I am curious about the trigger. My 414 has a very heavy trigger , which is surprising considering it's age. It has a nice clean break, but it feels like five pounds.

Oh boy, I am having tough time sighting in the 414.

She won't hold a consistent group. I'll get 1/12 to 2" at twenty five yards,then two or three in the same hole, and then a few more two inches apart, sometimes strings. I tried several different brands of ammo from subsonic to mini mags. When the gun warmed up, it was putting five round of mini mag into a dime size hole. But if I walk away from the gun for a while, she opens up again. I noticed a dark ring about two inches down the barrel that won't come out with a bore brush, there is some pitting in the barrel, and there is always unburned powder left in the barrel. At first I thought it must be a loose scope.But everything seems tight.

A friend has a 414 with a heavy trigger.  Some other guys we shoot with in a gallery league also shoot 414s. Last week, we spent an afternoon yakking about 414 rifles & trigger pulls.

Some of their 414s have ordinary flat springs like the regular Stevens 44 series.  Others have slightly heavier flat springs that may or may not be original.  And others have been converted to coil springs very much like a 417.  Converting to a coil spring might (or might not) require a new hammer.

The consensus of our yakking is that the spring setups seem to be interchangeable and that switching around may give you a trigger pull more to your liking.

The consensus was that Wisner's and whatever Numerich is called these days will probably have the parts you need for substituting mainsprings, but you probably will not be able to get all the parts you need from just one source.

A lot of barrels are sensitive to different types of 22 rimfire ammo and there is a lot of 22 rimfire ammo available that is not terribly accurate.  

If I had that rifle, I would first find some tight fitting soft cotton patches, fit one to a good rod with a good jag and push it slowly down the barrel.  Feel for rough or loose spots. Inspect the patches. If the patches have have particles of lead on them, use more patches.  If everything felt tight and uniform, I would be happy, but regardless of the results I would then range test it.

My test would use one of the common brands of mid-price standard velocity target ammo, one with lead bullets and a good bit of lube.  Get at least 4 or 5 boxes, same brand & hopefully the same lot numbers.  

Then get a bunch of gallery targets, at least 10 of them.  The ASSRA or WSU types have 6 bulls per target, the NRA types have 11.  Number the targets.  Put them up at 25 yards.  If you shoot outdoors, pick a nice day.

Put the rifle on a good rest or on sandbags.  Get comfortable and get sighted in.  Eliminate as many variables & distractions as possible.  

Then shoot the same number of shots (somewhere between 2 and 5 shots) at each bull and shoot for score.  Shoot each bull on each target in the same order.  With each bull you shoot, try and equal or better your previous score. 

The guys who are serious paper punchers with 22 rimfires do not clean their rifle barrels very often.  Somewhere between your 25th & 50th shot, your scores should improve.  The paper punchers will tell you that happens when the lube is uniformly coating your rifle's bore. Keep shooting until you have shot at least 100 shots for score.  200 shots would be better. Take notes. Call your shots.  Keep track of your scores.

The 414 was intended to show good results in such a test. If you use thee NRA targets, good ammo should stay in the 9 ring, or inside the 23 ring with the ASSRA target for most shots.  That gives a basis for comparing ammo types.

For what it's worth ..............  my 414 tests well with the Lapua line.  From Standard Rifle to Rifle Match to Center X to Midas +, it groups tighter each step of the way.  All 40Gr. std velocity.  Virtually no fouling. I start with a clean barrel - run A DRY patch through (no more than two) after 50 - 100 rnds. - no solvent needed. After 250 - 500 or so rounds - Maybe a light cleaning with Butches or similar - patches & maybe a nylon bristle (not bronze/brass) brush - light oil - dry patch.  Good to go again. It'll probably take the better part of another box to get re settled in with lube coating. I like to test with 15 - 2 round groups followed by 4 - 5 round groups. I wouldn't use any high or hyper velocity stuff and I, personally, have had no good results with sub-sonic. Other shooters have said the sub sonic is good. Testing at 50 yds. is fine, but I prefer at 100. Barrels, shooters, conditions, ammo lots all differ. Just have fun. I LOVE my 414.

The funny thing about my ammo testing is no matter what I have put through the 414, she does ok. I have used the following ammo that I had in my cabinet. Remington target, RWS target, RWS subsonic, CCI standard,and CCI mini mag copper. The mini mags gave the best performance.That is not what I want to shoot out of the 414. I want a standard velocity load. I bought the Remy target loads on sale and it was a great deal for the 500 rd box. The funny thing is, when I first shot the rifle, before the scope was mounted, she shot great with the CCI CB longs.