I think there is a lot of sense in the suggestion that bolt rifle were seen by makers as basic level rifles- practical tools for the man who could not afford a double rifle. The British craft had built such a reputation for one off excellence that bolt rifles may not have seemed worthy of so much effort. Their single shot rifles were mostly inexpensive, at least in plain form. I agree that the Brits did a better job of building repeaters to a sensible weight.We took a long time here to get comb height right.
