Electric Gun Sight

[Seagull]

Zodiac wrote about his "electric gun sight" in this letter.

Nov. 9 letter gun sight.PNG

I found a gun online, or I should say it found me!, that came stock with an electric gun sight, used during WWII.

Lugar with flashlight.PNG

Not saying that Zodiac could have used this particular pistol as it seems like it was pretty rare but it shows that the technology was there in the late '60's for having a decent light on one.

[Tahoe27]

Wow! Great find. I have never seen a gun like this. I wonder how good it worked?

[Seagull]

Not sure how good it worked but here is a site that explains more about the pistol and how the light operated.

http://collectorebooks.com/jamesauction/luger/36120.htm

[Zamantha]

Interesting find, thanks Seagull for sharing. Made me wonder just how many serviceman brought guns home from the war?
One of my friends, fathers took a Lugar away from a Japenese guy in the war. This gun is locked up in a safe. Wonder how many old guns are locked up without family members knowing their worth or history.
Of course the Luger you posted seems to be almost one of a kind. Very cool!

[Seagull]

My father had a gun that he took from a German soldier in WWII. My brother got it when dad died, I don't know what kind of gun it was though. I bet that people turn in some old valuable guns at the gun buy backs the police sponsor. I sure hope someone looks into each one and resells the valuable collectable ones to a responsible collector. It would be a little money going back into the departments that do the buy backs. It would be a shame if they destroyed the good old ones.

[smithy]

Yes, glurk posted about this a while back, too. I think the fact that it's a production made thing and a heavier model gives it a chance to actually work, too, at least at short range.
It's a long way from duct-taping a pencil flashlight to a .22 "plinker" though. I still don't hold out much hope for that idea, personally....

[Tahoe27]

Yes, glurk posted about this a while back, too. I think the fact that it's a production made thing and a heavier model gives it a chance to actually work, too, at least at short range.
It's a long way from duct-taping a pencil flashlight to a .22 "plinker" though. I still don't hold out much hope for that idea, personally....

We know it can be done, but how far would the light go? Might be good for close-up, but certainly not for distance.

It pissed Zodiac off when the cops said it was light enough to see outside. And I'm not sure what the point of making it up would be.

We know people would hunt with regular flashlights attached...it does work.

Odd.

[smithy]

It got his attention when the police said he could see his targets in silhouette, didn't it.
(August 4th letter):
"In that epasode the police were wondering as to how I could shoot + hit my victoms in the dark. They did not openly state this, but implied this by saying it was a well lit night + I could see the silowets on the horizon. Bullshit that area is srounded by high hills + trees. What I did was tape a small pencel flash light to the barrel of my gun...."

If you believe he killed them, then that serves as some kind of an explanation I suppose. Although 28 feel with a pencil flash still doesn't sound all that believable to me. Phoooey.
Say - are there many trees around there, really, and does anyone know where the police where wondering about this? Might be important.

[Welsh Chappie]

Yes, glurk posted about this a while back, too. I think the fact that it's a production made thing and a heavier model gives it a chance to actually work, too, at least at short range.
It's a long way from duct-taping a pencil flashlight to a .22 "plinker" though. I still don't hold out much hope for that idea, personally....

We know it can be done, but how far would the light go? Might be good for close-up, but certainly not for distance.

It pissed Zodiac off when the cops said it was light enough to see outside. And I'm not sure what the point of making it up would be.

We know people would hunt with regular flashlights attached...it does work.

Odd.

Well all we can do is speculate as to whether he definitely used any light source taped to the gun to use as a sight at LHR, but what we do know is that 7 Months later in his next attack, the MO is almost identical. Secluded spot. Late at night. Dark with no roadside lights. 1 lone vehicle parked there. Assailant approaches, shines bright blinding beam of light into Mike's eyes, opens fire aiming at Mike's head as he had with David. Mike was half a second away from the same fate as David, but saw the gun pointed at his head and leapt back just as Z squeezed the trigger and, as Z later went on to say, "Thus spoiling my aim."

So my own opinion, he did the same at Lake Herman probably, just used a standard flashlight. If memory serves me, not all the shots he fired actually hit Betty, wasn't there 6 shots fired with 5 finding their target? Maybe the unaccounted 6th round wasn't intended to impact anything and was a deliberate warning shot as she attempted to run and the shot served it's intended purpose and frightened Betty in stopping dead in her tracks, thus allowing Z to pump 5 rounds into a now stationary target? Just speculation, I know. But one of a number of scenarios that may or not have played out in and around that gravel entrance that night.

[Marshall]

Zodiac wrote about his "electric gun sight" in this letter.

z3.jpg

First, Zodiac brags about how clever he was, taping a flashlight to his gun barrel. This explanation implies he had to explain it because the police were not in possession of the weapon, so he needed to tell them how it was rigged. In the Bus Bomb letter, he says the above. "Ask the Vallejo cop about my electric gun sight....." How would that statement in the letter be considered "proof" unless the cop (notice, not plural) could verify an electric gun sight was used?

Do the police have the gun used at LHR? If not, how does this sentence make sense? And for that matter, are a flashlight taped to a gun barrel and an "electric gun sight" the same thing? If not, why did he lie?