Dispersion
Also: Cone of Fire
The spread of shots around the aim point, often pictured as a cone of fire that widens steadily with distance to the target.
Dispersion is the scatter of impacts around the intended point of aim, and it is the practical measure of how precise a rifle, load, and shooter are together. It is often pictured as a cone of fire radiating from the muzzle, since the angular spread stays roughly constant while the physical group grows wider in inches the farther the target sits.
Because dispersion is an angular quantity, it is best summarized by a metric that uses every shot, such as a mean radius, rather than the two widest shots alone. Many factors feed into it, from inconsistent ammunition to a marginal stability factor that lets the bullet wobble in flight, and reducing dispersion is the precision half of the accuracy vs precision problem.