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XP 100 experimental pistol

davidjoe

An experimental gun with experimental ammunition
Gold $$ Contributor
There’s a fairly recent interview posted by Documentary Central 2.1 million views, of the last interview (90 minutes) of James Files, (born 1942) wherein he details the extensive plan by organized crime, his employer, of his being the “grassy knoll” shooter, in 1963. He claims his instructions were as the backup, only, and that he took the last shot.

Files claims that he used a Fireball single shot pistol, the Remington XP 100. He says it was used before that day, for such purposes. I think he says “we” but maybe he says himself. In any case he talks about cartridge development like he had some firsthand knowledge, preproduction of Remington deciding what size cartridge was appropriate for it, and carrying a little loading press if he had to “manufacture anything” in a customized self contained briefcase. He identifies an individual it came from. He says with a 3 power scope it was an easy distance. In my era, since the 80’s, the small fixed mag scope is 4X and a person isn’t likely to confuse that.

Files was a true felon but his life preconviction, and detailed account have lent some deemed credibility by others to what he says. I have an XP 100 Fireball and I was until recently completely unaware of this guy’s long-made assertions (1990’s?) of using it for that purpose, evidently in the same year it was released, 1963.

He seems to acknowledge that most people aren’t familiar with that gun, which if he was lying might lend some longevity and cover to his story. On the other hand, for its size it might indeed be the most accurate choice out there. He describes his answers in discussing and defending it as his choice, beforehand. He talks about it as if it may have been passed around, and says they hesitated but ultimately acquiesced.

The guy’s segue from highly organized criminal thug life of the 60’s, into load development and carrying around a miniature press for a specialized pistol he was misusing this way, is wild.

I could dismiss him as seeking attention while foreseeing his end (paroled, eventually 2016), behind bars, or a chance to name some bad guys he wants to throw shade on, for posterity. But does that description he gave, from what can be gleaned from his two accounts years apart, make it easier or harder to do so? I have seen the movers at pistol matches, but would normal, unpracticed guys expect to pull that off? I’m wondering what you all think about this.
 
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I saw the same interview, and while feasible, doesn’t seem to shed much light on what the truth is. I believe he has already died off.

—Darrell
 
If it’s the same interview I watched several years ago, he instructed someone to look for an empty shell casing at a very specific location on the grassy knoll. The shooter’s calling card was biting the empty case and leaving his tooth marks. Sure enough - the case was right where he said.

“Back and to the left”
 
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There’s a fairly recent interview posted by Documentary Central 2.1 million views, of the last interview (90 minutes) of James Files, (born 1942) wherein he details the extensive plan by organized crime, his employer, of his being the “grassy knoll” shooter, in 1963. He claims his instructions were as the backup, only, and that he took the last shot.

Files claims that he used a Fireball single shot pistol, the Remington XP 100. He says it was used before that day, for such purposes. I think he says “we” but maybe he says himself. In any case he talks about cartridge development like he had some firsthand knowledge, preproduction of Remington deciding what size cartridge was appropriate for it, and carrying a little loading press if he had to “manufacture anything” in a customized self contained briefcase. He identifies an individual it came from. He says with a 3 power scope it was an easy distance. In my era, since the 80’s, the small fixed mag scope is 4X and a person isn’t likely to confuse that.

Files was a true felon but his life preconviction, and detailed account have lent some deemed credibility by others to what he says. I have an XP 100 Fireball and I was until recently completely unaware of this guy’s long-made assertions (1990’s?) of using it for that purpose, evidently in the same year it was released, 1963.

He seems to acknowledge that most people aren’t familiar with that gun, which if he was lying might lend some longevity and cover to his story. On the other hand, for its size it might indeed be the most accurate choice out there. He describes his answers in discussing and defending it as his choice, beforehand. He talks about it as if it may have been passed around, and says they hesitated but ultimately acquiesced.

The guy’s segue from highly organized criminal thug life of the 60’s, into load development and carrying around a miniature press for a specialized pistol he was misusing this way, is wild.

I could dismiss him as seeking attention while foreseeing his end (paroled, eventually 2016), behind bars, or a chance to name some bad guys he wants to throw shade on, for posterity. But does that description he gave, from what can be gleaned from his two accounts years apart, make it easier or harder to do so? I have seen the movers at pistol matches, but would normal, unpracticed guys expect to pull that off? I’m wondering what you all think about this.
DavidJ -

Howdy !

More JFK documents are supposed to be released, soon. One wonders whether they will shed any more light on the assassination ? Don’t hold your breathe.

The guy you mentioned would not have been as much a “ back-up “ shooter, but one who would be counted on to make an “ assurance “ shot. Even with the somewhat slowed motorcade…. what would / could the shooter see, and then react to; in a comparatively short time ? Damage assessment on a moving human, and be able to say yes or no on taking a shot ? More likely… he would have intended, planned, and prepped for taking one shot from the outset.

