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

The Rifle

The rifle recovered from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository shortly after the assassination was a bolt-action, clip-fed, 40.2-inch-long, 8-pound military rifle bearing the markings “CAL. 6.5,” “MADE ITALY,” “TERNI,” “ROCCA,” the numerals “1940” and “40,” serial number C2766, and other inspector’s and manufacturer’s marks. It carried an inexpensive Japanese-made four-power Ordnance Optics Inc. sight and a non-standard sling too short for normal use but capable of providing some steadiness. The rifle was identified as a 6.5-millimeter Mannlicher-Carcano Italian military rifle, Model 91/38—a shortened version of the 1891 Mannlicher-Carcano series originally designed by Ritter von Mannlicher and Salvatore Carcano. The 6.5-millimeter Model 91/38 was produced during World War II when Italy faced an ammunition supply problem with the 7.35-millimeter Model 38. The identification was made through reference works, inscribed markings, chambering a 6.5-millimeter cartridge, taking a sulfur cast of the barrel measured with a micrometer, and was later confirmed by SIFAR (Italian Armed Forces Intelligence Service), which explained that “TERNI” designated the Terni Army Plant manufacturer. The Model 91/38 has been widely imported into the United States as surplus military equipment. The bolt-action mechanism operates by cycling the bolt handle up and back, forward, and down to chamber a round; the trigger releases a spring-driven firing pin. A leaf spring beneath the clip raises the next cartridge into loading position after each cycle. The rifle is designed to hold one to six cartridges in the clip with a seventh loaded directly into the chamber for a total capacity of seven rounds. The clip found in the rifle bore the markings “SMI” and the number “952.”