There are different opinions on that, Andy. Here's mine, and I'm certainly not speaking for my friend Frank. His opinions may differ, and I respect them highly.
I don't like shooting patterns off of a rest. I try to pattern my shotguns as near to the same way I'll be using them as possible. For me, that means shooting offhand when I'm doing pattern testing, and from a sitting position (but not using a rest) when I'm testing for regulation. A rest can and will alter the placement of the patterns, as compared to where the patterns will be when using the gun in the field or on the range. Rests tend to make a gun shoot high, IMO.
Three shot composites, offhand, are pretty good indicators of pattern placement. Placement doesn't matter so much when you're doing pattern percentage testing, because you can pinpoint the center of the pattern before drawing the 30" circle.
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