hblair that's not bad shooting for a casual shooter, assuming that the number of holes in the target is the number of rounds you put downrange
Practice makes perfect and I suggest joining a local club if they offer courses. The NRA has a lot of different competitions and chances are you might find one of them fun enough to get you out on the range more often.
When I was shooting standard pistol in college (.22 cal, one handed grip), I'd put all shots except stoopid twitch-pulls in about a 5-6 inch circle at the competition range, but I can't remember what the exact range was. 20 or 25 yards if I recall correctly, but I don't remember. I practiced a lot though plus the coach said I'm a natural. My rapid-fire accuracy was better than my slow-fire accuracy, which drove the coach (ex-olympic shooter) nuts. Too much caffine was the culprit methinks, and I got knocked off of the first team prior to nationals by another shooter who drank less mt dew and wasn't trying to finish a computer science degree. I was ok with the pellet guns but just not quite consistent enough day to day to beat the really talented guys, and I only shot my senior year so I didn't have much of a chance to improve over time.
My browning buckmark is more accurate than I am, but I'm not satisfied with the grip. I'd like to find a custom wooden grip with the little adjustable platform and finger notches, but so far every store I've been to just gives me a goofy look like I'm asking for something really weird. I guess I should go to more competitions and ask the competitors where they get their equipment. I'm not going to spend $4000 for a Pardini though...
I learned a lot of good techniques from reading cheesy-but-historically-accurate westerns, and my dad was an expert marksman in the marine corps so he taught me everything he could whenever we went out shooting.
With my beretta .40, I can group 40 rounds in a 10 inch target at 25 yards without bracing and I've shot expert (wimpy USAF course, not the more challenging navy course) in the old short-barrel military S&W .38 revolvers, 9mm beretta, and M-16. The only time I missed expert on a military range was when I'd just completed 400 pushups that morning and was having muscle spasms in my arms while shooting. I still got 25/40 shots on target, but the others went into the dirt and I think I lofted one or two over the 30 ft tall backstop
I almost pulled myself off the line because I was a true hazard to the world, but I figured as long as I didn't actually drop the gun nobody would notice
My best ever rifle shot was a 6-round group the size of a quarter at 200 yards. 7mm remmington magnum, browning A-bolt with the BOSS anti-recoil and barrel tuning system. The next dozen rounds expanded to a 3 inch group due to quickly growing shoulder pain from the recoil. On the way home I stopped at a gun store and bought a shoulder pad
There are books on shooting technique too, so maybe check the local library or NRA catalog.
