How a Popular Misconception Gave Away a Lie by the FBI

[Bob Prudhomme]

It appears at least to me that the visible rifling at the upper left corner of the cast looks like it starts out pretty much at the same angle that appears on our bullets. If it was a gain twist barrel wouldn't the spin at the throat be much shallower?


Found some more weirdness. In the NARA photo of CE 569, the scale is 14 pixels to the mm. Since the bullet jacket is positioned at 45 degrees angle, I had to add some Pythagoras to do the land measurement. 14 (diagonal) pixels wide x SQR(2) = 17.8 pixels/14 = 1.41 mm or .056 inches. This is smaller than Bob's specs for the WCC bullet (.085) and also smaller than Frazier's WC testimony (.07). In addition, the diameter of this jacket appears to be close to 7.5 mm which is much larger, but I suppose it could be flattened There isn't an end on view.

Somehow, though, the portion of this FMJ is matched to Oswald's rifle "to the exclusion of all other weapons."

Unfortunately, the only evidence we have of the sulphur cast designated CE 540 is Frazier's testimony and one very grainy photo in which I am having difficulty even seeing a land impression. This sulphur cast could be from C2766, another Carcano short rifle or even a rifle of a totally different calibre. For that matter, it could be a cast made of the inside of a water pipe. It proves absolutely nothing.

If it were not for the machined down outer chamber first introduced in the M38 7.35mm short rifle (I discussed this in length two posts back) and continued in all Carcano rifles from 1940 until Carcano production halted at the end of the War, there would be no reason to be suspect of the M91/38 short rifle's riflings. However, as I pointed out, while many M91/38's were made with standard twist rifling, the option of cutting down a long rifle barrel with progressive twist rifling and hiding this fact by machining off the flat facets with all of the stampings on them still existed.

Just as the only way of differentiating between an M38 and an M91/38, outside of the fixed rear sights and the calibre stamps, is to examine the inside of the barrel, the same is true of differentiating between M91/38's with standard twist rifling and cut down progressive twist rifling.

For my money, I would not be happy until I was allowed to examine C2766.