events) contradict the "official" narrative.
The pistol was a surplus Smith and Wesson .38 caliber "Victory Model" (military version of the Model 10) that had been cut down to a snub nose. Thousands of these things were sold as surplus to gun stores and sporting goods after the war and given to gunsmiths for modifications to then be sold on the civilian market. You see them messed up in all kinds of ways - cut down barrels, nickel plating, cheap plastic "pearl handle" grips, etc. It's getting quite hard to find these things in just regular surplus condition anymore. They came with a gray parkerized finish, 4" or 5" barrel, plain smooth wood grips, and a lanyard loop of the bottom of the grip frame.
I've got one with a two inch barrel and front sight moved back. British Proofs and a British re-armored stamp. Either for armored use of pilot use. Later FTR'd at one point. Retains its parkerization with some wear. Was my first carry gun. Victory models also had V prefix before the serial number.
@@bad74maverick1 We had eight ex-British service ones in our Revolver and Pistol Club when I was at uni. Four had been 'targetised' and were worn out after heavy use. The other four were in unmodified service specification and lightly used. The best of those locked up really nicely and would shoot 1" groups at 25 yards.
@@derekp2674 Man I wish mine would do that! I'm glad it hit center mass at 50 feet lol. I have a spare surplus barrel I thought about taking it back to factory but it was FTR'd that way, so the Brits left the modification after the rebuild. Part of its history I guess.
Another the not-often-mentioned modification was boring the cylinder through to convert the .38 S&W (U.S., British equivalent .38-200) to .38 Special. Both the .38 S&W and the .38-200 were slightly larger in diameter, so shooting the .38 Special resulted in bulged cases and difficult extraction, along with sloppy accuracy. BTW, weren't the cartridge cases found at the Tipppit murder scene .380s? Seem strange that Oswald would shoot Officer Tippett with a revolver, reload and dump the spent cartridges, then hustle down to the theater.
@@bad74maverick1 At uni we also had a Browning Hipower with German acceptance marks. It was so badly worn that it would rarely get more than 2 out of 10 shots on target at 25 yards.
Been serial watching tons of your videos, Mark. Catching up on a good chunk of them from the "classics" to the "oh, sh*t ~ no wonder we harbour justifiable disdain for the British monarchy". Like a competent and caring dietician of historical facts, I am so glad that you vary our diet with videos like this that contain equally detailed nutritional information!
As someone who grew up and have shot guns my entire life and would consider myself a much better than average shooter. It would be extremely difficult to get off 3 shots off with a bolt action rifle, much less 3 shots in a high stress situation like that. Like Mark, I'm not saying he did or didn't do it, but it would be an extremely difficult shot to make.
@@aaronz7056exactly, also 8 to 9 seconds to get off 2 shots, not 3. As you know, 1st shot starts the clock, it's not already running. How anyone can't see how easy it would be for a former marine sharpshooter to get off 2 shots in 8 to 9 seconds, is beyond me.
@@jwg9338 In that case we look forward to you explaining how the people framing this fall guy knew: - he would show up at the Paine house Nov. 21, otherwise they can't pretend he smuggled the rifle - he wouldn't simply stand out on the sidewalk during the parade - nobody would ever find any bullets or fragments that don't match to his gun - the guy planting a bogus bullet at the hospital within one hour of the shooting has any idea a bullet needs planting at all or that he's not simply planting one bullet into evidence too many and blowing the whole plot - Oswald would immediately flee the plaza - Oswald would help frame himself getting ID'd by nearly a dozen witnesses as the man seen shooting a cop and fleeing - he would get caught red-handed trying to shoot a second cop - he would lie to police and refuse to cooperate with any investigator - he would refuse help from the President of the Dallas Bar Association during their interview - he would act so smug and placid he would even convince his own brother he was guilty - he would make no attempt to blurt out anything about any conspiracy and instead would just shrug a hollow, rambling reply when asked on live TV, "Did you shoot the President?" - they can safely count on scores and scores of witnesses, ballistics experts, police, FBI, Secret Service, military personnel, doctors, x-ray technicians, photographers, Oswald family members, whole commissions, etc., to obey illegal orders to commit grave crimes and bend over backwards making themselves all loyal accessories to murder and treason...
I can't help it, but I just love this intro music. Very interesting stories you provide to us. Thank you very much Mark for all your efforts.. May we see much more of your fascinating videos........
Almost certainly the Oswald rifle telescopic scope was NOT WW2 Italian made as claimed. Rather it was a 4x made in Japan "Ordnance Optics" (also "Hollywood") scope. It even says that on the display at 5:55. This is gonna be a great series!
@@tooleyheadbang4239 The Army lab reported they needed 3 shims for the sight to line up with the target. This fact alone would tell us about whether this was the weapon of the shooter.
At 2:54 you refer to the Carcano as an "Italian infantry carbine fitted with a World War II Italian Army telescopic sight" when the scope was actually an inexpensive Japanese-made commercial 4x18 telescopic sight that was imported into the USA by a company called Ordnance Optics, Inc. in Hollywood, California. Klein's Sporting Goods bought the scopes & mounts from Ordnance Optics & then installed them on Mausers & Carcanos.
Good catch, he would have hard time hitting anything so fast with wwii scope. Japanese wasn't much better beside not being set correctly. Strange event.
@@codaalive5076 simo hayha a world war 2 sniper laughs at you. Why couldnt a weapon from then fire fast and accurate. Ever heard of the M1 Garand the Lee Endield or mauser 98 and they were bolt action
@@sanderson9338 Try taking 3 shots with bolt action rifle in ~5,6 seconds with very little aiming, you might be very surprised.... I agree bolt action rifles are very precise, probably still more than semi auto. Simo was specialist for iron sights, great shooter for sure.
@@codaalive5076 Well, I can't shoot, but I've seen people who can, in conditions set up to mimic Dealy Plaza, and they were able to do it easily, with the same weapon.
@@philsurtees No you didn't because they can't produce the magic bullet. I know people who could probably shoot a person with at that conditions using iron sights but no one using that bad scope. They claim 3 shots in 5,5s with magic bullet and wtc 7...
I had a Brescia 6.5 Carcano carbine, WWII bring back w/o scope, which I always thought was the same type rifle used in the Kennedy assasination. But, after watching your video I realize the Kennedy rifle was actually more a rifle length weapon than mine. While I have personal opinions on the circumstances of the shooting, one will never change. Marine riflemen are well known for their marksmanship but regardless of their skills I could never be convinced a rifle like I owned, even using a scope, could have made the shot(s) that killed President Kennedy. The rifle shown in your video, doable in the hands of very well trained shooter, with a lot of luck. Another of your well researched and prepared videos, Dr. Felton!
Why “with a lot of luck”? The shooting took 8.3 seconds, maximum distance was 80 yards with a 4x scope on a target moving just 11mph and in a mostly straight line away from shooter. A totally do-able shot.
Fascinating new topic! Most people knows the basic history of major events but learning about what happened to specific items used within the events is so interesting.
Oswald’s Mannlicher Carcano rifle wasn’t found in the snipers nest, it was partly hidden amongst boxes near the lift and staircase diagonally opposite to the snipers nest on the 6th floor of the Texas School Depository Building on Elm Street Dealey Plaza.
@@rufus-h4h It was obviously the snipers nest, plenty of evidence, spent cartridges, critical witnesses, Howard Brennan unmistakably saw the shooter, Harold Norman and his work colleagues right below the shooter unmistakably heard the shots from above. Some people don’t like the truth, indoctrinated with conspiracy theories.
@@rufus-h4h Most probably not a protective or a snipers next, but rather a random positioning of boxes which were stacked due to Roy Truly (T.B.D Supervisor) and his crew of workers were also involved in plywood flooring of the 6th level. So you would imagine many boxes would need to be moved and or stacked out of the way for said replacement of the flooring boards. Now, as Oswald worked on a number of floors including the 6th, it could be one of the main reasons that Dallas Police, who dusted for prints on those boxes would be an almost pointless process, as Oswald most probably moved a number of these boxes during his day to day work duties or if he assisted with the flooring work.
@@aujay This was definitely the snipers nest and there are a number of reasons for this which are. 5 x witnesses saw a person/rifle at the window, including the most crucial eye witness Howard Brennan, Harold Norman was right below on the 5th floor and he felt the dust on his head and heard the casings hitting the floor.The boxes were strategically placed next to the window away from the pile of stacked boxes that bordered the room. The shell casings and empty rifle bag (which had blanket fibres from Ruth Paine’s garage) was in the snipers nest, and Oswald’s prints were on the boxes (which you would expect) but in a place not typical for handling.The amount of evidence that shows this was the snipers nest is astounding but some people just don’t want to believe.
@@davidmoss4280 Have you ever read Howard Brennan's testimony? He failed to identify LHO at that sham ' Line-up" 5 hours after the assassination and even after seeing LHO on TV! All the rest of your post is pure Warren Commission poppycock.
I have been in the Texas Book Depository building and looked out that window. I have also been in Ford's Theater in D.C. Both places are in their own way very eerie.
Yes, so have I. For those claiming the shot was next to impossible they really need to go to the book depository. The shots were very, very easy and most boys in school back in that day and age could have made those shots. The only question I had was why did he not take the shot when the limousine was coming straight towards him and passed right under the window rather than wait until it turned and was headed away.
@@johnfrancis2215 I have not seen or heard anything corroborated about people on the grassy knoll with weapons. Suffice it to say that given any situation there will always be people who claim to have seen something.......until they have to swear under oath, witness the whole Don the Con election BS! I agree Oswald was a clown who could have been swayed very easily, but that doesn't mean he didn't do it.
Mark that scope on the Carcano was NOT Italian Military issue but a Tasco Scope (commercial usa made). Furthermore the "news" reports at the time FIRST stated the Rifle found was a MAUSER.
Well considering newsing outlets werent (and aren't) realy Expert on weapons (like when they Said that Bradley are tanks) they could have Just confused, the carcano isn't that much different from a mouser
Fascinating stuff I had no idea that the weapons were involved in all that legal wrangling years after the assassination had taken place, as an aside the rifle used by Oswald was originally identified by a Dallas Policeman at the book depository as a German made Mauser.
Cops freely owned up to initially misidentifying the unfamiliar rifle and carelessly letting slip to the media their misidentification, leading to sixty years of conspiracy theorists insisting somebody left the wrong kind of rifle, or multiple rifles, lying around the crime scene for an army of police to swiftly find.
No curve needed, Connally's jump seat was lower than JFK's. People just assume that all the seats in the limo were at the same level, so the "magic bullet" BS was born.
@@misfitsailor The "magic bullet bs" was the theory proposed by Arlen Specter, only after a stray bullet was found to have impact a bystander by the name of James Tague. It was concocted to corroborate the predetermined conclusion of a "lone nut"; a "lone nut", mind you, who maintained very intimate relationships with various members (or contacts) of the intelligence community, one of whom was even a close friend of the Bouvier family. By the way, Connally stated that he was not impacted by the same bullet that struck President Kennedy, and the throat wound was originally described as a wound of entry. When debating the "magic bullet", it's not about whether such a scenario is conceivable, but about whether there is sufficient evidence to support it in this case. Ultimately, there is not.
@@misfitsailor True, but it's literally impossible for a bullet from Oswald's gun to blow Kennedy's brains and bone fragments all over the trunk. Which is exactly where they were.....
Thank you for another most interesting and informative video, Dr. Felton. Author Stephen Hunter wrote a novel where the hero proved that Oswald was a lone assassin. Now then, he added a lengthy appendix at the end where he speaks of actually inspecting the Carcano and Tasco scope supplied with it. He stated that the fit of the scope to the rifle was so bad that the seller included a metal shim for placing between the scope mount and the receiver of the rifle. This shim was missing when Hunter examined it. He opined that it was one thing if it had become lost over time. If it was never there to begin with, "someone got away with murder." 🤔
Not quite. The scope and mount were not made for the rifle, the mount was simply screwed into the side of the stock by the seller. When the FBI test fired it, they found that the impact of the rounds was outside the view of the scope. It was they who added shims to make the scope functional for further tests.
@@kennethrouse7942 It was that Oswald got away with murder. He was never tried, and he got the infamy he wanted. He made the decision to shoot JFK, and nobody else.
Mark, WRT the speed of the three shots, remember it isn’t 3 shots in 6 seconds (6 seconds for round numbers) it is two shots in 6 seconds. Shot One is at time stamp 0:00, for it starts the festivities. Shot Two requires the bolt be cycled, sights aligned, and the trigger pulled. Shot Three requires cycling the action sight alignment, pulling the trigger, and this shot stops the clock at six seconds.
