One of the small bore prone shooters used to drag out his Mossberg 44 and his scores were not that outstanding. He bought a new Anschutz 64 and his scores went way up.
The Mossberg is not a top flight target rifle, it is good as is for a low cost rifle. The sights are a bit crude and the trigger is heavy.
Larry Moore tested a Mossberg 144 in the Dec 1956 issue of Guns Magazine, don't know if that is the same rifle, but I found the article interesting.
http://www.gunsmagazine.com/1956issues/G1256.pdf