By Bill McLeod.

The new rifle you’ve been so keen to have a go with won’t shoot for nuts.
All over the place. Or a couple of good ones and one way out. Seriously not good enough. Must be the ammo. Must be the scope. Must be the mounts. Must be the bedding. Must be the recoil pad. Must have heated up the barrel and started to spray them all over the show.  Should have got one of the ones my mate told me to get. I’m going to go back and stick it up someone’s behind.
Chill.
Go home.
Clean the rifle.
Put it away.
Have a beer.
Some days later
Take the bolts which attach the stock to the rifle off.
Wipe the areas where the stock contacts the action and barrel with a dry patch. Oil can migrate into the bedding surfaces and create problems.
Reattach the stock to the rifle using firm pressure. The old rule of front screw tight, rear screw tight less an eighth seems less significant now, I use both tight now.
Clean the rifle using a good solvent. Fouling may be an issue, my normal practice is to eliminate that as an issue by using a bore abrading paste to clean the barrel properly.
Check all screws on the rifle for firm tension. One set of screws frequently overlooked are the small screws holding the scope bases on. 
If possible obtain the use of a bore sighter. Use the appropriate spud for the bore size.
While looking through the scope rotate the power shift ring and, if it has one, the parallax adjustment. You are looking for crosshairs wandering around the grid.
Still looking through the scope wind the elevation dial and then the windage dial normally returning the crosshairs to about centre. You are checking to see that the crosshairs track across the grid following the adjustments you have made.
These are the basic steps to prepare for your next shooting session.