[tjhands]

The Ruger you have IS a good gun. It's most likely something you're doing or not doing.
It's as simple (haha) as lining up the 3 dots on your sights in a straight line while keeping the target sitting atop the middle dot, focusing on the front sight (middle dot) and NOT on the target, and slowly pressing the trigger while keeping these things lined up. The BANG should come as a surprise.....you should not anticipate it. When the shot is anticipated, the hand starts to wobble, you lose focus, expect recoil, and the shot goes way off.

I think someone mentioned dry-firing. Great advice. It will help more than almost anything and the best part is that it's FREE. No ammo, no shot up targets. Just triple check (literally) that your gun is empty first. Put a paper plate with an "X" in the center on the wall, stand back 20 feet or so, and practice the routine I outlined above. Take notice of what your hand does when the gun goes "click" after the trigger releases. Ideally, your hand will not move at all amd the sights will remain on target. That's what you want to have happen every time you shoot with live ammo. Focus on the FRONT SIGHT and not on the target! The target should just be a blur in the background, visible enough that you can line it up on top of the sights. That is a very important point to make and follow. As you squeeze the trigger, hold your breath at a comfortable level for the last couple seconds as the trigger goes off.

If you do this just 10 minutes a night for a week or so, I can almost promise that your groups will improve VERY much. The best shooters in the world spend just as much time doing these practice drills as they do actually shooting.