The assassination of US President John F. Kennedy shook the nation, and shocked the world. There were two official investigations into this event; the Warren Commission of 1963, and the House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) of 1976-1977. One of the expert witnesses at the HSCA was Monty C. Lutz, a man who had formal training and decades of experience in criminal investigations especially in the areas of ballistics and firearms.
Fast Facts
- Monty C. Lutz was an expert witness at the House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) of 1976-1977.
- Lutz expertise was in the area of firearms and ballistics.
- After the HSCA the British media company London Weekend Television decided to make a movie about the HSCA, this movie being titled “On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald”.
- For this movie Monty C. Lutz portrayed himself, and presented a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle with 4x riflescope that matched the specifications of the rifle used by Lee Harvey Oswald in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
- This rifle, as used in the movie, along with other related items, is coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction on May 2nd, 2025.
The assassination of US President John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 as he was riding in an open car in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, rocked the United States to her core. What also perplexed the nation was what were perceived as efforts by US Government agencies to cover up the truth about what had actually happened.
Among many who looked at what evidence they could get access to, the government’s official explanation as to what had actually happened was cause for suspicion. This in turn caused many to try to discover the truth.
Doing a logical investigation depends on following the evidence, wherever it leads. But when evidence is hidden behind a wall of obfuscation then we realize that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Now that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has been appointed as the chairwoman of the new Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets we quietly hope that the whole truth behind John F. Kennedy’s assassination will come to be revealed.
Prior to the creation of this new Task Force there was the Warren Commission, created by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963, and the House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) of 1976-1977 whose findings disagreed with those of the Warren Commission.
One of the ballistics and firearms experts who gave evidence at the HSCA was an investigator named Monty C. Lutz.
Monty C. Lutz joined the US military in 1955 after he graduated from high school. He became a military police officer and served in various locations including Germany while Elvis Presley was also there doing his military service.
After Germany during the uncertain times of the Cold War and the Berlin Wall Monty with his family were posted to Hawaii where he served with the Armed Service Police and lived near Pearl Harbor.
In 1965 Monty was accepted into the Army CID (Criminal Investigation Division) training school which required a move to Fort Carson, Colorado, and then to Fort Gordon in Georgia, before he obtained the rank of Warrant Officer.
He was moved to Fort. Leonard Wood in Missouri before being posted to Vietnam in late 1966.
This training and practical experience provided Monty C. Lutz with investigation skills and exposure to crime scene processing etc.
After a year in Vietnam Monty was accepted into a two-year training course in ballistics investigation and returned to Fort. Gordon in Georgia for training in forensic identification.
Chief Warrant Officer Monty C. Lutz remained with the crime lab at Fort Gordon until he retired from the military in 1975 and went to work for the Department of Justice in Milwaukee, working in the state crime lab as a ballistics expert.
This background made Monty a highly qualified man to appear as a firearms and ballistics expert for the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) in the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
This inquiry began in 1976 and produced its report in 1978, concluding that John F. Kennedy had in all probability been assassinated as the result of a conspiracy.
Lutz did not agree with that conclusion, believing that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone.
Following the HSCA investigation Lutz was invited to be a part of a movie “On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald” which was completed and released in 1986.
For the movie Lutz had an M91/38 Carcano rifle fitted with the same type of telescopic sight as Lee Harvey Oswald’s carbine: that sight was a Japanese made 4×18 which was imported by Ordnance Optics Inc., Hollywood, California. Oswald’s rifle had been purchased by mail order from Klein’s Sporting Goods in Chicago and the 4x riflescope had been fitted by them.
So Lutz rifle was made to be as close to identical with Oswald’s as possible.
There have been many who believe that Oswald could not have used the Carcano rifle with its small 4x riflescope to successfully take the shots that hit and killed President Kennedy.
The Warren Commission had the US Army Infantry Weapons Evaluation Branch of the Ballistics Research Laboratory evaluate the Oswald rifle and ammunition used in it. That testing involved firing over a hundred rounds of the same type and make of the ammunition – which had been manufactured by Western Cartridge Co. of East Alton, III.
In this testing three marksmen were put through a test with the rifle at ranges of 175, 240, and 265 feet (58, 80, and 88 yards) and it was found that they could duplicate the lethal shots of the actual assassination.
More recently, motivated by the recent release of the government files on the Kennedy assassination, journalist Glen Beck purchased and set up a Carcano rifle with riflescope as close as possible to that Oswald used and staged a test using towed moving targets at the ranges at which the assassination took place. His conclusion – it was indeed possible.
You can find his discussion of that test if you click here.
There is a very detailed discussion of the technical and historical information on Quora which you will find if you click here.
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is one of the most significant in the history of the United States. It has been surrounded by decades of government secrecy, and where there is secrecy there are going to be many who want to find out the truth which requires the unveiling of the secrets.
The fact that it is possible that Lee Harvey Oswald was able to make the shot that resulted in the death of President Kennedy does not, of itself, eliminate the possibility that there was a conspiracy, nor does it eliminate the possibility that there may have been more than one shooter.
The release of government information regarding this assassination may throw some new light on the events of November 22nd, 1963. But given the decades that have passed, and the possibility that some of the most telling information may well have been destroyed by now it is, I think, unlikely that the full truth will be revealed.
But we can hope that the new Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets will be able to lead us into discovery of what happened on November 22nd, 1963.
For those who are deeply interested in this event, some of the articles owned by Monty C. Lutz pertaining to the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations and subsequent 1986 movie about it are coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction.
These items include:-
- Documented Italian Terni M91/38 “Mannlicher-Carcano” Carbine with Scope, Formerly Owned by Ballistics Expert Monty C. Lutz of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations, Featured in the 1986 Movie “On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald”.
- Accompanying letters and an export document for the above rifle indicating Monty C. Lutz, listed as Chief Firearm Analyst of the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, exported this exact carbine, serial number BS6687, on July 18, 1986 to “London Weekend Television, South Bank Television Centre” for use in the movie “On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald”.
- A binder that contains related correspondence between Monty C. Lutz and London Weekend Television in relation to his work on the film.
- Original 1986 issued passport of Monty C. Lutz.
- Documents and artifacts in reference to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., including personal notes, and photographs.
- A photograph of the nationwide newspaper image of Monty C. Lutz holding the J.F.K. assassination “Mannlicher-Carcano” carbine.
- Nine related extensive bound book firearms evidence reports related to the cases worked on by Monty C. Lutz.
- A display case for the carbine, four metal Carcano clips, a box of spent .30-06 casings and a few fired test bullets from the Remington Model 760 used in the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination.
- A thumb drive with related photos and videos.
- A wax Queen’s seal.
- A framed presentation to Monty C. Lutz for his work on the Firearms Panel investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, presented to him by the HSCA on September 8, 1978.
You will find the sale page for these things if you click here.
The sale is scheduled to take place on May 2nd, 2025.
We hope that the whole truth of the events of November 22nd, 1963 will be discovered and revealed, and that through this the American people will find closure, and enter into a new era of government transparency.
Government of the people, by the people, for the people – in truth.
Picture Credits: All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
