I've read the same thing, they will produce a rifle to a certain price point whether low or high. In this case the attraction was a pretty low price as evidenced by the wood and lack of almost any polishing inside the action.
However, they will definitely slick up. I slathered lapping compound on my bolt and any possible contact points inside the action earlier today and worked the bolt about 150 times. Started with 220 grit - 150 cycles, cleaned that off, went to 320, another 150 cycles, cleaned that off and finished up with 600. Then I went over the more obvious surfaces again with 1000 grit wet/dry paper. My hand is sore but all the places that had rough machining marks now have a smooth mirror polish.
That definitely did the trick, the bolt glides very smoothly now. It still has the famous Mauser wobble so it will bind some if you put a lot of sideways pressure when closing the bolt, but even then it takes a lot more pressure than it used to. And with just a little practice you learn to push it in straight and clean.
If a fellow just wanted to be practical he could buy a Ruger 77 in 7mm-08 and have a bullet proof, accurate rifle without all of this labor. But I have to admit it is kind of fun to put all of this elbow grease into it and get these results. You might say the rifle and I are bonding...
