I don't understand the shooting thing at all, whether in the air or the ground. Is the notion that a loud noise would make a bear go away? That never would have occurred to me. So I would say yes, it's a faux pas as far as I can tell. Unless someone knowledgeable says otherwise I'm going to believe that shooting for the sake of making noise is an ineffective plan even if there's a real bear, especially a bear that's not actually attacking. The noise might even provoke the bear. And even emptying a clip into a large attacking bear might not stop it.