Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Rifle Range Witness Inconsistencies

The testimony of witnesses who claimed to have seen Oswald at the Sports Drome Rifle Range is undermined by internal inconsistencies and contradictions with established facts: Slack recalled the man had blond hair when interviewed on December 2, 1963, and Price recalled the man wore a “Bulldogger Texas style” hat and had bubble gum or chewing tobacco in his cheek when interviewed on December 3, neither of which match Oswald’s known appearance. The date Price adjusted the scope for the man (September 28, 1963) conflicts with confirmed records that Oswald was in Mexico City that day, and Slack’s claimed November 10 sighting conflicts with evidence Oswald was at the Paine residence that day and did not travel to the range. The witnesses’ descriptions of the man’s rifle (a Mauser-type bolt-action rifle with an ammunition clip in front of the trigger and a mounted scope) align with Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano, leading the Commission to conclude the witnesses likely misidentified the man they saw due to this similarity, rather than actually observing Oswald.

chapter VIII. She did not then know Oswald’s address in Dallas.[C6-367]

The Commission evaluated extensive evidence demonstrating that the weapon witnesses observed being fired at a Texas firing range differed significantly from Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano assassination rifle, with discrepancies including a shortened “sporterized” barrel, missing components, visible flame discharge, and a different Japanese-manufactured scope of lesser value. The Commission also scrutinized the testimony of automobile salesman Albert Guy Bogard, who claimed that a man identifying himself as “Lee Oswald” test-drove a car on November 9, 1963, with the help of coworkers Frank Pizzo, Eugene Wilson, and Oran Brown, but found significant inconsistencies in their accounts, conflicting descriptions of the customer’s appearance and behavior, and a verified alibi placing Oswald elsewhere that day. Finally, the Commission examined Sylvia Odio’s testimony that she was visited in late September 1963 by an American introduced as “Leon Oswald” alongside two men of Cuban or Mexican background, concluding after extensive investigation and the FBI’s location of Loran Eugene Hall, William Seymour, and Lawrence Howard that Oswald was not in Dallas at the time and therefore could not have been the American in her apartment.

Observed Rifle Mismatch With Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano

This section presents evidence demonstrating that the weapon observed being fired by an individual at a Texas rifle range (testified to by witnesses Price, Slack, and Dr. Sterling Wood and his son) did not match the assassination rifle (Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano). Key differences included: a shortened barrel from “sporterizing,” missing pieces on the top of the weapon, flames spouting from the weapon when fired, and a sling (which Price and Slack believed absent, though Sterling Wood recalled it being present). The scope also differed: the range rifle had a scope reportedly Japanese in origin, purchased for $18 and mounted in a non-existent Cedar Hills gunshop, while the Mannlicher-Carcano’s Japanese-made scope was worth slightly more than $7 and came pre-mounted from a Chicago mail-order firm. The Mannlicher-Carcano bore the markings “MADE ITALY” on its top, which Price’s brief examination did not reveal. No shell casings fired from Oswald’s rifle were found in areas where he may have practiced, and evidence from chapter IV indicated Oswald did not remove the rifle from the Paine garage in Irving prior to November 22, 1963.

Automobile Demonstration Testimony Review

This section examines the testimony of Albert Guy Bogard, a former Lincoln-Mercury automobile salesman in Dallas, who claimed that on the early afternoon of November 9, 1963, he attended a customer he believed was Lee Harvey Oswald, who test-drove a car on the Stemmons Freeway at 60-70 mph and stated he would have funds to purchase a car in several weeks. Bogard wrote the name “Lee Oswald” on a business card, which he reportedly discarded after November 22. Corroboration came from Frank Pizzo (assistant sales manager), Eugene M. Wilson (salesman), and Oran Brown (who also wrote the name and recalled it being in his possession). However, significant inconsistencies undermined Bogard’s testimony: Bogard stated the customer wanted to pay cash and declined credit, while Pizzo and Wilson indicated the customer attempted to purchase on credit, with Wilson recalling a sarcastic remark about returning to Russia to buy a car. No paper bearing Oswald’s name was found when showroom refuse was searched on November 23, and Brown’s paper was also never located. Pizzo later expressed serious doubts upon examining photos of Oswald (particularly regarding the hairline), Wilson recalled the customer as approximately 5 feet tall, multiple witnesses testified Oswald was unable to drive (though Mrs. Paine noted some improvement by November), and the established whereabouts of Oswald on November 9 made the showroom visit impossible.