Shooter (starring mark wahlberg) question

[Spartan198]

Yeah, the "M3" is the tripod that the rifle was attached to.

[BlackIce_GTS]

Well, that makes more sense, since they made that deduction based on a measurement of the tripod's foot spacing.
I assumed M3 referred to the aircraft version of the Browning M2.
(That version being remotely triggered. Like the kind of gun one might use to make a robosniper.)

Of course everyone else probably noticed this already, but the assassination shot was a .408 caliber bullet out of a .50 caliber rifle? Was the paper patch .046" thick?
Google: "The average sheet of 20lb copier paper is 0.0038 inches thick"

[Nyles]

In the (superior, but also set in the early 90s) book, Swagger uses a Remington 700 .308 and the assassin used a Model 70 Bull Gun that's been rebarelled to .318 with a .10" paper patch. It makes alot more sense in that context. Incidentally in the book it's also heavily implied the same assassin used the same method to shoot Kennedy with .268 Carcano bullets patched to (I think) a .280 bore)

I supposed for the sake of argument in the movie they could have used a high pressure plastic sabot like a Savage 10ML muzzle loader (.452 pistol bullet in a .50 barrel propelled by smokeless shotgun powder) and had it make more sense, plus use some 2010s technology.

[commando552]

Originally Posted by Nyles

In the (superior, but also set in the early 90s) book, Swagger uses a Remington 700 .308 and the assassin used a Model 70 Bull Gun that's been rebarelled to .318 with a .10" paper patch. It makes alot more sense in that context. Incidentally in the book it's also heavily implied the same assassin used the same method to shoot Kennedy with .268 Carcano bullets patched to (I think) a .280 bore)

I supposed for the sake of argument in the movie they could have used a high pressure plastic sabot like a Savage 10ML muzzle loader (.452 pistol bullet in a .50 barrel propelled by smokeless shotgun powder) and had it make more sense, plus use some 2010s technology.

The problem with the whole patch idea though is that if the bullet was recovered and ballistics were done on it, it would be immediately apparent that it was inside a patch or sabot due to the nature of the markings left by the inside of the barrel, rendering the whole point of using the same bullet as the person you are trying to frame pointless.

[SPEMack618]

Unless the Ram-Dyne guys also had an inside man in the New Orleans PD crime lab. Highly plausible given the fact that they had a SAC on the payroll in the novel.

[commando552]

Originally Posted by SPEMack618

Unless the Ram-Dyne guys also had an inside man in the New Orleans PD crime lab. Highly plausible given the fact that they had a SAC on the payroll in the novel.

If they had, then why bother firing the correct caliber bullet at all if you are just going to fake the ballistics report anyway.

[SPEMack618]

Plausible deniability I suppose. And makes the case against Gunny Swagger that much more airtight.