reply to post by Swifty57
I know I'm a little late to the party on this topic, but I wanted to respond to your comment.
I also have extensive shooting experience, in both law enforcement and military, and right now am a Range Officer and certified Firearms Expert for my
department, so please don't think I am pulling things out of thin air.
If you have shot extensively at targets, both moving and slow, you will agree that it is much easier to hit a target that stands absolutely still.
Unfortunately in a real life shooting incident, the target or "bad guy" doesn't seem to want to stand still so you can shoot him, so one must be
able to consistently shoot at moving targets to receive an excellent marksman rating.
Target shooting is great for practice time and maintaining muscle memory and response but does very little to prepare one for the reality of being in
a "real life" incident. Targets don't shoot back and they just stand there and take it. I have known some private pistol competitors that could
practically put all their shots through a center hole from 25 yards, but as soon as you throw any stressors into the situation some can't even hit
the target. There is a huge gap between shooting on the range in a closed, protected environment and being on the street with civilians around
causing distractions and the very real threat that the lead you are slinging will be returned in your direction. The first shot is the most crucial,
as once you have fired that shot you have now given away your position and your intent, and the environment around you will react immediately to that.
Now you have people screaming and chaos, plus the pressure and adrenaline already coursing through you to begin with, and most people do not react
well physiologically to that. Physical stress (Adrenaline) and Mental stress will interfere with the neuro pathways of the brain, which causes tunnel
vision and lack of muscle dexterity; Not good things to have happen when you are attempting to fire a weapon at a very precise target that happens to
be moving, albeit slowly, and have general public panic occuring around you. The physiological response commonly referred to as "Fight or Flight"
will automatically kick in at that point, and that response is extremely difficult to control on a mental level. The physical reactions of the body
will over ride anything mental, and it takes a lot of training to be able to over come that. That is why not everyone gets to be a sniper, only a
very select few have the ability to deal with this and over come it within seconds. It can take years for someone to be trained to learn how to shut
down the above physical responses I've listed. The point I was hoping to get to with that is IF the picture is real, the shooter was not an average
military or law enforcement shooter. The type of control and shot placement had to come from someone very highly skilled with a weapon. Most people
could get the first shot off because they have been concealed and had time to sight and prepare their first shot. After the first shot I don't think
an average or even above average shooter could continue with the successful shots that were seen here. If there was a shooter on the grassy knoll it
was someone definitely highly trained with a very elevated level of skill and experience. If you research Lee Harvey Oswald you will find that while
his shooting was satisfactory while in the military, it was no where near this caliber.
Also, and the original reason I started this reply to you, was the angle at which the supposed badge man was shooting and your comment that he wasn't
in a line of sight to fire. Most of the time if you are shooting at targets you are on an even plain with the target. If you look at the pictures RA
has provided from behind the picket fence, you should see that where the gunman would have been standing is at the top of a fairly decent grade from
the street. It is hard to tell because pictures are extremely difficult to use to obtain measurements; If anyone knows how much higher the knoll is
from the street I would love to know. Now taking that into consideration, he would have to angle the weapon slightly down along with his chin to
obtain a proper line of sight at the moving target below him. IF the badge man picture is indeed authentic, it appears that is exactly what he is
doing. I'm not totally convinced as the authenticity of the picture, but I can see the plausibility of it. It appears to me that the gun man is
aiming the weapon slightly de-elevated from his shoulder level and has brought his chin down to follow the line of sight, which would make sense given
the angle at which he was shooting.
Sorry to have hi-jacked your thread there RA, just felt the need to get that out. I love your posts and am going through past ones now to catch up.
Keep up the great work!