We'll have to agree to disagree on the quality of those rifles. I've never fired one but I've had the opportunity to hold and inspect and shuck the action on a couple of 'em in good shape.
MM (in TX)
I have never fired one either, but according to people who have, they were an accurate, albeit not to be confused with higher priced rifles that were built to take a lot of abuse such as the M1 Garand or Springfield. It's draw back was long term reliability under battlefield conditions, not accuracy.
My understanding is back then they were a perfectly fine deer rifle for people who wanted to shoot at deer a couple of days a year and not spend a lot of money to do it.
From the distances Oswald was shooting --- between 40 and 90 yards -- damn near any weapon would have worked just as well and the shot he took a few months earlier at Gen Walker from over 100 yards with the same rifle showed that it was more than accurate 'enough.' Walker was one damn lucky SOB that Oswald didn't take his head off when the round he fired grazed the window frame.
As I attempted to say before, people focus on the price these rifles were selling at then. The price had nothing to do with how accurate or serviceable they were. The price only reflects how saturated the market was with WWII military surplus equipment from all over the world.
For gun collecters, it was the golden age.