Trump with a lot of luck

“Krone” recreates the assassin’s shots

The silhouette has been scaled down by 20 percent to reflect the actual shooting distance of 130 meters on the 100-meter track.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kronen Zeitung)

Just a few minutes after the assassination attempt on Trump, the first conspiracy theories began to circulate about the crime: the shooter had only deliberately injured Trump and it was a staged attack to secure Trump's return to the White House. However, the situation at the Vienna firing point in the 22nd district was different in the "Krone" trial. 

Around 130 meters away, 20-year-old assassin Thomas Crooks was lying on the roof of a house when he fired the shots at Trump. What is known about his weapon is that it was an AR-15 derivative from the manufacturer DPMS - an inexpensive, averagely manufactured, semi-automatic rifle in the common 5.56 caliber for the mass market. The shooter probably only used a holographic sight that did not magnify, but only reflected a red target circle into the field of vision. 

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Google Maps)

The "Krone" recreated the shot with two similar weapons and optics: 

• Using a Sig MCX Virtus with an 11.5-inch barrel, based on the AR-18 concept. The optic used was a very similar Red Dot sight with a 1 MOA dot, which shooter Crooks is also said to have used. 

• With a Geissele AR-15 Super Duty with a 14.5 inch barrel, the same barrel length used by Crooks. A scope from Primary Arms with 1-6x magnification was mounted here. 

View through the holo sight onto the target at a distance of 100 meters. The target is much easier to see with the naked eye than through the camera, but only a small circle remains.

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

Initially, shooting took place under "laboratory conditions": sitting up, relaxed, without time pressure, also without magnification, but three shots with red dot sights in quick succession. The result: all three shots would have been on target, but there can be no question of a precise shot at the ear - at 130 meters, a human head is only a very small circle to which the sight can be applied.

The hit pattern: 

Shot with 55 grain full metal jacket bullets

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

In the second attempt with 6x magnification, the shots are easier, even after pre-loading (push-up) and a head-sized target can be hit in quicker succession. But here, too, it is difficult to reliably hit a part of the head (ear, cap, nose) even under these relaxed environmental conditions. 

With 6x magnification, things look easier - but the Pannsylvania shooter is said to have been shooting without a scope.

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

Conclusion 
A shot from 130 meters at a head-sized target from an assault rifle without a magnifying scope is perfectly feasible even for inexperienced shooters. But the circumstances make all the difference: If you are out of breath, if you pull the trigger in quick succession or if you know that you will die within a few seconds of firing, you will not hit the target so easily.

If the targeted head is also moving, the wind is blowing and there is noise from several thousand people, the situation is anything but trivial. Even if it sounds much easier in the local shooting club after three beers. We're not even talking about a shot aimed at the edge of the ear. Based on what is known, this belongs in the realm of conspiracy theories.