The Most Important Error the FBI told the Warren Commission about the Rifle

[Bob Prudhomme]

If I recall correctly (and it's been a long while) what I meant was that it does not appear that the "average" inaccuracies observed in the targets at varying distances is consistent with a single rifle, and the ballistic effects, and sight/barrel effects, that you have been teaching us about here. The test results reported by the FBI don't match up, or even look remotely similar, to any of the ballistic curves that the ballistic calculator might produce for the weapon.

Are those inconsistencies the result of Frazier fudging the test to try to make the gun appear more accurate (i.e. a 4" high miss as opposed to a 36" high miss) at a longer distance, or are they evidence of multiple guns being used for the "test"?

(I might not accurately remember what I was trying to ask way back then.)

That is an interesting question. I try to imagine what I would do if I was an FBI agent working under an insane control freak like Hoover, and my whole career depended on producing the kind of results Hoover was looking for, and I had to produce those results with a rifle shooting 32 inches high at 100 yards.

What bothers me the most is that Frazier would have at least a basic knowledge of rifle scopes, and the impossibilities I have pointed out between the results he obtained at 15 and 100 yards should not be a surprise to him at all. How, then, could he testify to the WC with a straight face? Wasn't he concerned that someone would read this material, and publicly make a mockery of his testimony?

But, of course, it has been 51 years, and considering I seem to be the first person to call these figures into question, and no one besides you, Drew, seems to be particularly impressed, I'd say he got away with it, wouldn't you?