Worth pointing-out that the scope was misaligned - the Carcano rifle was not designed to work with a telescopic sight. Using the sight, the shooter should have missed with all shots, hence the FBI assumed that the shooter used the open iron sights and ignored the telescope.. To check the scope, the FBI ordered more Carcano's from Kleins Sporting Goods and found all rifle scopes misaligned to a similar degree.
@@user6008 It came from accidental discharge of a machine pistol inside the car, carried by a Secret Service man. This fact was suppressed for a very long time, but came out in the last few years. This shot also hit Kennedy.
The question I was asking myself was if ballistic tests were ever carried out on the rifle in order to see if the bullets removed from Kennedy at the autopsy were fired from the gun?
I know one of the men who was part of the reopening of the assassination, he was the ballistics expert, said he got to see all of the evidence, all of the bullets matched the rifling of the carcano...he said there was no doubt that the rifle killed Kennedy.
I'm pretty sure all the bullets shot through him(which is expected with a high powered rifle using fully jacketed ammo), but they did recover pieces of them and do tests
If this becomes a series, you should do a couple episodes on the infamy associated with Charter Arms. Supplemental: I actually visited Dealy Plaza on a road trip through Texas recently. I think Oswald could have made those shots, but he would have to be a good shot at a moving target. It's a very sad place
Not only moving but a target much lower than the shooter. Both angles require their own trajectory adjustment. Yes, a very good shot indeed. Possible yes, likely no. I would like to see it recreated with some of our best competition shooters.
@@eddiemclean7011 It has been done, and isn't as difficult as it looks, since JFK was driving away from Oswald. when fatal shots were fired. The first shot was fro 88yds and would have been the shooters best shot.
@@PORRRIDGE_GUN Been done by who? And under pressure equal to what Oswald would have been under? I would suspect an accomplished shooter with a semi auto might pull that off. But an average shooter with a bolt action? Moving away doesn't take away all the calculations involved, theres still a considerable height diffence , an angle even if reduced by direction, and the target is still moving. A bolt action is goin to compromise the shooters stock weld every time he cycles the bolt. Add to that its a run of the mill, 20 year old surplus military rifle of questionable quality, not a sniper level weapon. I agree it might be possible to get the shots off in that time period, but that accurately? Two other asides. I used to hunt all the time. Never saw a head snap into the direction of the bullet strike, and two, if there's nothing to hide, why do they continue to hide evidence. I used to work in gov, at a county, state, and fed level. I know better than to believe what they say if they say they have absolute truth to share with you. You are always told what they want to tell you, when they want to tell you, nothing more. See anything from the FBI for reference on that point.
As usual sir YOU'VE NAILED IT! Looking forward to this becoming a series hopefully. One I'd like to see would be the "palm squeeze" type of pistol used in the assassination of President William McKinley.
Although the actual M-C rifle is safely packed away, an identical example of the weapon is in the museum at the FBI headquarters. It's a very ordinary looking vintage infantry rifle, but obviously quite lethal in the hands of a well-trained serviceman.
@@tomhenry897: Oswald qualified as a Marksman when he was in the Marine Corps. Marksman is the lowest of the 3 rifle qualifications, but still very challenging. Marines are trained to hit targets at 200, 300 & 500 yards WITHOUT a scope. JFK was less than 100 yards away & Oswald was using a scoped rifle. Much has been made about Oswald supposedly being a poor shot in the military. I am a former US Marine & believe me, anyone qualifies in the Marine Corps is not a poor shot.
@@mrk3032 A average shot in the Marines is at least an above average shooter in the civilian realm. People may make plenty of jokes about Marines but not about their marksmanship.
First it’s not an “M-C” weapon. The two never collaborated. It’s a Carcano. It has a Mannlicher style action. Second, whatever level of skill he achieved in the Marine Corps is irrelevant to this shot. Oswald was taught on a known distance range, with a rifle whose sights were marked to set them at that distance. He was taught to steady his aim using a tight sling, a shooting jacket, a shooting glove and a body position that rested the rifle on bone. He did NONE of those things in Dallas. The question of where to place the iron sights in space to hit the target was unknown to him. The iron sights on that Carcano are fixed at 200 yards, meaning he would have needed a 12” holdover (aiming above the target) to hit Pres Kennedy. There’s is absolutely no chance that Oswald hit anything that day, if he was even a shooter. Not with that rifle.
Thank you for the awesome video Dr. Felton! Like many Americans, I’ve always wondered the truth to the JFK assassination. In my opinion, this is the point in American history where people really began to question the governments validity.
The first time I visited Dealey Plaza, I was surprised by how small the area was. The President's car was shockingly close to the book depository building. A good marksman almost wouldn't have needed a scope, unless they wanted to be absolutely sure of headshots.
I was just looking at that on Google maps. It appears that Oswald starting shooting when Kennedy's car was just 50 yards from the building and at most was 100 yards from the car on the last shot. Those measurements are at street level. There may be some additional yards that needs to be added for the fact he was on the sixth floor shooting down at Kennedy. Thanks.
@@jeffreywj7773 I was standing in the window next to the original "shooter's nest". You can't look out the actual window, it's surrounded by clear Lexan but the next one is very close. That floor is a museum and you can tour through it. Looking down out of that window at the "X" painted on the street where JKF was shot, like I said it's shockingly close. It's much different being there than seeing it on TV. I was very surprised.
Great lesson! I'm with others here - a fascinating series on weapons of infamy would be a real treat. I have several, but my favorite "weapon" (if true and not just anecdotal) would be the poisoned figs that a paranoid Augustus ate. The story goes that his queen, Livia, poisoned the things as they hung from the tree, so he wouldn't suspect anything. That's majorly devious LOL
She then sold the uneaten figs to a fig collector, but the courts ruled that they were abandoned at a crime scene, so the figs belonged to the government. They are not on display to the public.
@@captainpoppleton ROFL that fig-ures, doesn't it? The courts don't give a fig about our rabid interest in such matters. Maybe the entire anecdote is just a fig-ment of someone's lively imagination. 😉
The magazine Oswald ordered his Carcano from had a ton of other surplus, including a Lahti 20mm semi automatic anti tank cannon on the very next page. I like to think there’s an alternate universe where he went full YOLO.
Ruby died of a pulmonary embolism, secondary to bronchogenic carcinoma, on January 3, 1967, less than a month after his cancer diagnosis, at Parkland Hospital, the same facility where Oswald and Kennedy died. He was buried beside his parents in the Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois.
I recreated a Carcano exactly as Oswald 's. Right down to every detail in the 70's, even the cheap japanese scope. Fired at 3 different targets, in succession in the same time frame, distance and angles and was able to recreate his to every detail. I was in high school when JFK was killed and was obsessed to find out if it could be done...it could. The Carcano is not a cheap crappy rifle, it was made with quality and expertise workmanship, not what was reported at the time. Never underestimate a marine with a rifle.
There is a video on this type of rifle by Forgotten Weapons. It's one of the best rifles ever made, very accurate, precise weapon. It was sold cheaply in the US at the time so it was easy to say Oswald used a sub par rifle and claim there were other shooters.
It was a reasonably precise rifle. Totally irrelevant to accuracy. Unless you know where to point the barrel in space to cause the round to go where you want it to you won’t hit the target. They don’t teach you how to do that in boot camp.
@@allensteiner1 I bought the carcano from the used milsup bin for 49.99 at an army & navy store in jersey when I came back from nam. Ran a few patches though it, formed a sight mount from a piece of sheet metal and screwed it into the receiver. but I get it ,people just couldn't believe that some schlubb could take out the most popular president in american history, so now we have conspiracy theories. ...but it is what it is. (I was a pretty tough kid in 1963 but I still cried like a baby for days.)
The Oswald rifle was not found in the sniper's nest. The sniper's nest was in the southeast corner of the sixth floor of the book depository. Oswald left the three empty cases on the floor in that corner, but he carried the rifle as he went towards the stairs in the northwest corner of the building. He hid the rifle behind some boxes nearer the northwest corner. That's where the rifle was found. Obviously, if someone doesn't believe that Oswald fired the shots, then that person won't believe that Oswald did any of the things that I mention in the previous paragraph. For those people, I'll modify my statement to say that the Warren Commission reported finding the three empty cases near the southeast window on the sixth floor and that the Warren Commission reported that Dallas police reported that they found the rifle nearer the stairs in the northwest corner. I have no interest in arguing either side of theories of the assassination. Another of the theories is that police recovered a rifle with markings identifying the rifle as a Mauser. One of the police officers in the building at the time was interested in guns and at first said that the rifle "looked like a Mauser." That officer said that he later looked more closely and was certain that the rifle he saw was an Italian Carcano. I think someone else said that he saw "7.65 MAUSER" or maybe "7.62 MAUSER" stamped on the barrel or receiver. Original Mauser rifles wouldn't have had that marking. Many Mauser rifles were sold to other countries for military use and then resold on the U.S. market after they had been used by other countries. Sometimes, they would be stamped that way as part of bringing them to the U.S. civilian market. At this point, no one can point to any physical evidence that a Mauser rifle was found anywhere on the sixth floor of the book depository. The only evidence for this rifle being there is unconfirmed eyewitness testimony. Some people believe that testimony, and others do not. In spite of what some people claim, the 6.5 Carcano was not a bad rifle. The diameter of the bullets made for nominally 6.5 mm rifles varied and were not a perfect 6.5 mm. If I remember correctly, some were .264 inches and others were .268 inches, but again, I'm not looking at the numbers at this moment and can't be certain that those are the right numbers. The important point is that firing a .264 bullet in a rifle made for the .268 bullets will result in less accuracy. Many bullets on the American commercial market were made in the smaller diameter for the American rifles that were nominally 6.5 mm caliber. That resulted in many people seeing the 6.5 Carcano rifles as inaccurate. The bullets associated with Oswald's rifle were made in the larger caliber/diameter and would have been accurate in Oswald's rifle. In the hands of a competent marksman, the rifle was adequate to the task of committing the assassination. None of this means that I support or deny any particular theory of the assassination. I just want to point out that the rifle wasn't found in the "sniper's nest" and that there was a little bit of controversy about the rifle or rifles found further back towards the stairs on the sixth floor.
Oswald did not leave the rifle in the sniper's nest. He actually left it between some boxes on the other side of the sixth floor of the building, close to the stairs.
If "he" did that, and took time to wipe prints off the rifle, he had no time to get to the second floor lunchroom where he was seen drinking a coke. seconds after the assassination. Women were on the stairs and did not see him come down.
about 15 years ago, I used to deliver propane to a very nice old man that lived on the outskirts of Cedar Hill, Texas. For the longest time, all I knew that he was a retired policeman, but a few years after he died I learned that he was on the security detail at Parkland Hospital the day Kennedy was shot.
Wow, I have a rifle featured in this ad! I have a British .303 (SMLE) Sporterized just like the one on the bottom right. I always thought someone had done it individually, but apparently, it was done by a reseller back then. Very accurate rifle, BTW.
I have a sporterized Nazi Mauser. It clearly wasn't done en masse as the whole stock was replaced, but it's clearly a very old conversion. The Weaver bases they'd fitted back then perfectly accept modern Picatinny rings so it was a no-brainer to give it a modern Nikon scope.
I owned a exact copy of it I used for deer hunting, for meat. Even with a polished bolt and a ton of practice I couldn't hit 3 times in less than 9 seconds I shot at a barrel in a wagon being pulled on a track from on a ridge at about the same height. I think he used the rifle, but had help.
@@d.k8257 No, I grew up shooting and at NRA training courses won the Equivalent medal. I can do it with my Mauser Action 30-06 with around 100 rounds at the range. The Carcanno is just a bit awkward ergonomically. It is a great deer rifle for farm and Eastern Forrest, but would take a good bit of practice on speed and accuracy to pull off the shots and recover to do it in 8.3 seconds. This is my opinion, but I feel it is informed. My Uncle was a Marine Sniper in WWII I could keep up with him and sometimes beat him.
Using the same rifle after it’s mechanical short comings were fixed, government sharpshooters were unable to duplicate Oswald’s shots. He qualified as a “sharpshooter” but was reported to have deteriorated as the years went by. Plus he missed a general he tried to kill with a much easier shot earlier that year. Many people think he couldn’t have pulled off the assassination.
As a companion piece, Sirhan Sirhan's pistol and sundry other possible firearms plausibly employed in the deadly deed. Also, Mark David Chapman's "assassination" weapon.
CORRECTION: Paul Groody, the Funeral Home Director who prepared Oswald's body, Testified On Camera, that as he was preparing Oswald's body late one night, Agents showed up and insisted on some Alone Time with Oswalds body. After this Groody had to clean off Ink from Oswald's hands and it was obvious that Oswald's Fingerprints had been Lifted. Previously the Government had NO FINGERPRINTS being found on the Rifle, but within days of this Incident it was announced that a previously Clean Rifle now had a Palm Print from Oswald on it!! You do the Math on that one! You run into so many of these Twists and Turns on 90 Percent of what the Government has told us when you honestly look into the Evidence of the JFK Assassination!
