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The so-called pristine bullet was heavily damaged at the base. An Australian crew was able to replicate the shot that hit Kennedy and Connally using body Gel and rope and some twine for ligaments, and bone replications. The bullet followed the exact same path as predicted. The only difference is that the bullet struck two bones in the Connally dummy’s wrist, turning it so it bounced off the Connally Dummy. Also, all bullet fragments, the “Pristine” bullet, and the bullets found up by the Sniper’s nest that had not been fired all came from the same lot. They had the same percent of lead and other impurities at the same percentages.

Yep, the bullet was far from pristine. It was flattened along its length so that its cross section was oval rather than round. You can clearly see this in the photos of the bullet taken from the nose-on perspective. It's not nearly as obvious in the photos taken from broadside which are the ones most people have seen. Gerald Posner has the nose-on pics in his book Case Closed and from these you can tell that the bullet was subject to -- and deformed by -- some serious impact forces.