Among the benefits of living in Alaska is access to some really remote places. For some of us, this encourages our natural inclination to do things that we normally wouldn’t ever think of, either because it’s far enough away to be safe*, or far enough away that no one will see us being so ridiculous.
On a recent trip up to my uncle’s cabin on a remote river, I had an epiphany. I had been thinking of ways to test my “bear readiness” with my .375 Ruger. Pulleys and charging bear targets would be more effort than it was worth, but how else could I see how precise I was with my “rhino stopper”? Then it hit me, clay pigeons! I figured that if I could hit a clay pigeon going away from me with my rifle, I would most likely be able to hit a 300-pound bear coming at me at 10 yards!
It took me a few shots to get dialed in, but I was eventually able to crush ’em, and those clay birds were no match for a 300-grain Hornady Interlock! It was more of a goofy stunt than a practical training method, and I don’t think I’ll be retiring the shotgun, but it was fun.
* We were in a very remote area with no people, roads, or houses for more than 100 miles in the direction I was shooting.