What has always puzzled me is his choice of weapon. He was trained on the M1-Garand and knew it well. I can make consistent 4-inch groups with the open sights at 100 yards and it is semiautomatic with 8 rounds in the clip. The M1-Garand Model D with the side mounted scope will do a 1–2-inch group at 100 yards. With the side mounted scope, he could also use the open sights. Why did he not choose the weapon he was familiar with, and it was cheap back then.
To make the shot one would have to point hard to the right. Using a bolt action rifle in that position would be awkward at the least.