I suspect that the problem might be lack of practice. I faced exactly this problem and discovered that it was remarkably difficult to hold the target in sight for long enough before squeezing the trigger. And when I did squeeze the trigger that small movement of the forefinger made the gun move. As a result my shots went all over the place. The only way to cure it was consistent practice over a number of days in order to build up the muscle in my arm and improve muscle memory. Even now I find that if I don't feel particularly calm or am distracted, it will affect my reliability and I go back to square one again.

My advice is to practice when you feel calm and for the sake of consistency, use the same gun and pellets.

Finally, the targets you are using are very small, even at six metres, so you might find that your confidence is being knocked every time you go out of the black. It might sound daft, but try shooting the 10 metre pistol target at ten metres and compare your scores with the UBC lads in order to gauge how you're doing.

Regards,

Jonathan

PS You seem to have the knack of starting the most interesting threads! Thank you.