Thank you Oliver Stone. Printing a dead suspect was standard procedure in order to insure that the body was the person in question. Not a big deal. And the prints? Guess what? Lt. Day of the DPD found a palm print on the underside of the barrel after disassembling the rifle the evening of 11/22/63, and he also photographed a print on the trigger housing at the same time. Both belonged to Oswald. The FBI took possession of the Carcano late that night but were unable to locate the prints because Day had already worked the rifle over. It wasn’t until the next day that they found out about the prints Day had pulled. There was nothing diabolical involved. You may go back to your viewing of JFK now.
You have to work an inflation ratio to see what $90 would amount to today. $90 for a Garand sounds cheap however Garands were always expensive, hence $90 for a Garand from Kleins vs. $20 for a Carcano with a scope.
An interesting fact is that the choice of this rifle caused a smile in the shooters who knew and used it. Among the soldiers, the Manlicher-Carcano rifle was called a "humanitarian weapon"! Because you could rarely hit anyone with it! Isn't that a strange choice?🤔
250 feet…he was 250 feet away and shooting at a moving target. Oswald got off 3 rounds in just 6 seconds with an old Italian bolt action rifle, and scored 2 hits, including a head shot. This individual demonstrated what one motivated Marine and his rifle can do. - Gunnery Sergeant Hartman
Except Oswald wasn't a real Marine. And he did not act alone. 11 shots fired. Explain how Oswald hit outside upper windshield & frame? Back and to the LEFT.
Unfortunately Hartman was going by the Warren report when it came to lho, Charles Whitman he was a hundred percent correct on that.... Whitman was a badass lho not so much
I was 7 years old at the time when this occurred and it was shocking, and as a result I never wanted to go into politics as long as I lived in the United States of America.
For about 24 hours , the television news had reported a Mauser 7.65 rifle was found , then they had to change It , because they couldn’t link it to Oswald.
There were two rifles recovered from the fifth floor that day, the Mauser 7.65 among boxes shortly after the assassination and later that evening LHO's Mannlicher- Carcano was discovered by a Dallas Police Department Detective between the floor supporting concrete truss and wooden floor, near the far end close to the mechanical waiter chute. Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry was leaned on to not be a problem.
@@kevinluby4783 Wrong!!! Remember the media was on the floor at the same time. They were taking photographs and filming. The recovery of the rifle was filmed by Tom Alyea of WFAA-TV, and his footage shows the rifle to be a Mannlicher-Carcano. There are photos and film of the rifle being discovered. It's a Carcano. Plus, there were many members of the DPD on the floor. They would all have to be in on any kind of switch that took place. The DPD was in on the cover-up before Oswald was even captured? That would necessarily mean they were in on the assassination itself. Preposterous! This is lengthy but actual testimony. Read it before making more idiotic statements. The conspiracy theorists site those who discovered it as claiming it was a Mauser. Mostly, they site Seymour Weitzman, Eugene Boone, Will Fritz and Carl Day. Let's start with Seymour Weitzman. He's the one most often cited. Mr. BALL - "In the statement that you made to the Dallas Police Department that afternoon, you referred to the rifle as a 7.65 Mauser bolt action?" Mr. WEITZMAN - "In a glance, that's what it looked like." Mr. BALL - "That's what it looked like did you say that or someone else say that?" Mr. WEITZMAN - "No; I said that. I thought it was one." Mr. BALL - "Are you fairly familiar with rifles?" Mr. WEITZMAN - "Fairly familiar because I was in the sporting goods business awhile." You conspiracy theorists often refer to Weitzman as a gun expert. He worked in the damn sporting good business. He was "fairly familiar" with rifles, by his own admission. I doubt they sold World War II Italian rifles at whatever sporting goods store he worked. Mr. BALL - "Now, in your statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, you gave a description of the rifle, how it looked." Mr. WEITZMAN - "I said it was a Mauser-type action, didn't I?" Mr. BALL - "Mauser bolt action." Mr. WEITZMAN - "And at the time I looked at it, I believe I said it was 2.5 scope on it and I believe I said it was a Weaver but it wasn't; it turned out to be anything but a Weaver, but that was at a glance." To Weitzman, any rifle with a bolt action was a "Mauser". He used that term generically because the Carcano does have a similar bolt action. The Mauser is a much better known rifle than a Mannlicher-Carcano. Most people have never even heard of such a rifle unless they have researched the Kennedy assassination. But everybody's heard of a German Mauser. Then there is Eugene Boon. And he is one of the ones the CT crowd point to as stating the rifle found on the 6th floor was a "Mauser." Under testimony he admitted many said it was, but not him. It is an easy error to make. Almost everyone knows the German 98 Mauser rifle by sight. Not many know the 6.5 mm Italian MC rifle. Here's what he had to say about it to the commission: Mr. BALL - "There is one question. Did you hear anybody refer to this rifle as a Mauser that day?" Mr. BOON - "Yes, I did. And at first, not knowing what it was, I thought it was 7.65 Mauser." Mr. BALL - "Who referred to it as a Mauser that day?" Mr. BOON - "I believe Captain Fritz. He had knelt down there to look at it, and before he removed it, not knowing what it was, he said that is what it looks like. This is when Lieutenant Day, I believe his name is, the ID man was getting ready to photograph it. We were just discussing it back and forth. And he said it looks like a 7.65 Mauser." Again, Boon is just giving his impression- a Carcano does look like a Mauser. They were all saying that it looked like a Mauser. This is where the conspiracy theorists are coming up with this. Notice that he describes the discussion of the rifle before they actually picked it up and examined it. Then there is Carl Day: Mr. BELIN - "Did you ever hear this rifle referred to as a 7.65 Mauser or as any type of a Mauser?" Mr. DAY - "Yes, sir; it wasn't referred to as that. Some of the newsmen, when I first carried the rifle out, asked me if it was a .3006, and at another time they asked me if it was a Mauser. I did not give them an answer." Mr. BELIN - "Were there newsmen on the sixth floor at the time the rifle was found, if you know?" Mr. DAY - "I think there was." Mr. BELIN - "Did you ever describe the rifle as anything but a 6.5-caliber with regard to the rifle itself?" Mr. DAY - "I didn't describe the rifle to anyone other than police officers." The Mauser story certainly didn't come from Lt. Day, but he was privy to the early conversations about the rifle, consistent with what the others said. Mr. McCLOY - "There was never any doubt in your mind what the rifle was from the minute you saw it?" Mr. DAY - "No, sir; It was stamped right on there, 6.5, and when en route to the office with Mr. Odum, the FBI agent who drove me in, he radioed it in, he radioed in what it was to the FBI over the air. That's the entire basis of the Mauser story. But if you listen to the conspiracy crowd, you'd think it was a certainty. Besides, commonsense, alone, should tell anyone with half a brain that switching a Mauser for a Carcano, right there on the 6th floor, in front of everybody, is just insanity. It never happened. The recovery of the rifle was filmed by Tom Alyea of WFAA-TV, and his footage shows the rifle to be a Mannlicher-Carcano. Here is one frame from his footage, and here is another. In fact, a Mannlisher-Carcano could easily be mistaken for a Mauser. The DPD was in on the cover-up before Oswald was even captured? That would necessarily mean they were in on the assassination itself. It never happened.
@@JBliehall I'm sorry but if you are taking any notice of what was said "allegedly" at the Warren Commission then your comments cannot be taken seriously. They invented reports from various "witnesses" that thy had never made, they changed reports to suit the lone gunman theory and ignored statements from witnesses that had seen the assassination but their report didn't match the W.C. Report. Some of the staff at the Commission actually resigned because they found various evidence that did not fit in with what the W.C.was saying, in other words, the Commission were lying. When their complaints were ignored they resigned. These people were qualified Solicitors, not just men taken from the street. Mr Wietzman was not just a man who worked in the "sporting goods industry", he actually owned a gun store and was very knowledgeable and he stated categorically that the rifle was a Mauser and his partner that had actually picked it up said it was a Mauser because the name was stamped on the rifle. There were no photographers or newsmen there when they found the rifle either, do you honestly think the Police, FBI or CIA would have allowed them in the building within minutes of the shooting when they were trying to fiddle, sorry, find fingerprints and evidence. Not a chance plus they would not have been able to plant and arrange the evidence if there had been others there. One last point, were you aware that there is no proof whatsoever that Oswald received the gun and that the FBI/CIA were actually intercepting Oswald's mail from February 1963 so if the gun had been sent to Oswald the FBI/CIA would have intercepted it which is exactly what they wanted. There is also the problem of the rifle that Oswald was supposed to have ordered wasn't the same size as the one that was found by the Police. There is so much more to this than you will find in the Warren Report, even LBJ didn't believe it and he was the one who told them what to say.
@@CPAndy-x5x how old are you? Because you don’t have clue what you are talking about. Literally NONE of the many rifles attributed to LHO “assassinating” JFK have ever been positively ID as actually belonging to LHO. NO ONE has ever proven that "A. Hidell" was LHO. Neither of The freakin’ rifles in the sixth floor museum or the National archives match the photos of the obviously heavily doctored “backyard rifle” OR the photo of the rifle allegedly “found” by the DPD the day of the shooting. All three have different sling mounting positions. The TRUTH is, NO ONE knows what kind of weapon actually delivered the fatal shot to JFK, as NOTHING other than fragments of bullets were recovered at either Parkland OR during the autopsy. Maybe you should back off on the caffeine just a wee bit.
No, we don't. "(a)The Mannlicher-Carcano 6.5-millimeter Italian rifle from which the shots were fired was owned by and in the possession of Oswald. (b)Oswald carried this rifle into the Depository Building on the morning of November 22, 1963. (c)Oswald, at the time of the assassination, was present at the window from which the shots were fired. (d)Shortly after the assassination, the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle belonging to Oswald was found partially hidden between some cartons on the sixth floor and the improvised paper bag in which Oswald brought the rifle to the Depository was found dose by the window from which the shots were fired. (e)Based on testimony of the experts and their analysis of films of the assassination, the Commission has concluded that a rifleman of Lee Harvey Oswald's capabilities could have fired the shots from the rifle used in the assassination within the elapsed time of the shooting. The Commission has concluded further that Oswald possessed the capability with a rifle which enabled him to commit the assassination." -Warren Report P.19 .-
@@CPAndy-x5x apparently you can’t even watch the video, where it is clearly pointed out that the rifle is held in the national archives and came directly from the FBI, and NO ONE has ever been allowed to inspect it outside of the federal government. How old are you anyway?
Lees Scope on his Carcano was an Ordinance optics of Hollywood scope made in Japan!!! The mount was a cheap sheet metal commercial item. It wasnt an Italian military telecopic sight. A trivial point in a great video though Dr Mark , keep them flowing
Because of what we are finding out about the government today makes me think we need to re examine everything to see if the government wasn't involved especially the Kennedy of Assassination
This will be an interesting series. Looking forward to it. Another little-known rifle connected to this story is JFK`s... The 50,000th M16 produced by Colt was plated in gold and going to be gifted to the President when he returned from this trip. It`s been in storage ever since.
@@monroetoolman Right, years ago I saw a photo of JFK in the Oval Office holding the M1. I didn't know he owned several Civil War rifles though but I shouldn't be surprised, JFK was a big history and Civil War buff. You know, JFK may have saved Civil War re-enacting? I read an article in (I think) "Civil War Times " years ago about Kennedy attending the 100th Anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Bull Run. Now you wouldn't think so but the organizers of the same thought that re-enacting a Civil War battle may have been in questionable taste and weren't sure of people's reactions but after the battle Kennedy was speaking to the organizers and said "That was great! I enjoyed every minute! Are you going to do any more?" Well that solved the "questionable taste" problem! If the President of the United States gives his approval then it HAS to be OK!
3 shots heard, 3 cartridges at the Sniper's Nest, Oswald's Rifle found within 15 minutes next to the sixth floor stairwell at the opposite end of the builing from the Sniper's Nest.
The rifle is in the USSS (secret service) history museum in DC. You can visit if you sign up in advance. My daughter was amazed at all the stuff located there, on "bring your daughter to work day."
Id like to add a correction if I may, In WWII the Italians did not have snipers using Carcano's. The scope was added by gunsmiths when the rifles were imported to the U.S. Also the ammo that was used in said rifle when LHO shot Kennedy was Winchester-Olin/ Western Cartridge Company manufactured and contracted by the DOD.
@@scrabbleking1965 The shooter, whoever that was, may have shot at the motorcade. He may have wanted to shoot Gov. Connoly (he was hit in the wrist by the second or third shot according to the Zapruder foootage) The entire thing may have been panned a a demonstration to scare JFK, but somebody went utterly off-piste.
