I Imagine a sunny day hunting in November with my Marlin SBL 1895. Yes, great rifle but, I believe the suns glare from my mirror like surfaces on this rifle can spook a wary buck. What to do?
Well, It depends. You can spray paint your rifle. Nope. You can buy camo duct tape, Cheaper, it works. Or buy some camo sniper veil to put on your rifle with elastic bands. Mossy Oak makes a gunwrap see
Gun Skins. They do not make a kit for my marlin but they should.
I chose to use camo duct tape ($9.00) and cut it to fit parts that would reflect the sun. Took me an hour.
In this case, it is most of the metal on the rifle. Big difference below! This reduced reflection greatly and the tape can be easily removed.
One thing you want to avoid is getting your barrel hot from shooting practice.Your tape will get hot and gummy. So shoot a shot or 2 and cool your barrel making sure the tape stays in place. Mossy Oak Gun Skins is another great option see the blue colored print site above.
Update
In review, I had some “gun skin” tape, so I remove the duct tape from the barrel only and added the higher quality gun skin tape. It will handle barrel heat better if I practice at the range.
Sounds scary right? Covering your muzzle with electrical tape when hunting?
I have walked under a fir tree laden with snow. Snow fell into my muzzle. I thought, if only I taped the muzzle. Secondly, falling awkwardly and your barrel muzzle is now pugged with snow. What to do? Use a stick to clear the muzzle is not a wise option as it just pushes snow further down the barrel, better yet, tape the muzzle in the first place with one layer of tape.
Many use electrical tape to cover your rifle muzzle when rain, snow, debris can accidentally obstruct and plug your barrel.
Soldiers cover barrel muzzles in the military when slogging in mud and debris! You can too.
My experience – Firing your rifle with just a small piece of tape covering the muzzle will not affect accuracy nor injure your rifle. As shown above, you can also cut a piece of a surgical glove, or nitrile glove like the thumb or finger portion and place it over the muzzle then tape it to the barrel. I put tape on my barrel, then pull a piece of it off to cover the muzzle.
I have been receiving New Hampshire Fish and Game news via email for quite some time.
Not long ago, I got an e-mail looking for Volunteers to teach 3rd and 4th grade NH students about New Hampshire’s Great Bay & its Inland Estuary and its value to humans, flora and fauna alike in a fun hands on program. See www.greatbay.org
The goal is education. Passing on the love of the Bay and “Discovering” its value and environmental balance to young students and adults alike covering Animals, Archaeology, Biology, Birds, Earth Science, Ecology, Environmental Science, Fishing, Hiking, Hunting, Clamming, Oystering, Native Americans, and Natural History.
On September 2, I gathered all day, with other would be volunteers to receive training to educate young students through the Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland New Hampshire, right on the Bay itself.
As a sportsman-conservationist I felt right at home in this program which educates from September to early November. I was impressed.
The program includes the value of hunting, fishing, trapping, harvesting of wild game and estuarian food sources like clams and oysters and protecting the resource from overuse and re-seeding of disappearing flora and fauna like oyster beds and reintroduction of wild turkeys.
I felt like a time traveler visiting the life of the native Abenaki people their customs, wigwams, and wampum.
So much fun! I was hooked!
Also early settlers and how life evolved along the bay and commerce using flat bottom sail boats called Gundalows to sell goods among shoreline settlers.
We learn that Great Bay Matters in a fun and educational way!
Organizations like The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership is also involved, a collaboration of conservation organizations in the coastal region that promotes landscape-scale land conservation and stewardship.
Fun in my own back yard with bow and crossbow. No need to go to the range. No noise and does not bother my neighbors.
I love my rifles but I also love my bows and crossbows.
It is late August and I’ve always said, “August is for Archery”. Love my XX75 Easton Arrows with shield feathers.
Shooting poolside. That works for me!
Later in my life, my right eye became dyslexic and could look thru a tiny peep, or even string, so I found a peep that had a giant hole to look thru. To solve my anchor point with such a large hole, I mounted a kisser button on the string. I anchor at my lips. That’s why they call it a kisser button. Daah! It works! No it’s not perfect but I can hit my target.
Anchor practice in my basement with one of my recurves.
With recurve above, no peep. Use the arrow!
My Ten Point Crossbow, on the other hand, is rifle like once sighted.
I spoiled myself with a laser rangefinding scope, An Oracle X.
Below my foam black bear practice with my Ten Point.
Below, the real thing! This beautiful Maine boar fell to my Ten Point Turbo. Practice works!
I don’t own a Wicked Ridge Invader m1 but the review below among others is a reason to buy one. It is very close to my Ten Point Turbo S1 in quality and shoots just as fast. But my Ten Point costs $450 dollars more. I am not in the market for a new crossbow but if I were, this crossbow or similar would be an easy choice, especially at $799 vs mine at $1250. Can you say budget and tech friendly!
It’s Time! As daylight begins it’s earthly turn toward fall, scientists say, the tiny pineal gland in the whitetail bucks brain signals with hormones to end blood flow to the velvet on antlers. And the beginning of a bucks increasing desire to fight off other bucks and mate with a receptive doe.
