Post by Anthony Rante on Jan 26, 2024 7:37:55 GMT -5
The setup and positioning of the boxes and window in the so called “sniper’s nest” has always bothered me. Once I visited the sixth floor museum, my new response became “you cannot be serious”.
First area of concern is the boxes set up to be the rifle rest. We agree that to shot a rifle at a target moving transversely across your vision, you need to have a rifle rest. The problem I have here is that in this particular setup, the scope would be looking directly at the window bottom rail. I think the rifle barrel could be positioned thru the space, but propping the rifle up, resting on your left elbow, the view thru the scope looks to be obstructed by the half open window. We know that the window at this location was only half open (see Bronson's film).
Maybe the boxes on the sill are just there to block someone from seeing the shooter, and he really rested the rifle on the lower sill of the window, without any support under his elbow. When you see this setup in person, you notice that the top of the sill is only 12 to 16 inches from the floor. Shooting in this position at a downward moving target, the assassin could not lay on the ground. The sill is too high. The only option would be to kneel. But at 12 to 16 inches, the resting surface seems to low. In the test run by CBS, they used a platform that included a wide resting surface (for the rifle barrel and shooter’s elbow) at closer to about 24 to 30 inches. The window frame and half opened window was not included in the test.
I encourage anyone interested in this case to visit the sixth floor museum. They have the sniper's nest setup under glass for you to see as it was that day. Try to imagine holding a rifle in between the two stacked boxes and the south wall with the drain pipe. Then look downward at the street to view the cars passing by. These would represent the transverse moving target. Laying on the floor would not allow for the downward angle of the initial shot and kneeling would not allow for the final shot.
First area of concern is the boxes set up to be the rifle rest. We agree that to shot a rifle at a target moving transversely across your vision, you need to have a rifle rest. The problem I have here is that in this particular setup, the scope would be looking directly at the window bottom rail. I think the rifle barrel could be positioned thru the space, but propping the rifle up, resting on your left elbow, the view thru the scope looks to be obstructed by the half open window. We know that the window at this location was only half open (see Bronson's film).
Maybe the boxes on the sill are just there to block someone from seeing the shooter, and he really rested the rifle on the lower sill of the window, without any support under his elbow. When you see this setup in person, you notice that the top of the sill is only 12 to 16 inches from the floor. Shooting in this position at a downward moving target, the assassin could not lay on the ground. The sill is too high. The only option would be to kneel. But at 12 to 16 inches, the resting surface seems to low. In the test run by CBS, they used a platform that included a wide resting surface (for the rifle barrel and shooter’s elbow) at closer to about 24 to 30 inches. The window frame and half opened window was not included in the test.
I encourage anyone interested in this case to visit the sixth floor museum. They have the sniper's nest setup under glass for you to see as it was that day. Try to imagine holding a rifle in between the two stacked boxes and the south wall with the drain pipe. Then look downward at the street to view the cars passing by. These would represent the transverse moving target. Laying on the floor would not allow for the downward angle of the initial shot and kneeling would not allow for the final shot.
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