This is a great series. But i would love to see abit more information on the actual guns- physical stats, reloading and shooting methods, the inside mechanisms etc
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
My mentor at a former job is a very dear friend, and as a life long resident of Dallas Texas, he loved to tell me stories of the town I just moved to. He said that a few decades ago he met an employee of the Texas Department of Education, who just so happened to work on the fifth story of the Texas Schoolbook Depository building. Yes, his office was directly under "that window".
My friend asked him what it was like to work there. The employee said, "It's awful. Imagine working at your desk, standing up to take a break, and every time you look out the window, about a dozen strangers are pointing at you."
There was an employee of the depository, Harold Norman, watching the Presidential motorcade go by from that very window. He not only heard the three shots fired, but heard the bolt action of the rifle between the shots.
Well, I don't know about you, but I think the place should be demolished....The city most likely imagines that income is generated by tourists from that awful day....perhaps a small plaque in a new, smallish park would suffice. What say you, Jeff?
@@RandomDudeOne If I remember right Mr. Norman said he also heard the ejected brass hitting the floor above him.
@@RandomDudeOne He also stated the last two shots were almost simultaneous, and couldn't say for sure where exactly both shots were fired from.
@@user6008 Where can I see that statement? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
Edit: I went back and watched the video where Mr. Norman described what he heard. The video is on RUclips, it's called 'Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?', at 1:23:18 in the video he describes clearly hearing 3 separate shots fired from the window above. "Boom...click click......Boom.......click click.......Boom.......click click.........was how he described it.
If this becomes a series, an episode on the gun that Gavrillo Princip used to kill Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary would be a good follow up episode I think.
The .380 Browning 1910 is a neat and fun little gun for sure!
Good call
Yes, please. FN/Browning 1910 in 380 I believe it was.
Took the words right off my keyboard.
My first thought aswell
Mark Felton continues to be THE MAN
How about Ric Flair 😂
same comment everytime
Nice, but you have to work on it a bit.....
What? You thought he might make a gender change because of YOU ?
Ha, awesome. I thought I was alone! Thank you Mr. FELTON.
Back in the early and mid 60's I was a teenager and used to deer hunt with my father and uncles in Pennsylvania. They did not have a lot of extra money to buy new guns, and since most of them were WW2 vets, they bought and hunted with old WW2 bolt action rifles. My aunt actually hunted with an old Italian 6.5 rifle that was just like Oswald's rifle. I remember those days when you could buy a M1 Garand for $89.95. Same gun today will start at over $2000.00...
1963 an ounce of gold was two hundred dollars. Today it's two thousand. The fed has destroyed the dollar.
I'm guessing you tried to shoot some of those bolt action rifles to see how fast you could shoot three shots?
It's not as long as one would think. A little practice and one can work the bolt fairly well.
Picture is fake, head out of proportion to the body.
The chin...is not oswalds@@EugeneLorey
Just when I thought Mark Felton couldn't get any better, he comes out with this. He is a worldwide treasure.
A SE England treasure
@@y_ffordd you think it was Lee Harvey Oswald that planted that rifle?
that's ridiculous. he did not correctly identify the origin of the scope and did not even bother to research how much ammunition Oswald purchased. poorly researched. he's just a grifter.
If you think that perpetuating the Harvey Oswald myth is "getting better" then my apologies but I feel sorry for you all.
@@XwpisONOMA Why do people thing Oswald was a patsy? Maybe he wasn't the lone gunman, but he sure as hell was in the conspiracy if there was one.
If this is a new series, I’m very excited.
Me too.
Not me
Nah its episode 1 of 1. Lol
@@nickknepper6417 why?
@@michaeldunham3385 no reason - he’s simply the anonymous cybernetic contrarian. It’s best to not acknowledge their existence.
Mark Felton: the gift that keeps on giving. Thank you sir
Almost.....you get 1st runner-up.
@@b2tall239 Mark THE MAN WHO KEEPS ON GIVING - cmon guys, the format IS not that hard :D
Ps. I am Just having fun with utmost respect for people involved. Dont bother.
Thanks!
As I recall, the scope on the Carcano was not a WWll Italian scope , rather a one from a company in Hollywood, California. I believe I read that in the Warren Commission Report.
The S&W Victory revolver was reworked into snub nose configuration post WWll. I think they originally had a 4” barrel. They were still on the surplus market as late as the 1980s .
Note; they were chambered for .38 S&W, not .38 Special.
In mid-1963 surplus WWll rifles were everywhere. $15 could buy you a Carcano, Mauser,Enfield SMLE or an M-1 carbine.
Ah, the good old days.
Victory models were made in both calibers.
@@WALTERBROADDUS thanks, I didn’t know that.
@@WALTERBROADDUS True,the .38S&W was made for the British under the lend lease program,they had a 5 inch barrel,the .38 Special with a 4 inch barrel was made for the US forces.
The Carcano had to have the scope remounted so that the target could be seen in the scope at 70 yards! Personally i like to see the target in the scope IN THE MIDDLE OF CROSS HAIRS at any time but apparently he dint think it was needed to see the target he was shooting at! 🤦♂🤣
@@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307 where did you get that from?
I'd start a TV broadcasting company just to give Dr Felton his own station
Why move from the internet to a dying media though?
He should at least have a streaming channel on Pluto TV!
@@deadeyeduncan5022 TV is not so much dying. Is more heading towards VOD and Interactive.
@@MIMALECKIPL no it's indeed dying.
TBS started as a UHF
Can do a lot with a Low power UHF like get on cable, sell to other UHFs etc
The 4-power telescope, made by Ordnance Optics, had been attached to the rifle by a gunsmith at Klein's Sporting Goods , was made in Japan and wasn’t an Italian scope
I remember those Kleins ads. Hunters Lodge too..
So the gov. just so happened to find Oswald and just so happened to place him as the shooter. The gov. didn't want to give the weapons up for examination by a third party none gov. agency, the gov. imprisoned the man who killed Ozy and he died in prison. Wow. just wow.
@@777SFINN777 conspiracy cels SEETHING at TRUE AND HONEST government chads
@Mae An so such thing as "federal chads". If you can't see that this is suspect as all hell then Idk whT else to say to you. Not that winning you over is imperative or anything.
@@777SFINN777 It was also reported (on the Boiling Frog IIRC) that Ruby had died of pancreatic cancer. At autopsy his organs were found riddled witn cancer, except oddly his pancreas. Apparently the "conspiracy" theory supposed that he had been injected with cancerious cells while awaiting trial. He never made it to trial.
Another amazing production by Mark Felton. An habitual abuser of RUclips, I watch way more YT in my retirement than I ever did television when I was employed. What I find astounding are the tight production values of every Felton Production. He nails his topic and usually in around ten minutes. An impatient and peevish person, I have seen (but not watched) many videos about very mundane subjects that hang in there for 13, 15, 19 minutes, all to explain how to get a wine stain out of one's shirt, or how to tie a knot that one can untie in three seconds. The economy of these videos, that doesn't play to the bottom feeders, but constantly tests the viewer who has been paying attention, by framing topics in ways that stimulate the the pedestrian history buff, but that also satisfy the professional historian. Thank you, Mark Felton. You are the best teacher I have ever encountered, and I was a university librarian and administrator for 43 years, and my speciality is at the opposite end of Mark Felton's deserved position as a brilliant thought-provoker and explainer. I could expand on any subject concerning academic administration, ad infinitum.
This is a fantastic idea for a series! From Vasily Blokhins Pistol to the derringer that killed Lincoln, there's a lot of infamous weapons with very interesting stories.
Hmm.
Lincoln....Killed in Kennedy Continental
Kennedy killed in Lincoln Continental
🤔🤔🤔🧐🧐👀👀🙊🙊
Vasily had a brief case with german guns.
I'd like to see one about Gaddafi's pistol.
A man of knowledge I see.
The scope was actually manufactured in Japan and imported into the US via a company in Hollywood, CA. called Ordnance Optics. It was actually a 4 X 18 scope designed for a .22 caliber rimfire rifle and was not at all suited to the 6.5 mm Carcano. The scope mount was also of Japanese manufacture, but was originally designed under a contract from the Chilean government for Mauser sniper rifles their army had in its possession. Klein's in Chicago was likely able to get these extra components on the cheap, and simply move them out the door for a few extra dollars above basic retail for the Carcano and turn a profit. But from any kind of a knowledgeable perspective, neither the scope nor the mount were really suited to the rifle in question.
True, except that tests by the US Army and the FBI proved the MC was more than capable in killing JFK. The final shot was only 86 yards.
@@JBliehall worst shot in the army and best shots , with lots of practice just managed it.
FBI initial tests indicated the scope was badly misaligned to the rifle and Oswald couldn't have struck Kennedy with it. This misalignment could have been caused by the police sloppy handling of evidence. It's also entirely possible Oswald knew the scope was badly misaligned and used the iron sights instead. At the distance he is believed to have fired from, lethal hits were entirely possible. 86 yards is not a long distance for a practiced rifleman.
Thanks for answering a few questions for me. I've read in many publications that the scope " itself" was a cheap Japanese knock-off with very low power, as you said.
We went to the book depository and it's very interesting to visit it for yourself. I don't know how much target shooting or hunting you do ( I target shoot, I'm not big on killing animals), then you'll know how difficult it is to hit a moving target at 80 yds. Especially with a cheap low power scope, and you're under a staggering amount of stress and pressure and terrified of what's going to happen to you afterward.
How often did Oswald practice? Who sighted in the scope and at what distance? They also mention the gun being disassembled at one point. By whom? When?
If you have a chance to go to the book depository, go. It really is a fascinating and unsettling look at our history up close. It's a tear jerker.
Thank you very much for your input. Stay safe in this mad world.
@@828enigma6you can c look early see the head shot to the right of JFK's temple as an entrance shot in the zspruder film.Had it actually came from behind, Kennedy would have moved forward and there would have been a huge exit wound to the front of f his head.
I used to work a security job in Glenarden, MD. The building that stored these items (and many others) was part of our patrol area. One of the lobby guards and I became friends and he took me in the storage area once, to show me around. He showed me box these were in, and he opened it so I could see them. I didn't get to touch them, though. The building used to stand at the SW corner of Evarts St and Brightseat Rd, across from the Landover mall. I think there's a gas station or liquor store on that site now.
Good thing you didn't get to touch them. Your finger prints someday being found by one of the many crusading investigators could get you snared in the next conspiracy theory! 😏
@brianarbenz7206 Imagine that headline:
"US Marine born 7 years after assassination of JFK gave Oswald rifle. DOD linked directly to murder in Dealy Plaza."
😆😆😆
@@scout3058 Some of the conspiracy believers would have gotten around that inconvenient fact. They'd claim a faked birth record, your chin being different in one picture than in another, or you name it.
It really looks like there was some glitch in the time space continuum that day.
Interesting video. Thanks for posting Mark. Just a couple of points:
At 2:58 the video says that, "the rifle was found at the sniper's nest".
The rifle was actually found between some boxes on the sixth floor near the top of the stairs at the north west corner of the TSBD, diagonally opposite the sniper's nest.
At 3:37 the video says that, "Oswald was not found in the book depositary building".
While climbing the north west stairs with the TSBD supervisor, Roy Truly, policeman, Marrion Baker, spotted Oswald standing in the doorway of the second floor lunchroom facing into the lunchroom. Baker aimed his gun at Oswald and told him to come forward. When Truly confirmed that Oswald was an employee, both Baker and Truly continued up the stairs to search the TSBD.
Oswald then entered the back door of the clerical office, on the second floor, where he was seen by Jeraldean Reid. He crossed the office leaving via the office front door and went down the south east stairs to exit the TSBD at the front entrance. He was carrying an unopened bottle of coke.
It was a Dr. Pepper
@@2Tubist Oswald did prefer Dr. Pepper, but from the Warren Commission report, page 6:
_Within about 1 minute after his encounter with Baker and Truly, Oswald was seen passing through the second-floor offices. In his hand was a full "Coke" bottle which he had purchased from a vending machine [on the west wall] in the lunchroom [on the second floor]._
You are correct. Well done.
@@AaronMark-ns8df Thanks
A Dallas policeman interviewed said that when a roll call was done just after lunch (after the shooting) Oswald was the only employee missing. (Did he leave with his "curtain rods?")
The US FBI recently re classified all information on this for another 25 or 50 years. This tells me someone in the detail is still alive and they are protecting them.
The driver did it
This tells me that a revolution would commence with the truth, our corrupt govt can’t be believed
@Proud Veteran KITDFOHS, our government is so bad right now with all the lies. It has progressively gotten worse over the last 30 years. I haven't watched US news sources for 17 years now, so I can get the known facts and unbiased opinion. Not false lies to spun a narrative that our news has become so great at doing
The US wont survive another 25-50.
