Ditto on tightening all the screws. Loose screws can mess you up big time.

You never told us how close to the target you are. Like someone said, even with a properlyboresighted gun, you need to start at 25 yards or even closer. If you try to shoot further than that, any small inaccuracy is multiplied by the distance and the bullet that would be a few inches off at 25 yardscould miss the target totally at 50 or 100.

Use a larger target. I use largish (2 foot or even larger) cardboard moving boxes. Throw a rock or two intothe bottomto weight them down, and you have a good, large target holder to staple or tape targets onto (for transportation to and from the range, I simply fold the box flat).I use a box large enough to put at least two conventional100 yard targets horizontal.

If you're not hitting a normal sized target, for initial sighting, cover the whole thing with plainpaper ornews print or such with an X or spot in the middle (I use stick on orange target spots). If you don't hit THAT target at 25 yards, move the target to 10 yards. I see guys at the range all the time shooting new guns very close, so it won't be that odd. Go from there and move out once you get the thing zeroed in close. You can cover old holes with masking tape or replace the paper.

Once you get it close to sighted in you can use regular size targets (I still use the box as a holder and carry a staple gun to attach the targets.)

If this doesn't get you on the paper and zeroed, take it to any gun shop - they should be happy to bore sight it for you. Buy some ammo from them and I'll bet they do it for free. After bore sighting take it back to the range with a large target at close range.

As for cleaning the gun: be aware that an oiled bore can throw the shot significantly different (several inches possibly) than a dry or previously fired barrel. Whenever you oil your barrel, consider the first shot a throwaway. I personally would never go hunting with a freshly cleaned and oiled barrel. I'd shoot at least one shot through it before taking a shot at game.

When you adjust the scope, knock the scope fairly firmly with something that will jar it without damaging it (some guys use little rubber hammers like a doctor's reflex hammer). The reason for this is that sometimes scopes won't perfectly follow the adjustment until jarred by a shot or by the rapping.Consider this before any first shot after adjustment: If you don't give it a rap, that first shot might be closer to the original scope setting than the adjusted scope setting. The second shot should reflect the adjustment. This isn't always true, justa good routine thing to do to make sure.

Good luck.