.. i also was letting the barrel rest on the wood stand and not the stock. This will help i am sure.
This is probably your entire problem. No rifle will shoot worth a flip if the barrel is resting on something. This is because as the bullet travels down the barrel the barrel vibrates and whips.
When you rest the barrel on something you never, never, never apply the exact same ammount of pressure on the barrel. This changes the harmonics of the barrel every single time thus affecting how the barrel vibrates and whips about and where the barrel is in its movement when the bullet leaves the barrel. Idealy you want the barrel in the exact same spot in its movement every time the bullet leaves the barrel.
Until you stop resting the rifle on the barrel you are literally wasting your time and money trying to shoot grouops.