Listen to the blowback podcast season 2 covering the CIA’s relationship with the Kennedy’s through his term and their distaste for him after the bay of pigs and operation mongoose. It will make your hair stand up
The things you find out you never knew about events that you lived through during your life is astounding! Thank you Dr. Felton.
Only one correction - the rifle was not discovered by the alleged snipers nest, it was found between boxes by the stairwell descending to the lower flows of the Texas State Book Depository building - this was an excellent documentation of this historical weapon.
I was going to say the same thing, the gun was not found at the sniper's nest.
Right . . .
There are actually multiple errors in this video. For example, he keeps referring to Oswalds handgun as a "pistol" . . . when it's a revolver. This makes me question the reliability of all of his videos . . .
@@QED_ revolvers are often referred to as pistols in British English
@@QED_ My God man, give him a break, everyone makes little mistakes. Yet it makes you question his validity?? Besides, you should research for yourself and don't take anything anyone says as gospel
Thanks, Mr. Felton !!! 👍🏼😊
New series on my favourite history history Channel? Yes please!
Infamous Weapons.. way to grab my attention again Mark. Please continue this series, and am stunned to see the growth your channel has experienced the last year or two. Hope you're living the good life!
Dr Felton’s worldly knowledge is truly amazing. Thank you for being the modern day history channel. Without talking about aliens.
I likee the way you tell histories stories !No romancing or anything like! Thank you for all the research and hard work on your videos!
Keep them coming!
Disinformation is what this is as JFK wasn't killed by Oswald, regardless of the fact that Lee Was responsible for the death of the 35th president.
fun fact regarding the photo of the forensic officer holding the rifle above his head. The individual was simply bringing the rifle to the basement to hand it over to the FBI, when coming out of the elevator (or stairs?) he faced a horde of journalists waiting for an update from police so he raised the weapon up to prevent anyone from touching it. So he was not "showing off" as many thought...
If it's the photo I am thinking of, that rifle has a different sling configuratiion.
@@kazkazimierz1742 The rifle the police seized from from the library where the shooting took place
Good thing he held Oswald's rifle up so nobody could contaminate it. Somebody might have contaminated Oswald's fingerprints which were clearly on the Carcano rifle!
@@radar0412 It was a palm print. The FBI found no prints on the gun. T he palm print showed up after a couple of Dallas cops took the gun to the funeral home where LHOs body was kept. According to the funeral home owner they cops put the palm print on the gun there.
@Jeepus Chrysler You've watched "Full Metal Jacket" too many times.
The scope mounted on Oswald's rifle was a 4 X Ordnance Optics Inc. Hollywood CA 010 Japan. Not an Italian WW2 Military scope as stated in this video.
Yep, was gonna post this. Question; was Ordnance Optics the importer for the 4x18 scope which was made in Japan?.....OO was not the manufacturer I'm guessing.
...so the Japanese helped to kill JFK?
And Hollywood assisted?
Wow!
(Silly joke.)
There are actually multiple errors in this video. For example, he keeps referring to Oswalds handgun as a "pistol" . . . when it's a revolver. This makes me question the reliability of all of his videos . . .
@@QED_ In fairness, mate - that's not a distinction a ton of people would make. I'm a gun nerd and I differentiate between pistols and revolvers, but not everyone does. Seems a slim reed upon which to hang a broad scepticism regarding Dr. Felton's entire work...
@@danjohnston3422 Sure . . . but here it's relevant because multiple cartridges were found next to Tippit's body. So "Oswald" shot Tippit . . . then stopped to eject each of the shells from the revolver (not pistol) so that police could find them later (?)
Yes New Mark Felton
Small point - the rifle was not found right in the sniper's nest but hidden elsewhere on that same floor between boxes of books, and was on his route to exit the floor, so maybe a late thought to dump the gun instead of taking it with him.
This series is going to be great.
Great episode but I'm disappointed that you didn't mention the other man allegedly murdered that day by Oswald, Dallas police officer J D Tippet. Hopefully in future episodes you'll discuss the FN1910 used by Gavrilo Princip to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, the guns used by the police in the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde, and the dueling pistols that resulted in the shooting death of Alexander Hamilton.
Well I can answer that even tho u probably don't want me too....He wasn't the PRESIDENT!!! and he didn't kill him with that gun ...
If he should've mentioned that, he should have mentioned that JFK was assassinated with help from the CIA.
I like the "allegedly". The CIA approves this video.
@@slowturtle6745 There never was an official investigation into the Tippit murder. Various eyewitness accounts (and an improbable sequence of events) contradict the "official" narrative.
You are right. J.D. Tippet is not to be forgotten. But let's drop the "allegedly. " No one is going to sue you for slander or libel.
The pistol was a surplus Smith and Wesson .38 caliber "Victory Model" (military version of the Model 10) that had been cut down to a snub nose. Thousands of these things were sold as surplus to gun stores and sporting goods after the war and given to gunsmiths for modifications to then be sold on the civilian market. You see them messed up in all kinds of ways - cut down barrels, nickel plating, cheap plastic "pearl handle" grips, etc. It's getting quite hard to find these things in just regular surplus condition anymore. They came with a gray parkerized finish, 4" or 5" barrel, plain smooth wood grips, and a lanyard loop of the bottom of the grip frame.
I've got one with a two inch barrel and front sight moved back. British Proofs and a British re-armored stamp. Either for armored use of pilot use. Later FTR'd at one point. Retains its parkerization with some wear. Was my first carry gun. Victory models also had V prefix before the serial number.
@@bad74maverick1 We had eight ex-British service ones in our Revolver and Pistol Club when I was at uni. Four had been 'targetised' and were worn out after heavy use. The other four were in unmodified service specification and lightly used. The best of those locked up really nicely and would shoot 1" groups at 25 yards.
@@derekp2674 Man I wish mine would do that! I'm glad it hit center mass at 50 feet lol. I have a spare surplus barrel I thought about taking it back to factory but it was FTR'd that way, so the Brits left the modification after the rebuild. Part of its history I guess.
Another the not-often-mentioned modification was boring the cylinder through to convert the .38 S&W (U.S., British equivalent .38-200) to .38 Special. Both the .38 S&W and the .38-200 were slightly larger in diameter, so shooting the .38 Special resulted in bulged cases and difficult extraction, along with sloppy accuracy.
BTW, weren't the cartridge cases found at the Tipppit murder scene .380s? Seem strange that Oswald would shoot Officer Tippett with a revolver, reload and dump the spent cartridges, then hustle down to the theater.
@@bad74maverick1 At uni we also had a Browning Hipower with German acceptance marks. It was so badly worn that it would rarely get more than 2 out of 10 shots on target at 25 yards.
Been serial watching tons of your videos, Mark. Catching up on a good chunk of them from the "classics" to the "oh, sh*t ~ no wonder we harbour justifiable disdain for the British monarchy". Like a competent and caring dietician of historical facts, I am so glad that you vary our diet with videos like this that contain equally detailed nutritional information!
As someone who grew up and have shot guns my entire life and would consider myself a much better than average shooter. It would be extremely difficult to get off 3 shots off with a bolt action rifle, much less 3 shots in a high stress situation like that. Like Mark, I'm not saying he did or didn't do it, but it would be an extremely difficult shot to make.
Oswald scored 18 out of 20 in rapid fire at targets 200 yards away in the Marines, and he had 8-9 seconds in the assassination.
@@aaronz7056 Sounds like the perfect fall guy...
@@aaronz7056exactly, also 8 to 9 seconds to get off 2 shots, not 3. As you know, 1st shot starts the clock, it's not already running. How anyone can't see how easy it would be for a former marine sharpshooter to get off 2 shots in 8 to 9 seconds, is beyond me.
@@jwg9338 In that case we look forward to you explaining how the people framing this fall guy knew:
- he would show up at the Paine house Nov. 21, otherwise they can't pretend he smuggled the rifle
- he wouldn't simply stand out on the sidewalk during the parade
- nobody would ever find any bullets or fragments that don't match to his gun
- the guy planting a bogus bullet at the hospital within one hour of the shooting has any idea a bullet needs planting at all or that he's not simply planting one bullet into evidence too many and blowing the whole plot
- Oswald would immediately flee the plaza
- Oswald would help frame himself getting ID'd by nearly a dozen witnesses as the man seen shooting a cop and fleeing
- he would get caught red-handed trying to shoot a second cop
- he would lie to police and refuse to cooperate with any investigator
- he would refuse help from the President of the Dallas Bar Association during their interview
- he would act so smug and placid he would even convince his own brother he was guilty
- he would make no attempt to blurt out anything about any conspiracy and instead would just shrug a hollow, rambling reply when asked on live TV, "Did you shoot the President?"
- they can safely count on scores and scores of witnesses, ballistics experts, police, FBI, Secret Service, military personnel, doctors, x-ray technicians, photographers, Oswald family members, whole commissions, etc., to obey illegal orders to commit grave crimes and bend over backwards making themselves all loyal accessories to murder and treason...
Who sighted in the scope? If Owald, when and where. I doubt it was done by the Italian refurbishers.
I'm going to love this new series, one of the most intriguing assassinations in history. It happened during my lifetime.
But you'll never know what actually happened
@@stephenclemence5856 Actually some of are aware of the truth, which is why the cover up exists.
"Oswald was not found at the TSBD"?!
The first officer on the scene and Oswald's supervisor passed him in the lunchroom on their way upstairs.
I can't help it, but I just love this intro music. Very interesting stories you provide to us. Thank you very much Mark for all your efforts.. May we see much more of your fascinating videos........
Me too that music is bad ass when I hear it say oh ole Mark is at it again👍🏼
Almost certainly the Oswald rifle telescopic scope was NOT WW2 Italian made as claimed. Rather it was a 4x made in Japan "Ordnance Optics" (also "Hollywood") scope. It even says that on the display at 5:55. This is gonna be a great series!
There is no way the scope pictured was a military scope.
The scope on the rifle wasn't sighted. The Army Lab had to shim it in order to do ballistic tests for the Warren Commission..
@@bobholtzmann The fact that the 'scope wasn't zeroed-in was what first led to my understanding that Oswald was the shooter after all...
@@tooleyheadbang4239 The Army lab reported they needed 3 shims for the sight to line up with the target. This fact alone would tell us about whether this was the weapon of the shooter.
@@bobholtzmann It would certainly tell us why his first shot missed.
What a fantastic idea for a series, Dr. Felton. I'm already eager for the next episodes!
This is a series? I thought its a one off.
This really belongs on television. The quality of production is insane.
Not so much!
Not true, blatantly so.
Insane? You mean insanely well done?
At 2:54 you refer to the Carcano as an "Italian infantry carbine fitted with a World War II Italian Army telescopic sight" when the scope was actually an inexpensive Japanese-made commercial 4x18 telescopic sight that was imported into the USA by a company called Ordnance Optics, Inc. in Hollywood, California. Klein's Sporting Goods bought the scopes & mounts from Ordnance Optics & then installed them on Mausers & Carcanos.
Good catch, he would have hard time hitting anything so fast with wwii scope. Japanese wasn't much better beside not being set correctly. Strange event.
@@codaalive5076 simo hayha a world war 2 sniper laughs at you. Why couldnt a weapon from then fire fast and accurate. Ever heard of the M1 Garand the Lee Endield or mauser 98 and they were bolt action
@@sanderson9338 Try taking 3 shots with bolt action rifle in ~5,6 seconds with very little aiming, you might be very surprised....
I agree bolt action rifles are very precise, probably still more than semi auto. Simo was specialist for iron sights, great shooter for sure.
@@codaalive5076 Well, I can't shoot, but I've seen people who can, in conditions set up to mimic Dealy Plaza, and they were able to do it easily, with the same weapon.
@@philsurtees No you didn't because they can't produce the magic bullet. I know people who could probably shoot a person with at that conditions using iron sights but no one using that bad scope. They claim 3 shots in 5,5s with magic bullet and wtc 7...
Great idea for a series Dr Felton. People appreciate greatly the work you put out 🙏
You ought to do a video on the Beretta model 1934 that killed Gandhi sometime.
Of course
I had a Brescia 6.5 Carcano carbine, WWII bring back w/o scope, which I always thought was the same type rifle used in the Kennedy assasination. But, after watching your video I realize the Kennedy rifle was actually more a rifle length weapon than mine.
While I have personal opinions on the circumstances of the shooting, one will never change. Marine riflemen are well known for their marksmanship but regardless of their skills I could never be convinced a rifle like I owned, even using a scope, could have made the shot(s) that killed President Kennedy. The rifle shown in your video, doable in the hands of very well trained shooter, with a lot of luck.
Another of your well researched and prepared videos, Dr. Felton!
