JFK: The Smoking Gun

[Jackalope]

Howard Charles Hinman Donahue, was a famous ballistics expert, he is the one who uncovered this and the book "Mortal Error was written in 92. You could be right but like I said before it is so odd to think the very people protecting the pres actually shot him, his brain had about 30 to 40 fragments and a lot of your questions are answered in the show. I can't do it that's why I wanted you guys to see this. I am not a conspiracy theorist, I just happened to see the show and thought some of you might like it and find it interesting.

manowar

Well, Donahue was "famous" by virtue of having provided consulting to CBS for a news program about the JFK assassination. Prior to that, he was a pilot in the Army Air Corps, a car salesman, and owned a gun store. I assume that he was a firearms enthusiast, which is probably where he came upon his knowledge of ballistics - there doesn't appear to be anything in his background that would lead me to conclude that he had any kind of formal training or work experience that would lead to his claim of being a "ballistics expert".

Even assuming that he was more-or-less knowledgeable in the field of ballistics - which I don't doubt - there are three disciplines in ballistics: interior ballistics, exterior ballistics, and terminal ballistics. Only the latter two are relevant here. Exterior ballistics concerns itself with the characteristics of a projectile from muzzle to target, terminal ballistics is concerned with what happens to the projectile (and the target) upon and after impact. Two entirely different disciplines, and with respect to the type of forensic applications we're talking about here, terminal ballistics is not something that the average guy who happens to own a gun store and is into guns is going to know fuck all about.

In other words, absent any kind of indication that Mr. Donahue actually knows what he's talking about with respect to terminal ballistics (i.e. being able to tell the difference between a 6.5 Carcano and 5.56 NATO post-impact with a human head), it appears likely to me that he was talking out of his ass. (Hang out at a gun club sometime, and you'll discover that amongst gun nuts, talking out your ass is a favorite pastime.)

If all we've got is this guy's "expert opinion", that and four bucks will get you a cuppa joe at Starbucks.

Really simple question: What evidence is there that Hickey's weapon was fired - Or any other weapon other than Oswald's? They got any physical / forensic evidence at all that isn't explained by the official story?

ETA: I don't know whether this guy is right or wrong. I don't have any idea, nor am I particularly all that interested in the JFK assassination, per se. Even if there are reasons to doubt the Warren Commission report, I see little reason to give the claims that the third shot was an accidental discharge any weight, or waste two hours of my life without an indication of what the evidence is, nor would I expect anyone else to do so based on someone's opinion that they found it convincing.