Now, to take a shot thinking no one would notice, using a scoped XP-100 held at arm’s length ? Hhmmm. We’ve all seen grainy images of a postulated shadowy Grassy Knoll figure taking what looks like a shot with a rifle. But, I don’t think that particular image applies to this supposed shooters “ modus operandi “. I have not seen the interview you mentioned.

Did his portable press’es capabilities extend to wildcatting his own cases, if need be ?
Case forming is not a task one would usually associate with use of a portable press
( (IMHO ). Did he shoot a .221 Fireball round !

I do not want to sound cavalier, or uncaring about what happened to President Kennedy.

I’ve been to Dealy Plaza, and crouched out in the middle of the street; to imitate Kennedy’s head height where it would have been while riding in the Lincoln… and looked back up at the window used at the Book depository. Even considering a moving target and using the supposed weapon/cartridge, ( IMHO ) at lot of fairly experienced shooters could have administered grevious damage. *** I say that with no malice or ill intent. What transpired there in Dallas should never have taken place, and it was a dark day in our Nation’s history. **** NO U.S. President should be shot at, or be at the receiving end of any assassination attempt(s) !!


With regards,

357Mag
 
Remington XP 100??? In .221 Fireball? My FAVORITE. Always wanted one and finally found one at a BIG Gun show in Sacramento, Ca.
Saw one, passed till the show was almost over then went back and got it!! At that time, had an FFL so sign the paper and hit the door. That was maybe 50 years ago. Still got it!! :):)
Just happened to have a box of factory loaded ammo for the trip home thru cow country. Some slight rust spots in the barrel but the first shot took care of that. :D
Bolt action pistol (space gun) with a factory 10" barrel pushing 3000 FPS??? :cool:
Best 5 shot group, from the bench @ 100 yards measures .110".
Hitting steel out to and past 400 yards with no scope is nothing.
Deadly accurate. Action, smooth as silk. Fire blows out of the barrel when fired. Hence the name Fireball. :D:D:D
Only wish they were made in left hand for us right handers.
Left hand stays in the stock (preferably a laminated thumb hole design) for control while the right hand works the bolt and feeds ammo.
Brief case gun. Easy to conceal and WILL get the job done!! If you miss, it's YOUR fault.
 
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I like them too, but they strike me as very non-tactical. The lower one is a .221 fireball and the upper one is a 7BR. They are slippery, shiny single shots that remain loud with obscure ammunition of low availability, and if one did prone out to conceal himself, steadying the barrel and the shooter’s head simultaneously would be difficult.

Using a scope standing with arms extended would maximize one’s visible “hey I’m shooting a gun” profile. One might rule it out for all those reasons, but he was quite enamored with it regardless. That’s what is so striking. But liars don’t often choose the most implausible, layered story to try pass off, either. Curious indeed. Perhaps he is combining his real knowledge and experience with one, with fanciful activities that day he didn’t actually engage in, for attention.

I take the point above about Files’ bitten cartridge not being what this is chambered in. Not satisfied with his response about there being two, .222’s, not one .221 fireball.

Also, how long does he suppose shell casings sat undiscovered in the most meticulously investigated murder site extant? He could have asked someone to put a certain case there, and that’s as close to meeting his expectations they could come.

We see a lot of retained energy being transferred in the Zapruder film. I’m not sure that a fireball from the XP generates as much as we are seeing, forget about direction for the moment. Clint Hill, present on detail described near complete cavitation, but it’s the forcefulness of it in the frames.
 

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I saw the documentary also. People who analyzed what James Files said indicated that he was spot on with his information about where he was in Dallas and who he knew that was in Dallas also. At that point, I tried to decide for myself if things added up.

Files mentioned a couple of times that the Fireball was a .222 - I can't find any documentation that the first chambering in the XP100 was 222. I think the average criminal is a little less than knowledgeable about firearms, especially in the days of no internet. So, he would have had to have been shooting a .221 Fireball, unless someone chambered a barrel for him. The explosion of Kennedy's head has always made me think a high velocity 22 was used and Kennedy's scull fragments conveniently disappeared. I remember Files said he had a split second to take the shot or lose the chance because of some trees (or a sign, can't remember).

If I had to get a gun capable of a shot of less than 100 yds (I estimated it as about 70 yards on Google Earth) into and out of a crowded area, a jacket and the scoped XP100 would be ideal. As far as someone finding an empty casing which had been bitten as Files described, well, my teeth couldn't handle that job and I'm not buying that.

If you take in to account the capability of the Fireball, the convenience of the XP100, and the location of the grassy knoll, I believe there is a possibility that it happened as he described. If true, his embellishments about reloading and leaving the empty case were probably thrown in to make himself look like some kind of professional.

