Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

The results of Dwayne Powell's shooting test have startled a lot of people in the JFK world, and naturally, the excuses are starting to pour in.  And, they are harping on the fact that he used a 123 grain bullet instead of 160 grain one, as Oswald supposedly used. 

I have messaged Dwayne about this to see what he has to say about it. Also, one adversary even located a source for a 162 grain bullet made by Hornady Ammunition that would work with the Carcano rifle, and that raises an interesting prospect.

I have already pointed out that the shorter the distance the greater the firepower, and Dwayne shot from only 40 yards away rather than 88 yards. Also, larger grain size doesn't necessarily result in greater penetration. A lighter bullet travels faster, and speed is a factor.  

"Lighter slug means faster speed, hence increased ft/lbs of impact" is how one guy put it. 

Here is some performance data from the Firearms Tactical Institute which includes penetration data through gelatin. You'll see that there is no straight-line correlation to grain size. The greatest penetration was achieved with 165 grains even though many 180 grains were tested. 

http://www.firearmstactical.com/ammo_data/40s&w.htm