I have read it but have not found any evidence in there.
You have? Show me.
Signed reports by Seymour Weitzman and E.L. Boone (Deputy Sheriff):
https://kennedysandking.com/images/pdf/JosephsRifle.pdf
The only written statements of the discovery to this day, states that it was a 7.65 Mauser bolt action rifle.
Boones and Weitzmans formal retractions caOriginally Posted by Robert Prey View Post
Although Boone used the wording "appeared to be", Seymour Weitzman's sworn statement flatly affirms it was a Mauser, Cal. 7.65.
As law enforcement officers, both know that when you swear that something is true, it had better be true.
Affidavits are attested statements that the affiant believes to be true when they make the statement.
Neither Boone and Weitzmann picked up and examined the rifle according to their statements - they saw it between boxes, and the Captain is the one who collected it. Without actually picking up or at least getting very close to the weapon you would not be able to read any of the engravings or stampings on the weapon that would identify calibre, manufacturer, etc. As to identifying a weapon by sight, try this test and identify these rifles all from the same era

sted by Border me when interviewed by WC.
Deputy Roger Craig did never retract his testimony.
To save time, lets review this post from 2013:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9052566&postcount=562
Originally Posted by Robert Prey View Post
Although Boone used the wording "appeared to be", Seymour Weitzman's sworn statement flatly affirms it was a Mauser, Cal. 7.65.
As law enforcement officers, both know that when you swear that something is true, it had better be true.
Originally posted by Border Reiver:
Affidavits are attested statements that the affiant believes to be true when they make the statement.
Neither Boone and Weitzmann picked up and examined the rifle according to their statements - they saw it between boxes, and the Captain is the one who collected it. Without actually picking up or at least getting very close to the weapon you would not be able to read any of the engravings or stampings on the weapon that would identify calibre, manufacturer, etc. As to identifying a weapon by sight, try this test and identify these rifles all from the same era:
See the link above to view attached images.
XXXXX
Run-of-the-mill LEO's are no better than the general public at firearms identifications. If that wasn't true, A significant part of my LE career would have been unnecessary.
What manifesto and other CTists have consistently missed is that for the purposes of an actual indictment or prosecution, the identifications of the rifle by Craig et al would not be sufficient to establish what the rifle in question
actually was.
The 60's were no different than the 90's when it cane to firearm identification. We had more tools and better reference information available but had I ever submitted a report that solely consisted of what the beloved "sworn affidavits" consist of I would have had some serious 'splainin' to do.
As to general LEO expertise in firearm identification, It's a sad fact that in dealing with Joe Blue Suit, any large frame revolver is a ".44 Mag", any lever action rifle is a ".30/30 Winchester" and any bolt action rifle with glass is a "30-06."
From my firsthand experience?
HK41A2, 7.62 NATO
Left side of magazine well showing Manufacturer's markings.
Left side of trigger housing showing Importer's markings.
I was on a LE range firing this rifle from the bench. An officer approached me during a ceasefire and complimented me on my "AK."
I explained that the rifle in question was a design built by HK, Heckler & Koch, was in a different caliber (7.62 NATO v 7.62 x 39 combloc) and operated differently, being recoil operated delayed blowback v. gas in the AK.
It made no difference, he knew it was an AK.
FTR, generic Chinese AK:
Most egregious incident of LEO weapon ignorance I have ever encountered firsthand involved one of the below 1911 type pistols:
Right column second from bottom, Colt Combat Commander. It was a .45 when it left the Colt Factory, it was a .45 when I sent it to F. Bob Chow to be tuned and it was a .45 when it came back and it is a .45 today.
My partner and I were conducting an open LEA weapons familiarization program at an LE range. Various officers from different agencies were invited to spend the day burning our ammo free of charge various through firearms and MG's they most likely had never seen before, and they weren't responsible for cleaning the pieces afterward either - it was a most popular type of range day.
During the course of the day, a uniformed LE administrator (as opposed to street cop) approached me to thank me etc, and complimented me on the "beautiful 9mm" I was carrying. Because the object of the exercise was to make friends and contacts, I thanked him and attempted to guide the conversation in a different direction, but the Admin. puke wanted to examine the piece - my gun was live (loaded) and I advised him we'd need to go to the firing line before I'd remove it from the holster (sop safety rule on any range) but our hero explained to me that "he knew what he was doing so it was OK..."
I dropped the mag without removing the piece from my holster, found a 100% safe direction, withdrew it from the holster, depressed the thumb safety and ejected the chambered round before handing it to fearless leader. My eyes were on him because I wanted to see how much of a fool this particular cat might be, but he did not sweep anyone with the muzzle and did not commit any basic safety violations that I'd be concerned with.
What did happen, and because it wasn't a safety issue I didn't consider it before handing over my piece was that the
Colt .45 ACP roll markings on the slide caught his eye.
A rational individual who thought a piece was in a different caliber than it actually was would most likely take note that they were incorrect and move on, but this particular fella wasn't that type of individual (note: Colt did and does chamber 1911 types in 9mm as well as other calibers) as he noted that if I didn't even know the proper caliber to carry in my "gun" I might not have much
real expertise to pass along to his officers. He believed my piece was what he initially identified it was and the caliber markings had to be mistaken. When I showed him the live .45 round I had ejected from the chamber before handing it over his opinion did not change...
When I eventually attended his retirement dinner I would have enjoyed telling that story, but enough guys in my circle had either been witnesses to the event or had heard it through the grapevine that it wouldn't have made a hell of a lot of difference.
Bottom line - cops are no different than anyone else when it comes to willful stupidity. I'm surprised that fact never seems to occur to our CTist brethren - other than when they choose to gratuitously reject established facts from LE sources