Shorthand term for the standard means of measuring a shotgun’s performance: the standard circle is the 30″ circle drawn around the densest part of a shotgun pattern, inside which the number of pellet impacts are counted and expressed as a proportion (percentage) of the number of pellets in the unfired cartridge. Unless otherwise specified, the term usually implies a pattern shot at a distance of 40 yards from the muzzle of the gun.
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