the 7400 in a .243 will definatley be ore accurate. if you want to spend a little more money buy a nice ar-15 or armalite m-15 a4. they prduce phenomenal accuracy and you can get them in a wide variety of styles to suit you need and wants.

mini 14 is one of the most accurate on the market.

My Ruger Mini 14 does fine at 200 yards, but I had one before that you would be lucky to hit a paper plate at 200. Better accuracy can be found in an AR15.

hmmmm?? what??? what tree did you fall out of?? Im not bashing the mini-14 i have one and love it I would never get rid of it. its a sweet handling gun and i just love the look of them and the fact the sights are where they are supposed to be, not 2 inches above the barrel like a AR-15. But..... the accuracy falls somewhere between OK and poor even with specially tuned handloads and optics added to it my best groups fair about what you see in my picture on page one of this thread about 2 to 3 inch groups at 100 to 150 yards. compared to any of my bolt actions this is absolutely horrible accuracy but for semi auto its ok because there are other semi autos out there that are alot more accurate, even as ugly as the ar-15 its a ton more accurate out of the box then and other semi auto on the market.

I have to ask where did you hear that the mini-14 is one of the most accurate on the market?? did maybe you confuse the mini-14 with a M1A or a M-14???

Gents,

Believe it or not, I already had a fairly decent out of the box Mini whenI bought it 2-3'' at 100 yards with WWB 55 grain.

If you want some real cheap fixes that will help, try these:

1) Put a Masen slip-on Muzzle break. This took it to 1.5 to 2'' at 100 yards.

2) Slip on a Sims barrel deresonator. Yeah, I know, not made for this type of gun---But it works!

3) If you want really good groups use premium ammo. Yep, Winchester and Nosler have some pretty good stuff. You can read a review on the mini14 ranch rifle and winchester ammo that was used. I produced 3/4 inch groups. Go to gunblast.com The 55 grain yielded great results!

4) Use the Ruger 5 round mag. I did fairly well with a Masen 10 round mag, however, even with the Ruger factory 20 rounders I have, the groups were much larger.

5) If you are shooting for groups, give your barrel time to cool down. If you are just shooting for fun, dont worry about it.

6) I have not done it, but I hear that putting a Hogue stock is almost as good as putting a glass bedding ot the gun. It fits real tight!

I have done 5 out of the 6 things here and I can shoot 3/4 to 1.5 at 200 yards (Not more than 10 shots though, the barrel gets too hot). I have shot 2"-2.5" at 300 yards.

All in all, the cost for the brake and deresonator is $45.00.
I think the hogue stock is about $40-70 on line depending on where you look.

I have out shot my buddy who has a RR Arms that he paid at least $200 more than I did even with my slight modifications.

The ammo will cost you more, but I have been amazed at how well WWB 62 grain had done for just plinking. Just use the other good stuff when you want good groups, it works. Hornady's 55 grain BT was not bad either.

Porter.

I spoke to someone at Ruger and the barrel is the same diameterbut she told me they hadimproved the standard forthe the level of accuracy you should achieve out of one and had rounded the edges and refined it overall. Made it more user friendly.I think they are all ranch rifles now with the rings and better sights than the ones that use to come on them. The front sight looks like an m1 carbine type sight. Here are some pics of the new ones.

Another

And another

i gotta mini14 toped with a simmons 4x12 scope. it ain't never gonna be no 200yrd varmint rig. i might take a 100yrd shot at jacks or yotes with it though. the AR's are supposed ta be real tack drivers; but there pricey. i got no experience with a rem 7400????????but i alway's wanted a light 223 carbine bolt action like rem mod 7 or simalar. course once ya got one, and outfitted it youd only be a little light a the price fer a AR..

early

I would get a bolt action varmint rig or one of these new AR's if you want that kind of long range accuracy.