There have been many attempts to duplicate Oswalds 3 shots from the depository, but the only successful ones I saw took multiple attempts. Keep in mind the stress/tension Oswald would have been feeling during the shooting. I have always believed someone was lurking around with a .264 Win Mag.

Then there is the book Mortal Error by Bonar Menninger. He presents a pretty strong theory that Kennedy's head shot was caused by a Secret Service officer that had an AR in the car behind the Kennedy car. As he stood in the car and turned in the direction of the School Book Depository his car accelerated and he had a round chambered, safety off, and finger on the trigger - and that was the high velocity round that hit Kennedy's head. The way the book is documented, it will make you wonder.
 
What were the bullets files claimed he was shooting? Were they mercury or phosphorus. Idk but sounded a little out there to me.
 
How about a Ram silhouette target at 500yds offhand with an xp100 in 308win?? Glad they didn't want to bet again on me doing it twice. Blind squirrel syndrome.
I would think the guy would have had a suppressor on the Fireball. That thing is LOUD otherwise. Anyone near him would have heard the thing going off.
 
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Files called it a cut down rifle, and that’s fair enough in principle. He did say that he had always been a very good shooter, but I sensed some particular insincerity when he described being an inch or so off in his shot placement. He says JFK moved (as if he had the car’s motion accounted for down to the exact millimeter, offhand, and his arms are the ones that don’t wobble any).

He’s trying to convince everyone he did it, and why he would do that isn’t relevant, if he’s telling the truth. Even a 100% cogent story would not prove an action happened, only that the speaker is well-informed on the subject matter. But a story that differs from the limits of reality would be internally flawed. He’s really under evaluating the difficulty of the shot, in my opinion, and the fact that he’s saying he could have placed it better, and he watched it all through the scope too, makes me wonder just how much he has shot one of these, while his arms are moving.

It is “possible” that he never spent much time with target shooters, and that he truly didn’t know how difficult that shot was, and that he was actually better than even he thinks he was (age 20ish at the time). But I would think by the time of his interviews, he would have come to realize that shooters and experts that will hear this would think it far more likely that he miss, than to hit exactly where he expected to, and that it would make sense to say that he could have easily missed, rather than give the impression he thinks this was just like any other job.

These guns really pivot in the hand, there isn’t much inertia to overcome. Wrist control is crucial. A lot of their weight is behind the hand, especially with the fireball whose thin barrel does not protrude beyond the stock, unlike the 7BR.
 
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I've had a few XP's, good luck hitting a melon at 70 yards offhand.
The first shot I ever took with my XP-100 was offhand at an 18" gong at 200 yards. Hit it. Took a second shot, still offhand, hit it again. And then a third time.

To the topic, when Kennedy switched flags and joined with Trump, I said there was a deal to release the files. RFK Jr has been advocating for the release of the RFK files and has publicly stated it was NOT Sirhan that shot him.
 
More likely a 222rem as information seems to point to CIA connection and they used them(222R). CIA contact also produced suppressors, could have supplied one. From the later congressional report reads as if only one shooter from the Mob/CIA contact team sighted in/check zero before the HIT, the grassy knoll shooter. We should know more in a month or so. Hopefully the J. Epstein friends list also. See how involved Bill Gates and other democrat donors are.
 
35-40 years ago I went to an, iirc titled, Intl Forensics Scientists Assn Meeting at the Yuma Proving Grounds. Worldwide, they held a special convention every two years in different countries. The US group set out to prove or disprove the Kennedy shot(s) could have been accomplished by Oswald alone. They made a plywood silhouette of the Lincoln, with dummies, towed 50 feet behind a tractor. They built a tower replicating the Book Depository height and angle and distance away. They were able to replicate the sequence twice of about a dozen attempts that afternoon. I had been to Ken Oehler's ranch that spring and took his week long class. Strain Gauges epoxied to mid-chamber on the rifle barrels to measure actual pressure on my and other's loads. He got me in, iirc.

There was a second "impossible shot" attempted the next day. Doubters of the "Billy Dixon" shot bet Mike Venturino, (in his prime) claimed Dixon could not have hit Quanah Parker from the Dugout (Adobe Walls fight) at a distance of 1760 (exact yardage?) atop a ridgeline. Mike had his Shiloh Sharps 50-90 (like the one I have leaning against the wall about four feet away) similar to the one Hanrahan had in the general store. Mike had the muzzle at about a 45-degree angle with the iron sights maxed out.
Boom! One, two, three, four Boom! A solid hit. Second shot went a bit low, third was a second hit. These days, they hold the shoot every year.

I think every group but the D.A.R has been credited with assassinating John Kennedy.

ISS
 

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