Why “with a lot of luck”? The shooting took 8.3 seconds, maximum distance was 80 yards with a 4x scope on a target moving just 11mph and in a mostly straight line away from shooter. A totally do-able shot.
oh my god Mark Felton and the JKF incident! Couldnt ask for more! Brazilian fan here.
Fascinating new topic! Most people knows the basic history of major events but learning about what happened to specific items used within the events is so interesting.
Oswald’s Mannlicher Carcano rifle wasn’t found in the snipers nest, it was partly hidden amongst boxes near the lift and staircase diagonally opposite to the snipers nest on the 6th floor of the Texas School Depository Building on Elm Street Dealey Plaza.
The "alleged" snipers nest.
@@rufus-h4h It was obviously the snipers nest, plenty of evidence, spent cartridges, critical witnesses, Howard Brennan unmistakably saw the shooter, Harold Norman and his work colleagues right below the shooter unmistakably heard the shots from above. Some people don’t like the truth, indoctrinated with conspiracy theories.
@@rufus-h4h Most probably not a protective or a snipers next, but rather a random positioning of boxes which were stacked due to Roy Truly (T.B.D Supervisor) and his crew of workers were also involved in plywood flooring of the 6th level. So you would imagine many boxes would need to be moved and or stacked out of the way for said replacement of the flooring boards. Now, as Oswald worked on a number of floors including the 6th, it could be one of the main reasons that Dallas Police, who dusted for prints on those boxes would be an almost pointless process, as Oswald most probably moved a number of these boxes during his day to day work duties or if he assisted with the flooring work.
@@aujay This was definitely the snipers nest and there are a number of reasons for this which are. 5 x witnesses saw a person/rifle at the window, including the most crucial eye witness Howard Brennan, Harold Norman was right below on the 5th floor and he felt the dust on his head and heard the casings hitting the floor.The boxes were strategically placed next to the window away from the pile of stacked boxes that bordered the room. The shell casings and empty rifle bag (which had blanket fibres from Ruth Paine’s garage) was in the snipers nest, and Oswald’s prints were on the boxes (which you would expect) but in a place not typical for handling.The amount of evidence that shows this was the snipers nest is astounding but some people just don’t want to believe.
@@davidmoss4280
Have you ever read Howard Brennan's testimony?
He failed to identify LHO at that sham ' Line-up" 5 hours after the assassination and even after seeing LHO on TV!
All the rest of your post is pure Warren Commission poppycock.
Good video Mark.
I have been in the Texas Book Depository building and looked out that window. I have also been in Ford's Theater in D.C. Both places are in their own way very eerie.
Yes, so have I. For those claiming the shot was next to impossible they really need to go to the book depository. The shots were very, very easy and most boys in school back in that day and age could have made those shots. The only question I had was why did he not take the shot when the limousine was coming straight towards him and passed right under the window rather than wait until it turned and was headed away.
@@randallmarsh1187 what about the guys seen with rifles near the grassy knoll, Oswald was a stool pigeon
@@johnfrancis2215 I have not seen or heard anything corroborated about people on the grassy knoll with weapons. Suffice it to say that given any situation there will always be people who claim to have seen something.......until they have to swear under oath, witness the whole Don the Con election BS! I agree Oswald was a clown who could have been swayed very easily, but that doesn't mean he didn't do it.
@@johnfrancis2215 no guy was seen with rifles on the grassy knoll. And oswald was clearly shooting his gun.
Wake up.
Mark that scope on the Carcano was NOT Italian Military issue but a Tasco Scope (commercial usa made). Furthermore the "news" reports at the time FIRST stated the Rifle found was a MAUSER.
The 1st rule of journalism is 'never let facts get in the way of a good story'.
Well considering newsing outlets werent (and aren't) realy Expert on weapons (like when they Said that Bradley are tanks) they could have Just confused, the carcano isn't that much different from a mouser
no not tasco, it was stamped orndance optics hollywood ca 4x18 made in japan 010, etc, as stated by other commentors.
@@jacopofolin6400 It was actually a firearms expert who identified it as a Mauser. He was the one who informed the media.
@@maubunky1 I believe that manufacturer was Tasco, or later became Tasco. It's a piece of junk either way.
Interesting.
You could also do episodes on John Wilkes Booth's derringer and Gavrilo Princip's FN 1910.
How about Guiteau's British Bulldog and Czolgasz's Iver Johnson revolvers?
Good idea
Fascinating stuff I had no idea that the weapons were involved in all that legal wrangling years after the assassination had taken place, as an aside the rifle used by Oswald was originally identified by a Dallas Policeman at the book depository as a German made Mauser.
Stamped on the barrel as 7.65 mm not 6.5 mm as Oswald's was.
Cops freely owned up to initially misidentifying the unfamiliar rifle and carelessly letting slip to the media their misidentification, leading to sixty years of conspiracy theorists insisting somebody left the wrong kind of rifle, or multiple rifles, lying around the crime scene for an army of police to swiftly find.
Absolute legend of a rifle, never known another to curve bullets so well.
No curve needed, Connally's jump seat was lower than JFK's. People just assume that all the seats in the limo were at the same level, so the "magic bullet" BS was born.
@@misfitsailor Well I feel like an idiot now haha. But thanks, always nice to learn something new.
@@misfitsailor found the cia agent
@@misfitsailor The "magic bullet bs" was the theory proposed by Arlen Specter, only after a stray bullet was found to have impact a bystander by the name of James Tague. It was concocted to corroborate the predetermined conclusion of a "lone nut"; a "lone nut", mind you, who maintained very intimate relationships with various members (or contacts) of the intelligence community, one of whom was even a close friend of the Bouvier family.
By the way, Connally stated that he was not impacted by the same bullet that struck President Kennedy, and the throat wound was originally described as a wound of entry. When debating the "magic bullet", it's not about whether such a scenario is conceivable, but about whether there is sufficient evidence to support it in this case. Ultimately, there is not.
@@misfitsailor
True, but it's literally impossible for a bullet from Oswald's gun to blow Kennedy's brains and bone fragments all over the trunk.
Which is exactly where they were.....
Thank you for another most interesting and informative video, Dr. Felton. Author Stephen Hunter wrote a novel where the hero proved that Oswald was a lone assassin. Now then, he added a lengthy appendix at the end where he speaks of actually inspecting the Carcano and Tasco scope supplied with it. He stated that the fit of the scope to the rifle was so bad that the seller included a metal shim for placing between the scope mount and the receiver of the rifle. This shim was missing when Hunter examined it. He opined that it was one thing if it had become lost over time. If it was never there to begin with, "someone got away with murder." 🤔
Not quite. The scope and mount were not made for the rifle, the mount was simply screwed into the side of the stock by the seller. When the FBI test fired it, they found that the impact of the rounds was outside the view of the scope. It was they who added shims to make the scope functional for further tests.
Oswald did it, everything points right at it.
@@kennethrouse7942 It was that Oswald got away with murder. He was never tried, and he got the infamy he wanted.
He made the decision to shoot JFK, and nobody else.
Hi Mark. I love your content. Would you ever consider telling the story of the last remaining German A7V tank, Mephisto?
Great to see Mark really come into his own Great historian
Mark, WRT the speed of the three shots, remember it isn’t 3 shots in 6 seconds (6 seconds for round numbers) it is two shots in 6 seconds. Shot One is at time stamp 0:00, for it starts the festivities. Shot Two requires the bolt be cycled, sights aligned, and the trigger pulled. Shot Three requires cycling the action sight alignment, pulling the trigger, and this shot stops the clock at six seconds.
Worth pointing-out that the scope was misaligned - the Carcano rifle was not designed to work with a telescopic sight. Using the sight, the shooter should have missed with all shots, hence the FBI assumed that the shooter used the open iron sights and ignored the telescope..
To check the scope, the FBI ordered more Carcano's from Kleins Sporting Goods and found all rifle scopes misaligned to a similar degree.
Exactly, which is why only two of the bullets came from Oswald's rifle. The third is something which shall remain unsaid,
@@johnthomas7038 boom goes the dynamite
@@user6008 dynamite boom to you too sir
@@user6008 It came from accidental discharge of a machine pistol inside the car, carried by a Secret Service man. This fact was suppressed for a very long time, but came out in the last few years. This shot also hit Kennedy.
Absolutely love the theme song
The question I was asking myself was if ballistic tests were ever carried out on the rifle in order to see if the bullets removed from Kennedy at the autopsy were fired from the gun?
Yeah and the car and cement overpass.
I know one of the men who was part of the reopening of the assassination, he was the ballistics expert, said he got to see all of the evidence, all of the bullets matched the rifling of the carcano...he said there was no doubt that the rifle killed Kennedy.
All bullets and fragments ever found were firmly matched to Oswald's rifle.
I'm pretty sure all the bullets shot through him(which is expected with a high powered rifle using fully jacketed ammo), but they did recover pieces of them and do tests
If this becomes a series, you should do a couple episodes on the infamy associated with Charter Arms.
Supplemental: I actually visited Dealy Plaza on a road trip through Texas recently. I think Oswald could have made those shots, but he would have to be a good shot at a moving target. It's a very sad place
Not only moving but a target much lower than the shooter. Both angles require their own trajectory adjustment. Yes, a very good shot indeed. Possible yes, likely no. I would like to see it recreated with some of our best competition shooters.
@@eddiemclean7011 It has been done, and isn't as difficult as it looks, since JFK was driving away from Oswald. when fatal shots were fired. The first shot was fro 88yds and would have been the shooters best shot.
@@PORRRIDGE_GUN Been done by who? And under pressure equal to what Oswald would have been under? I would suspect an accomplished shooter with a semi auto might pull that off. But an average shooter with a bolt action? Moving away doesn't take away all the calculations involved, theres still a considerable height diffence , an angle even if reduced by direction, and the target is still moving. A bolt action is goin to compromise the shooters stock weld every time he cycles the bolt. Add to that its a run of the mill, 20 year old surplus military rifle of questionable quality, not a sniper level weapon. I agree it might be possible to get the shots off in that time period, but that accurately? Two other asides. I used to hunt all the time. Never saw a head snap into the direction of the bullet strike, and two, if there's nothing to hide, why do they continue to hide evidence. I used to work in gov, at a county, state, and fed level. I know better than to believe what they say if they say they have absolute truth to share with you. You are always told what they want to tell you, when they want to tell you, nothing more. See anything from the FBI for reference on that point.
Maggie's drawers
I have been to the site also and I feel that its more than possible he alone did the shooting. The distance was only roughly 175 feet.
As usual sir YOU'VE NAILED IT! Looking forward to this becoming a series hopefully. One I'd like to see would be the "palm squeeze" type of pistol used in the assassination of President William McKinley.
Although the actual M-C rifle is safely packed away, an identical example of the weapon is in the museum at the FBI headquarters. It's a very ordinary looking vintage infantry rifle, but obviously quite lethal in the hands of a well-trained serviceman.
Thing is he was a poor shot in the military
Did he get better?
@@tomhenry897: Oswald qualified as a Marksman when he was in the Marine Corps. Marksman is the lowest of the 3 rifle qualifications, but still very challenging. Marines are trained to hit targets at 200, 300 & 500 yards WITHOUT a scope. JFK was less than 100 yards away & Oswald was using a scoped rifle. Much has been made about Oswald supposedly being a poor shot in the military. I am a former US Marine & believe me, anyone qualifies in the Marine Corps is not a poor shot.
@@mrk3032 A average shot in the Marines is at least an above average shooter in the civilian realm. People may make plenty of jokes about Marines but not about their marksmanship.
First it’s not an “M-C” weapon. The two never collaborated. It’s a Carcano. It has a Mannlicher style action.
Second, whatever level of skill he achieved in the Marine Corps is irrelevant to this shot. Oswald was taught on a known distance range, with a rifle whose sights were marked to set them at that distance. He was taught to steady his aim using a tight sling, a shooting jacket, a shooting glove and a body position that rested the rifle on bone. He did NONE of those things in Dallas. The question of where to place the iron sights in space to hit the target was unknown to him. The iron sights on that Carcano are fixed at 200 yards, meaning he would have needed a 12” holdover (aiming above the target) to hit Pres Kennedy.
There’s is absolutely no chance that Oswald hit anything that day, if he was even a shooter. Not with that rifle.
@@coryhoggatt7691 I thought it was fixed at 250 meters since European Armies used the metric system?
I noticed the Marlin 336C in the newspaper ad. My dad bought one for me in 1975. My first deer rifle.
Interesting segment Mark, thanks. Surplus weapons have always had some nostalgia to me
It was an Argentina Mauser one report said
Thank you for the awesome video Dr. Felton! Like many Americans, I’ve always wondered the truth to the JFK assassination. In my opinion, this is the point in American history where people really began to question the governments validity.
