Who said all the Klein's ads were always unreliable?
The February ad in question (Honest JohnM provided the right one) showed that if one ordered an individual Carcano, the ad showed a M91 (originally 50" but shortened) and the text said it would be 36" long and 5 1/2 lbs. If one believes that ad was literally accurate, then they must believe Klein's was mailing out M91s that weighed 5 1/2 lbs.
One reason why I believe they were filling orders with the Carcano M91/38 40" Short Rifles was the price $12.88. It costed Klein's a dollar more-per-unit to purchase the Short Rifles when the smaller TS model (which had been selling at $11.88) was no longer available. The April ad showed the specs were a bit more accurate (40" length and 7 lbs), and the price was $12.88.
Who said all the Klein's ads were always unreliable?Nobody. I just asked you for clarification about what you said.
The February ad in question (Honest JohnM provided the right one) showed that if one ordered an individual Carcano, the ad showed a M91 (originally 50" but shortened) and the text said it would be 36" long and 5 1/2 lbs. If one believes that ad was literally accurate, then they must believe Klein's was mailing out M91s that weighed 5 1/2 lbs.Honest JohnM? Really... do you want me to take you seriously?
As for the February ad, regardless of what it showed (and I'll take your word for it as far as the image goes, as I have no knowledge about rifles), the description of the rifle on offer was pretty clear. They offered a 36" long MC rifle, so if I had ordered one, that's what I would expect to receive.
One reason why I believe they were filling orders with the Carcano M91/38 40" Short Rifles was the price $12.88. It costed Klein's a dollar more-per-unit to purchase the Short Rifles when the smaller TS model (which had been selling at $11.88) was no longer available. The April ad showed the specs were a bit more accurate (40" length and 7 lbs), and the price was $12.88.There are two problems with this reasoning. First of all, the rifle wasn't ordered from the April add and was in fact - if the official narrative is to be believed - already shipped and photographed in Oswald's hands before the April add was actually published and, secondly, Klein's gunsmith, Westra, is on record, in the HSCA files, that Klein's did not mount scopes on 40" rifles.
And then there is this;
One reason why I believe they were filling orders with the Carcano M91/38 40" Short Rifles was the price $12.88.If Klein's was sending out rifles that were not really ordered, instead of those that were ordered, how can they be considered to be reliable?