I've owned an m44 and currently have a finish hexagonal receiver mosin nagant. You get what you pay for of course. In my experience a 100 bucks doesn't carry you very far in the firearms world. BUT they aren't too bad. Surplus ammo is corrosive so cleaning immediately after shooting is necessary. I wouldn't store one of these guns with your favorite guns either. Mine hangs on the wall just for show. Kinda cool to have hanging in the living room. As far as accuracy goes, for a 100 bucks they aren't bad. If you were to ever pick up an m44 make sure you double up on the ear protection. They rattle my fillings.
To answer your question about medium range bolt rifles. You absolutely cannot beat a savage for cost/value. On top of them being plenty accurate and cheap, cheap is relative I suppose but in the gun world they are cheap priced, they are like a sbc in terms of modifications. Also depending on what action you have, long or short action. Example, a .223 would be a short action, a 338 win mag would be a long action you can swap barrels for different calibers and it is extremely easy to do. Barrels and a bolt face are changed for the caliber of your choice. When I say easy I mean anybody with a bench vice and the barrel nut tool can SAFELY change barrels. You can go from .243 to .308 with the same gun. Or since they are cheap enough just buy both guns 🙂 I am no marksman but my savage 116 30-06 with a nikon prostaff scope can print about 5 inch 3 shot groups at 350 yards. That is not stellar by any means but my eyes suck and im just not a great rifle shooter. In the hands of somebody else I am sure it is much more capable.