Bear Gun Shootout: The Drill

To get a better handle on this debate I enlisted the help of two fellow pistoleros: Sean Murphy, a USPSA Grand Master, and Outdoor Life staff writer Tyler Freel, who by virtue of living in Alaska hunts bears every year. We conducted a live-fire experiment at Gunsite Academy in the form of a simple, but challenging drill. The three of us shot an array of five knockdown steel poppers from far to near to simulate a bear charge. The farthest target was in the center and then we zig-zagged from far left to far right and then to near left and near right to add in erratic motion and increase the stress level. The farthest target was approximately 20 yards away and the closest were about 12 yards downrange. Watch the video above to see the drill for yourself.