The evidence

The single-bullet theory

One bullet, two men, seven wounds: the “magic bullet” and why it matters

HSCA volume VII, printed page 386: CE 399’s distorted base (Figure 6B). The rifle pictured below is comparison weapon CE 542, not the assassination rifle CE 139.
House Select Committee on Assassinations / U.S. government · Source & image context ↗

RECORD / AT A GLANCE

Supported by both official inquiries; still disputed

Partly true as a matter of debate, supported as a matter of evidence: the House committee’s experts, with one dissent, found the wounds, the bullet’s path and its metal consistent with one bullet. It is not proven beyond dispute, and Connally, Senator Russell and the dissenting pathologist rejected it. Calling it impossible is not supported.

THE EVENTS / THE INVESTIGATION / THE STORY

The chronology.

READ THE FILE

Evidence & assessment.

Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE

The claims, rated.

4 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.

DOCUMENTED The shots, the rifle & the bullet

“Without the single bullet, there had to be a second gunman.”

The timing of the Zapruder film leaves too little time for two rifle shots to hit Kennedy and Connally separately.

Who says it: Warren Commission.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

PARTLY TRUE The shots, the rifle & the bullet

“Gerald Ford moved the back wound to make the single bullet work.”

Ford edited the description of the wound’s location in the report; the medical evidence was unchanged.

Who says it: Critics.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

DISPUTED The shots, the rifle & the bullet

“The “magic bullet” theory is impossible.”

The House committee’s experts, with one dissent, found the single-bullet path consistent with the evidence. Connally and Senator Russell doubted it.

Who says it: Critics.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

All 155 rated claims ↗

OPEN THE RECORD

Sources & limits.

Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.

  1. Warren Commission report, chapter 3: the shots from the Texas School Book Depository ↗

    Witnesses, the rifle and cartridge cases, the wounds, the Zapruder timing (18.3 frames a second), the 2.3-second bolt minimum and the “approximately 4.8 to in excess of 7 seconds” estimate.

  2. HSCA final report, part I-A: Oswald fired three shots ↗

    The committee’s review of the rifle, the wounds and Oswald.

  3. HSCA photographic evidence panel: number, timing and source of the shots, volume VI ↗

    The House committee’s photographic analysis of when Kennedy and Connally reacted on the Zapruder film.

  4. Warren Commission report, chapter 1: summary and conclusions ↗

    The Commission’s own conclusions: three shots from the sixth-floor window, the single-bullet finding described as “very persuasive”, Oswald as the killer of Kennedy and Tippit, Ruby acting alone, no conspiracy found.

  5. John Connally: Warren Commission testimony, volume IV (AARC mirror) ↗

    The governor’s sworn account: he heard the first shot, was hit by a separate second shot, and said it was “not conceivable” the first bullet hit him.

  6. Johnson–Russell telephone call, 18 September 1964: transcript (Hood College Weisberg collection) ↗

    Senator Russell tells Johnson he does not believe the single-bullet finding; Johnson answers, “I don’t either.” The Hood server times out on scripted fetches; confirmed by search.

  7. Spokesman-Review (Washington Post): “Ford pushed for change in JFK assassination report,” 3 July 1997 ↗

    The draft said “his back”; Ford wanted “the back of his neck”; the report said “the base of the back of his neck”. From Rankin papers released by the Review Board.

  8. Deseret News: “Ford defends his changes in JFK report,” 3 July 1997 ↗

    Ford’s response that the edit was for clarity, not to change the evidence.

  9. HSCA forensic pathology panel: wound ballistics, volume VII (AARC mirror) ↗

    The panel’s analysis of bullet behavior in the wounds.

  10. Cyril Wecht: dissent from the HSCA forensic pathology panel, volume VII (AARC mirror) ↗

    The one pathologist of nine who rejected the single-bullet conclusion.

  11. Charles Gregory: Warren Commission testimony, volume VI (AARC mirror) ↗

    Connally’s wrist surgeon on the small fragments and a bullet arriving with reduced speed.

  12. HSCA firearms panel: findings and conclusions, volume VII (AARC mirror) ↗

    The panel matched CE 399 and the identifiable fragments to Oswald’s Carcano and examined the windshield.

  13. Darrell Tomlinson: Warren Commission testimony, volume VI (AARC mirror) ↗

    The Parkland engineer who found the bullet later called CE 399 and could not be sure which stretcher it came from.

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