If its authentic, it doesnt have to impress based on hundred year later justifications. All it had to do was stand the test of time, the less changes from original the better, for appreciating by those that want to. Maybe, the question should be, are there historical records showing why Winchester would go so far away from conventional thought, not that a rifle can be nit picked in theory. This rifle is much more interesting than rehashing why .22 short is an appropriate chambering.