Sames as 9 11. The gov did it.
JFK's assassination was solved in 1992. Read Bonar Menninger's book - Mortal Error- The shot that killed JFK.
Well done, Mark.
The first time I visited Dealey Plaza, I was surprised by how small the area was. The President's car was shockingly close to the book depository building. A good marksman almost wouldn't have needed a scope, unless they wanted to be absolutely sure of headshots.
I was just looking at that on Google maps. It appears that Oswald starting shooting when Kennedy's car was just 50 yards from the building and at most was 100 yards from the car on the last shot. Those measurements are at street level. There may be some additional yards that needs to be added for the fact he was on the sixth floor shooting down at Kennedy. Thanks.
@@jeffreywj7773 I was standing in the window next to the original "shooter's nest". You can't look out the actual window, it's surrounded by clear Lexan but the next one is very close. That floor is a museum and you can tour through it. Looking down out of that window at the "X" painted on the street where JKF was shot, like I said it's shockingly close. It's much different being there than seeing it on TV. I was very surprised.
I've been there too. I had the same impression.
Great lesson! I'm with others here - a fascinating series on weapons of infamy would be a real treat. I have several, but my favorite "weapon" (if true and not just anecdotal) would be the poisoned figs that a paranoid Augustus ate. The story goes that his queen, Livia, poisoned the things as they hung from the tree, so he wouldn't suspect anything. That's majorly devious LOL
She then sold the uneaten figs to a fig collector, but the courts ruled that they were abandoned at a crime scene, so the figs belonged to the government. They are not on display to the public.
@@captainpoppleton ROFL that fig-ures, doesn't it? The courts don't give a fig about our rabid interest in such matters. Maybe the entire anecdote is just a fig-ment of someone's lively imagination. 😉
Perhaps you could also do T.E. Lawrence's SMLE .303 rifle. I believe it is held by the Royal Collection Trust.
@ 3:14 - One piece of info I had always wondered about: There was a fourth, unspent round still inside Oswald’s rifle.
Yes.
Oswald was properly the luckiest sniper ever. Not many assassins have the luxury of having their victim drive by their workplace.....
The magazine Oswald ordered his Carcano from had a ton of other surplus, including a Lahti 20mm semi automatic anti tank cannon on the very next page.
I like to think there’s an alternate universe where he went full YOLO.
Local gun shop has one of those hanging from the rafters, its huge.
@@LostShipMate you should make them an offer
Ruby died of a pulmonary embolism, secondary to bronchogenic carcinoma, on January 3, 1967, less than a month after his cancer diagnosis, at Parkland Hospital, the same facility where Oswald and Kennedy died. He was buried beside his parents in the Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois.
Nice presentation. Just a minor comment: Ruby didn’t die in 1966; he died on January 3 1967.
I recreated a Carcano exactly as Oswald 's. Right down to every detail in the 70's, even the cheap japanese scope. Fired at 3 different targets, in succession in the same time frame, distance and angles and was able to recreate his to every detail. I was in high school when JFK was killed and was obsessed to find out if it could be done...it could. The Carcano is not a cheap crappy rifle, it was made with quality and expertise workmanship, not what was reported at the time. Never underestimate a marine with a rifle.
There is a video on this type of rifle by Forgotten Weapons. It's one of the best rifles ever made, very accurate, precise weapon. It was sold cheaply in the US at the time so it was easy to say Oswald used a sub par rifle and claim there were other shooters.
It was a reasonably precise rifle. Totally irrelevant to accuracy. Unless you know where to point the barrel in space to cause the round to go where you want it to you won’t hit the target. They don’t teach you how to do that in boot camp.
@@allensteiner1 I bought the carcano from the used milsup bin for 49.99 at an army & navy store in jersey when I came back from nam. Ran a few patches though it, formed a sight mount from a piece of sheet metal and screwed it into the receiver. but I get it ,people just couldn't believe that some schlubb could take out the most popular president in american history, so now we have conspiracy theories. ...but it is what it is. (I was a pretty tough kid in 1963 but I still cried like a baby for days.)
That’s funny, no other experts were able to make those shots.
The Oswald rifle was not found in the sniper's nest. The sniper's nest was in the southeast corner of the sixth floor of the book depository. Oswald left the three empty cases on the floor in that corner, but he carried the rifle as he went towards the stairs in the northwest corner of the building. He hid the rifle behind some boxes nearer the northwest corner. That's where the rifle was found.
Obviously, if someone doesn't believe that Oswald fired the shots, then that person won't believe that Oswald did any of the things that I mention in the previous paragraph. For those people, I'll modify my statement to say that the Warren Commission reported finding the three empty cases near the southeast window on the sixth floor and that the Warren Commission reported that Dallas police reported that they found the rifle nearer the stairs in the northwest corner. I have no interest in arguing either side of theories of the assassination.
Another of the theories is that police recovered a rifle with markings identifying the rifle as a Mauser. One of the police officers in the building at the time was interested in guns and at first said that the rifle "looked like a Mauser." That officer said that he later looked more closely and was certain that the rifle he saw was an Italian Carcano. I think someone else said that he saw "7.65 MAUSER" or maybe "7.62 MAUSER" stamped on the barrel or receiver. Original Mauser rifles wouldn't have had that marking. Many Mauser rifles were sold to other countries for military use and then resold on the U.S. market after they had been used by other countries. Sometimes, they would be stamped that way as part of bringing them to the U.S. civilian market. At this point, no one can point to any physical evidence that a Mauser rifle was found anywhere on the sixth floor of the book depository. The only evidence for this rifle being there is unconfirmed eyewitness testimony. Some people believe that testimony, and others do not.
In spite of what some people claim, the 6.5 Carcano was not a bad rifle. The diameter of the bullets made for nominally 6.5 mm rifles varied and were not a perfect 6.5 mm. If I remember correctly, some were .264 inches and others were .268 inches, but again, I'm not looking at the numbers at this moment and can't be certain that those are the right numbers. The important point is that firing a .264 bullet in a rifle made for the .268 bullets will result in less accuracy. Many bullets on the American commercial market were made in the smaller diameter for the American rifles that were nominally 6.5 mm caliber. That resulted in many people seeing the 6.5 Carcano rifles as inaccurate. The bullets associated with Oswald's rifle were made in the larger caliber/diameter and would have been accurate in Oswald's rifle. In the hands of a competent marksman, the rifle was adequate to the task of committing the assassination.
None of this means that I support or deny any particular theory of the assassination. I just want to point out that the rifle wasn't found in the "sniper's nest" and that there was a little bit of controversy about the rifle or rifles found further back towards the stairs on the sixth floor.
Based dude choosing not to take sides. Respect
No Mauser was found. Deputy Weitzman freely owned up to his careless goof in misidentifying the gun after only a cursory look at it.
Could have been 2 shooters on that floor
Not so sure it was Oswald.... certainly not alone.
Deputy Sheriff Rodger Craig stood by his word up until the day he was killed, that a German 7.65 Mauser was found on the 6th floor.
Oswald did not leave the rifle in the sniper's nest. He actually left it between some boxes on the other side of the sixth floor of the building, close to the stairs.
If "he" did that, and took time to wipe prints off the rifle, he had no time to get to the second floor lunchroom where he was seen drinking a coke. seconds after the assassination. Women were on the stairs and did not see him come down.
Glad that myself and others spotted that bad info.
You are correct about the location of where the rifle was found but Oswald didn't leave the rifle there as he didn't shoot anybody.
@@kenkaplan3654he also apparently looked a new clip before hiding the rifle
A well researched documentary!!
about 15 years ago, I used to deliver propane to a very nice old man that lived on the outskirts of Cedar Hill, Texas. For the longest time, all I knew that he was a retired policeman, but a few years after he died I learned that he was on the security detail at Parkland Hospital the day Kennedy was shot.
Wow, I have a rifle featured in this ad! I have a British .303 (SMLE) Sporterized just like the one on the bottom right. I always thought someone had done it individually, but apparently, it was done by a reseller back then. Very accurate rifle, BTW.
I have a sporterized Nazi Mauser. It clearly wasn't done en masse as the whole stock was replaced, but it's clearly a very old conversion. The Weaver bases they'd fitted back then perfectly accept modern Picatinny rings so it was a no-brainer to give it a modern Nikon scope.
I had had one as well great rifle got stolen has a quarter inlaid into the stock on tight side if you ever run across it lol
I owned a exact copy of it I used for deer hunting, for meat. Even with a polished bolt and a ton of practice I couldn't hit 3 times in less than 9 seconds I shot at a barrel in a wagon being pulled on a track from on a ridge at about the same height. I think he used the rifle, but had help.
mhm, but you weren't a U.S. Marine corps Sharpshooter were you
@@d.k8257 No, I grew up shooting and at NRA training courses won the Equivalent medal. I can do it with my Mauser Action 30-06 with around 100 rounds at the range.
The Carcanno is just a bit awkward ergonomically. It is a great deer rifle for farm and Eastern Forrest, but would take a good bit of practice on speed and accuracy to pull off the shots and recover to do it in 8.3 seconds. This is my opinion, but I feel it is informed. My Uncle was a Marine Sniper in WWII I could keep up with him and sometimes beat him.
He was a poor shot
@@tomhenry897 No he wasn"t.
Using the same rifle after it’s mechanical short comings were fixed, government sharpshooters were unable to duplicate Oswald’s shots. He qualified as a “sharpshooter” but was reported to have deteriorated as the years went by. Plus he missed a general he tried to kill with a much easier shot earlier that year. Many people think he couldn’t have pulled off the assassination.
As a companion piece, Sirhan Sirhan's pistol and sundry other possible firearms plausibly employed in the deadly deed. Also, Mark David Chapman's "assassination" weapon.
CORRECTION: Paul Groody, the Funeral Home Director who prepared Oswald's body, Testified On Camera, that as he was preparing Oswald's body late one night, Agents showed up and insisted on some Alone Time with Oswalds body. After this Groody had to clean off Ink from Oswald's hands and it was obvious that Oswald's Fingerprints had been Lifted. Previously the Government had NO FINGERPRINTS being found on the Rifle, but within days of this Incident it was announced that a previously Clean Rifle now had a Palm Print from Oswald on it!! You do the Math on that one! You run into so many of these Twists and Turns on 90 Percent of what the Government has told us when you honestly look into the Evidence of the JFK Assassination!
Hahahaha 😅yes
Thank you Oliver Stone.
Printing a dead suspect was standard procedure in order to insure that the body was the person in question. Not a big deal.
And the prints? Guess what? Lt. Day of the DPD found a palm print on the underside of the barrel after disassembling the rifle the evening of 11/22/63, and he also photographed a print on the trigger housing at the same time. Both belonged to Oswald.
The FBI took possession of the Carcano late that night but were unable to locate the prints because Day had already worked the rifle over. It wasn’t until the next day that they found out about the prints Day had pulled. There was nothing diabolical involved.
You may go back to your viewing of JFK now.
@@jetcat132 You mean that Oswald really did shoot Kennedy?
@@ronniebishop2496 Absolutely
@@jetcat132 So many questions just keep coming up. If it was just Oswald wouldn’t it had been over, like Booth who killed Lincoln
Seeing an M1 Garand for 90 bucks in the paper is the real story here.
You have to work an inflation ratio to see what $90 would amount to today. $90 for a Garand sounds cheap however Garands were always expensive, hence $90 for a Garand from Kleins vs. $20 for a Carcano with a scope.
Wow, this was fascinating. As a law student and lifelong history nerd, I loved this video and would love to see more episodes like this.
An interesting fact is that the choice of this rifle caused a smile in the shooters who knew and used it. Among the soldiers, the Manlicher-Carcano rifle was called a "humanitarian weapon"! Because you could rarely hit anyone with it! Isn't that a strange choice?🤔
Shooting was successfully recreated by investigators using Oswald's rifle and all bullets and fragments ever found were matched to it.
@Std Disclaimer That's why the Italians won the War, performing especially brilliantly in North Africa. 🤡
@@aaronz7056 no on both counts, nobody recreated his shooting and the bullets are not exclusively tied to oswalds rifle, do you get anything right?
Gun made by Beretta super accurate low recoil
@@John-qb3ss nonsense they kick like a mule and are not particularly accurate at all. try firing one sometime, they are loud as hell too.
250 feet…he was 250 feet away and shooting at a moving target. Oswald got off 3 rounds in just 6 seconds with an old Italian bolt action rifle, and scored 2 hits, including a head shot. This individual demonstrated what one motivated Marine and his rifle can do. - Gunnery Sergeant Hartman
Except Oswald wasn't a real Marine. And he did not act alone. 11 shots fired. Explain how Oswald hit outside upper windshield & frame? Back and to the LEFT.
