"Bring to bear"

"Bring to bear"
or is it bare?

Bear. I believe it is in this sense:

Bear -- 4 a : to exert influence or force (Merriam-Webster).

- and very often the "influence or force" is gunnery. When a battleship swings round to allow its guns to fire at another, it is said to be "bringing its guns to bear" on the enemy.