They may not be able to see in a single direction as good as humans, but their field of view is incredibly large for their shorter range of vision. It's debatable as far as range vs field of view.
The other two senses we are not even close to their level.
To answer the OPs question, no. Groups usually only get tighter as the yardage gets smaller. 8 inch groups at 8 yards is huge IMO and should definitely investigate further as to why.
You can go ahead and swap stories all you like, on another thread instead of derailing this one. No one is picking a fight, unless you are looking for one.
Not to add salt to injury, but trigger finger behind the release aid is always a good idea.
As for the paper tuning, start close and work your way out. If you need more details, you can PM me. Seems like you may be tuning too far.
It's been a while Monk, where have you been?
Air guns have been around for a long, long time. It's full of rich history, and extremely underestimated as to their power and potential.
Used to play paintball in the woods, smack in the middle of Brooklyn, queens somewhere. It's not hard to find trees and seclusion to get away from the tree huggers.