Mr. Simmons. This would be with the peepsight on the conventional rifle.
Mr. Eisenberg. Have you exercises which you feel would be applicable to the assassination—that is, exercises conducted with—under noncombat conditions, with a telescopic sight and a rest?
Mr. Simmons. The only experience that we have with the telescopic sight with which I am familiar is the exercise using this weapon. There have been experiments made using telescopic sights, but these are of limited interest militarily.
Mr. Eisenberg. In your opinion, what effect does the introduction of a rest and telescopic sight have on probable aiming error?
Mr. Simmons. From a position where the movement of the weapon is not great, and where the target is slowly moving, the fixed position on the telescope should enhance the probability of a hit.
Mr. Eisenberg. Do you think a marksman who is less than a highly skilled marksman under those conditions would be able to shoot in the range of 1.2-mil aiming error?
Mr. Simmons. Obviously considerable experience would have to be in one's background to do so. And with this weapon, I think also considerable experience with this weapon, because of the amount of effort required to work the bolt.
Mr. Eisenberg. Would do what? You mean would improve the accuracy?
Mr. Simmons. Yes. In our experiments, the pressure to open the bolt was so great that we tended to move the rifle off the target, whereas with greater proficiency this might not have occurred.
Mr. Eisenberg. Could this experience in operating the bolt be achieved in dry practice, Mr. Simmons?