Agree with the poster.
I rate the "system" (the gun, sights, projectile, the conditions and SHOOTER) by its maximum effective range (MER). For me, for pesting and hunting small game the MER is the range at which I can keep all my shots inside the humane kill zone - which is a 1 inch circle.
Shooting from a bench in ideal conditions will show you the best MER. Shooting off-hand in cold, windy conditions in poor lighting at a moving target when you are tired will severely reduce your MER.
Paper targets don't suffer from a poor hit, live targets do. Please choose your shots accordingly.
After a good session at the bench I'll finish with some off-hand shooting to get a realistic perspective. A bit of humility is good for the soul
Cheers