I agree with everyone else, it's almost certainly a scope issue. My 1:7 twist pencil barrel Colt doesn't like any 55 grain ammo I tried, but it would at least hit the paper.
Don't overlook Redfield scopes. They're owned and operated by Leupold these days and are very good value-priced scopes.
I use
this mount on my 10/22 Takedown, but it's really made for the AR platform.