You might try looking for a used mini-14, but have it checked out by a gunsmith before buying, and if possible shoot it before buying. They're very rugged but that also means they might have been abused. Plenty of mod options for stocks, but as mentioned before it isn't exactly the most accurate gun out there. I'm a fairly good shot (1 inch 3-shot groups at 200yds the first outing with my hunting rifle, not bad for an amature) but a typical mini-14 group is more like 3-4" at 100yds. Maybe a modified one could do better, but I've been told that 3" group at 100 yds with a mini is actually pretty good.
Lots of modification options to customise mini-14s too... Just don't expect the best accuracy. For standing shooting out in the field, the gun is still probably more accurate than most shooters. And you can get extended magazines, although as with any magazine fed rifle, cheapo mags won't feed properly so get decent magazines if you go beyond the factory 5-round mags.
If you get the "ranch rifle" version, you get scope mounts. If not, you have attach the scope to the side of the receiver which throws off the alignment from the pounding it receives and may even break cheaper scopes.
