Ahh Grasshopper! You have found the true path to 22 happiness....
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shoot slightly bigger targets! At 1 1/2" that's a nice real world sized target. I think we too often forget why we got into (or came back to) rimfires...because they are fun and cheap to shoot! We drive ourselves to distraction by trying to shoot tiny groups or hit 20 dots...and when it doesn't happen, we sell out and start over, or re-work everything, or buy a bigger scope...we chase it real hard. In so doing, we loose sight of the prize. The real prize is FUN and as a bonus we sharpen our marksmanship skills. I'll take a brick of cheap ammo, spinner rack and a nice day at the range any day over straining, sweating, and cussing trying to make a .25" hole with 5 shots into a piece of paper!