Unfortunately Hartman was going by the Warren report when it came to lho, Charles Whitman he was a hundred percent correct on that.... Whitman was a badass lho not so much
The shot was 80 years with a 4 power scope it's now 20 years or 60 ft. I make head shoots on squil 7:49 res at that distance with a 22 rifle
And even got the steel core round to magically fragment on the last round, the head shot.
Amazing.
So cut and dry, that all of the documents and photos and evidence are open to the public...wait...
🤔 Speaking of weapons of note, What happened to the M-1 Carbine of Malcolm X from his famous photo?
I was 7 years old at the time when this occurred and it was shocking, and as a result I never wanted to go into politics as long as I lived in the United States of America.
For about 24 hours , the television news had reported a Mauser 7.65 rifle was found , then they had to change It , because they couldn’t link it to Oswald.
There were two rifles recovered from the fifth floor that day, the Mauser 7.65 among boxes shortly after the assassination and later that evening LHO's Mannlicher- Carcano was discovered by a Dallas Police Department Detective between the floor supporting concrete truss and wooden floor, near the far end close to the mechanical waiter chute. Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry was leaned on to not be a problem.
@@kevinluby4783 Wrong!!! Remember the media was on the floor at the same time. They were taking photographs and filming. The recovery of the rifle was filmed by Tom Alyea of WFAA-TV, and his footage shows the rifle to be a Mannlicher-Carcano.
There are photos and film of the rifle being discovered. It's a Carcano. Plus, there were many members of the DPD on the floor. They would all have to be in on any kind of switch that took place. The DPD was in on the cover-up before Oswald was even captured? That would necessarily mean they were in on the assassination itself. Preposterous!
This is lengthy but actual testimony. Read it before making more idiotic statements.
The conspiracy theorists site those who discovered it as claiming it was a Mauser. Mostly, they site Seymour Weitzman, Eugene Boone, Will Fritz and Carl Day. Let's start with Seymour Weitzman. He's the one most often cited.
Mr. BALL - "In the statement that you made to the Dallas Police Department that afternoon, you referred to the rifle as a 7.65 Mauser bolt action?"
Mr. WEITZMAN - "In a glance, that's what it looked like."
Mr. BALL - "That's what it looked like did you say that or someone else say that?"
Mr. WEITZMAN - "No; I said that. I thought it was one."
Mr. BALL - "Are you fairly familiar with rifles?"
Mr. WEITZMAN - "Fairly familiar because I was in the sporting goods business awhile."
You conspiracy theorists often refer to Weitzman as a gun expert. He worked in the damn sporting good business.
He was "fairly familiar" with rifles, by his own admission. I doubt they sold World War II Italian rifles at whatever sporting goods store he worked.
Mr. BALL - "Now, in your statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, you gave a description of the rifle, how it looked."
Mr. WEITZMAN - "I said it was a Mauser-type action, didn't I?"
Mr. BALL - "Mauser bolt action."
Mr. WEITZMAN - "And at the time I looked at it, I believe I said it was 2.5 scope on it and I believe I said it was a Weaver but it wasn't; it turned out to be anything but a Weaver, but that was at a glance."
To Weitzman, any rifle with a bolt action was a "Mauser". He used that term generically because the Carcano does have a similar bolt action. The Mauser is a much better known rifle than a Mannlicher-Carcano. Most people have never even heard of such a rifle unless they have researched the Kennedy assassination. But everybody's heard of a German Mauser.
Then there is Eugene Boon. And he is one of the ones the CT crowd point to as stating the rifle found on the 6th floor was a "Mauser." Under testimony he admitted many said it was, but not him. It is an easy error to make. Almost everyone knows the German 98 Mauser rifle by sight. Not many know the 6.5 mm Italian MC rifle.
Here's what he had to say about it to the commission:
Mr. BALL - "There is one question. Did you hear anybody refer to this rifle as a Mauser that day?"
Mr. BOON - "Yes, I did. And at first, not knowing what it was, I thought it was 7.65 Mauser."
Mr. BALL - "Who referred to it as a Mauser that day?"
Mr. BOON - "I believe Captain Fritz. He had knelt down there to look at it, and before he removed it, not knowing what it was, he said that is what it looks like. This is when Lieutenant Day, I believe his name is, the ID man was getting ready to photograph it. We were just discussing it back and forth. And he said it looks like a 7.65 Mauser."
Again, Boon is just giving his impression- a Carcano does look like a Mauser.
They were all saying that it looked like a Mauser.
This is where the conspiracy theorists are coming up with this.
Notice that he describes the discussion of the rifle before they actually picked it up and examined it.
Then there is Carl Day:
Mr. BELIN - "Did you ever hear this rifle referred to as a 7.65 Mauser or as any type of a Mauser?"
Mr. DAY - "Yes, sir; it wasn't referred to as that. Some of the newsmen, when I first carried the rifle out, asked me if it was a .3006, and at another time they asked me if it was a Mauser. I did not give them an answer."
Mr. BELIN - "Were there newsmen on the sixth floor at the time the rifle was found, if you know?"
Mr. DAY - "I think there was."
Mr. BELIN - "Did you ever describe the rifle as anything but a 6.5-caliber with regard to the rifle itself?"
Mr. DAY - "I didn't describe the rifle to anyone other than police officers." The Mauser story certainly didn't come from Lt. Day, but he was privy to the early conversations about the rifle, consistent with what the others said.
Mr. McCLOY - "There was never any doubt in your mind what the rifle was from the minute you saw it?"
Mr. DAY - "No, sir; It was stamped right on there, 6.5, and when en route to the office with Mr. Odum, the FBI agent who drove me in, he radioed it in, he radioed in what it was to the FBI over the air.
That's the entire basis of the Mauser story. But if you listen to the conspiracy crowd, you'd think it was a certainty. Besides, commonsense, alone, should tell anyone with half a brain that switching a Mauser for a Carcano, right there on the 6th floor, in front of everybody, is just insanity.
It never happened.
The recovery of the rifle was filmed by Tom Alyea of WFAA-TV, and his footage shows the rifle to be a Mannlicher-Carcano. Here is one frame from his footage, and here is another. In fact, a Mannlisher-Carcano could easily be mistaken for a Mauser.
The DPD was in on the cover-up before Oswald was even captured? That would necessarily mean they were in on the assassination itself.
It never happened.
@@JBliehall I'm sorry but if you are taking any notice of what was said "allegedly" at the Warren Commission then your comments cannot be taken seriously. They invented reports from various "witnesses" that thy had never made, they changed reports to suit the lone gunman theory and ignored statements from witnesses that had seen the assassination but their report didn't match the W.C. Report.
Some of the staff at the Commission actually resigned because they found various evidence that did not fit in with what the W.C.was saying, in other words, the Commission were lying. When their complaints were ignored they resigned. These people were qualified Solicitors, not just men taken from the street.
Mr Wietzman was not just a man who worked in the "sporting goods industry", he actually owned a gun store and was very knowledgeable and he stated categorically that the rifle was a Mauser and his partner that had actually picked it up said it was a Mauser because the name was stamped on the rifle.
There were no photographers or newsmen there when they found the rifle either, do you honestly think the Police, FBI or CIA would have allowed them in the building within minutes of the shooting when they were trying to fiddle, sorry, find fingerprints and evidence. Not a chance plus they would not have been able to plant and arrange the evidence if there had been others there.
One last point, were you aware that there is no proof whatsoever that Oswald received the gun and that the FBI/CIA were actually intercepting Oswald's mail from February 1963 so if the gun had been sent to Oswald the FBI/CIA would have intercepted it which is exactly what they wanted. There is also the problem of the rifle that Oswald was supposed to have ordered wasn't the same size as the one that was found by the Police.
There is so much more to this than you will find in the Warren Report, even LBJ didn't believe it and he was the one who told them what to say.
When the government says “this is the rifle that did it,” and then says “no one is allowed to look at it though” …. We have a problem.
That's not true. It was evidence and was being protected from fingerprint contamination. It was later auctioned. How old are you? Are you new to this?
@@CPAndy-x5x how old are you? Because you don’t have clue what you are talking about. Literally NONE of the many rifles attributed to LHO “assassinating” JFK have ever been positively ID as actually belonging to LHO. NO ONE has ever proven that "A. Hidell" was LHO. Neither of The freakin’ rifles in the sixth floor museum or the National archives match the photos of the obviously heavily doctored “backyard rifle” OR the photo of the rifle allegedly “found” by the DPD the day of the shooting. All three have different sling mounting positions. The TRUTH is, NO ONE knows what kind of weapon actually delivered the fatal shot to JFK, as NOTHING other than fragments of bullets were recovered at either Parkland OR during the autopsy. Maybe you should back off on the caffeine just a wee bit.
No, we don't.
"(a)The Mannlicher-Carcano 6.5-millimeter Italian rifle from which the shots were fired was owned by and in the possession of Oswald.
(b)Oswald carried this rifle into the Depository Building on the morning of November 22, 1963.
(c)Oswald, at the time of the assassination, was present at the window from which the shots were fired.
(d)Shortly after the assassination, the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle belonging to Oswald was found partially hidden between some cartons on the sixth floor and the improvised paper bag in which Oswald brought the rifle to the Depository was found dose by the window from which the shots were fired.
(e)Based on testimony of the experts and their analysis of films of the assassination, the Commission has concluded that a rifleman of Lee Harvey Oswald's capabilities could have fired the shots from the rifle used in the assassination within the elapsed time of the shooting. The Commission has concluded further that Oswald possessed the capability with a rifle which enabled him to commit the assassination."
-Warren Report P.19 .-
@@BeefT-Sq LMAO!!!… The Warren Commission… now THERE is a reliable source!!! … too funny!!
@@CPAndy-x5x apparently you can’t even watch the video, where it is clearly pointed out that the rifle is held in the national archives and came directly from the FBI, and NO ONE has ever been allowed to inspect it outside of the federal government. How old are you anyway?
Lees Scope on his Carcano was an Ordinance optics of Hollywood scope made in Japan!!! The mount was a cheap sheet metal commercial item. It wasnt an Italian military telecopic sight. A trivial point in a great video though Dr Mark , keep them flowing
Bingo! Thank you pointing that out.
Because of what we are finding out about the government today makes me think we need to re examine everything to see if the government wasn't involved especially the Kennedy of Assassination
New series 👀👀
Great episode
It even fires magic bullets
This will be an interesting series. Looking forward to it. Another little-known rifle connected to this story is JFK`s... The 50,000th M16 produced by Colt was plated in gold and going to be gifted to the President when he returned from this trip. It`s been in storage ever since.
Kennedy also owned a presentation-grade M1 Garand and was quite thrilled to get it.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Hadn`t heard that. I was aware of several Civil War rifles he owned, but not a Garand.
@@monroetoolman Right, years ago I saw a photo of JFK in the Oval Office holding the M1. I didn't know he owned several Civil War rifles though but I shouldn't be surprised, JFK was a big history and Civil War buff.
You know, JFK may have saved Civil War re-enacting? I read an article in (I think) "Civil War Times " years ago about Kennedy attending the 100th Anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Bull Run. Now you wouldn't think so but the organizers of the same thought that re-enacting a Civil War battle may have been in questionable taste and weren't sure of people's reactions but after the battle Kennedy was speaking to the organizers and said "That was great! I enjoyed every minute! Are you going to do any more?"
Well that solved the "questionable taste" problem! If the President of the United States gives his approval then it HAS to be OK!
3 shots heard, 3 cartridges at the Sniper's Nest, Oswald's Rifle found within 15 minutes next to the sixth floor stairwell at the opposite end of the builing from the Sniper's Nest.
The rifle is in the USSS (secret service) history museum in DC. You can visit if you sign up in advance. My daughter was amazed at all the stuff located there, on "bring your daughter to work day."
Sounds like the rifle there is a replica, according to the spokesman, however.
Id like to add a correction if I may, In WWII the Italians did not have snipers using Carcano's. The scope was added by gunsmiths when the rifles were imported to the U.S. Also the ammo that was used in said rifle when LHO shot Kennedy was Winchester-Olin/ Western Cartridge Company manufactured and contracted by the DOD.
I would like to add a correction LHO did not shoot Kennedy.
@@scrabbleking1965 The shooter, whoever that was, may have shot at the motorcade. He may have wanted to shoot Gov. Connoly (he was hit in the wrist by the second or third shot according to the Zapruder foootage) The entire thing may have been panned a a demonstration to scare JFK, but somebody went utterly off-piste.
@@PORRRIDGE_GUNtwo men firing two rifles at the same time... And a third one on the shady knoll with the head shot....
This is a great series. But i would love to see abit more information on the actual guns- physical stats, reloading and shooting methods, the inside mechanisms etc
You can get that from gun Jesus. Maybe Mark can do a collab with him on every episode