For the buck …the rut has begun.
As blood dries up in deer antlers, the velvet dries and begins to peel off and the antler hardens as the weeks progress to October. Bucks join in rubbing off remaining velvet and seek other bachelor bucks to joust with. Just weeks away, does will come into estrus and may be receptive for mating.
Years back in mid October, I was bowhunting in Pennsylvania, I was in my treestand and below me does were feeding in late afternoon. Suddenly, an impressive plump 8 point bucks shows up, his fur glistened in the afternoon sun.
The does, not yet receptive seem nervous. He steps among them smelling the air. He approaches one young doe from the rear but she hops forward and away.
He follows.
She mingles with other does and again he follows. Feeling harassed she darts away weaving among other deer. What a show, I thought as the chase was on.
I grunted from my stand hoping against hope the buck might come close. He was so focused on that doe, that I could’ve blown a trumpet, and he’d never hear it.
Again she weaved and lurched left. Like a cutting horse on a cattle ranch …he wheeled left on his haunches, front legs in the air to reposition and cut off her path. The panicked doe lurched right, again the buck wheeled again to cut off her exit.
I became frustrated not being able to take a shot, I grunted from my stand hoping for them to head my way. Crazy as it seems, the doe ran into thick brush under my stand, weaving easily through tangled brush. The buck followed but due to heavy brush his antlers got hung up.
I thought, Here’s my chance. I came to full draw, my heart pounding. I looked for an opening. The bucks chest, quartering toward me, was covered in overhanging branches. Still looking for a hole to thread my arrow, the buck looked up and saw me move. Still at full draw the buck backed out of the tangle.
I had no shot, thus I let down my draw.
The little doe now a hundred yards ahead in the hard woods. The buck slipped to my left and entered into the hardwood, still in pursuit. My hunt ended but the scene I encountered plays over and over in my mind. I was pleased that I did not attempt a shot. The angle was wrong, and the brush would have likely deflected the arrow. Pleased with my decision, I watched that handsome buck melt into the forest. Pleased that I let him walk to hunt him again.
This adventure fishing trip was in the planning phase for quite some time.
It is part of my bucket list, maybe yours too.
My fishing goal was to catch a large halibut that locals call a “barn door”. Being a senior, I had to work out at the gym to prepare for catching big fish.
I arrived in Anchorage, Alaska from Boston. In the picture, Delta was on final approach to the runway.
Many of us stayed overnight at the Puffin Inn, seen below. They sent an airport shuttle to pick me up. Nice!
First night hotel
Below, this terrific Alaska Bus Company and driver Ian drove us to the lodge … perhaps near 150 miles.
Great views out of the large bus windows.
Alaska Bus Company drove us to lodge in Sterling, Ak – Nice Bus and Driver Ian
Adam and Ed give thumbs up for the drive to lodge
Below, our bus stopped at Three Bears Convenience stores for snacks and potty breaks …great roadside stores.
I bought a souvenir Alaska vehicle license plate for my man-cave.
We stopped for snacks and potty breaks a these great roadside convenience stores. Here we stopped at the town of Coopers Landing,
We arrive at the Great Alaska Adventure Lodge below. The lodge is very impressive as were the terrific lodge staff.
They aim to please and did so every day.
Entrance to the Great Alaska Adventure Lodge. First Class!
Below is my lodge-room, no tv, was on purpose. This is a get-a-way. Complete with a full bathroom for each guest. And room service for making your bed and room care.
My Bedroom for the week. Wow! Can you say comfortable!
The lodge is situated on the shore of the famous Kenai River, where we can fish for salmon and enjoy peace and quiet along the river. Can you say spectacular!
Behind the lodge is the picturesque Kenai River – Salmon fishing on the shore.
Below, we had our own great adventure bus and driver to drive us to each adventure fishing trip. Charlie our driver was terrific.
our lodge adventure transportation. Nice!
Moose on the loose. We saw several.
Moose Crossing-we saw several moose and calf’s along the roadside
Sights like this mountain below were amazingly common as we were shuttled to adventures. I believe this is one of the three volcanoes in Alaska. All of them are officially considered active.
On the road – a volcano looms large. Minor quakes are normal.
We fished in Homer Alaska too, but the best ocean adventure for me was in Seward, Alaska. You will see why shortly… Below, we boarded the Tia Rose for our 2 1/2 hour ride to our fishing area.
Boat “Tia Rose” at the Seward Dock
Seward has more wildlife and closer to mountain shorelines than Homer. See the sea otter I photo’d below. No Orca’s seen.
Both videos below are from John catching then landing the largest barn door halibut of the trip. We did not weigh our fish.
Look at that rod bend!
I caught the second largest barn door too but was so busy catching it that it was not on video.
The good thing here was that the ocean bottom here was only 70 feet. Often it is like 200 or 300 feet.
Below video, Nat’s daughter Alyra reels in a nice halibut.
Chris reels in a nice one.
Below, Jamie showing her big halibut.
Nice Fish Jamie!
This halibut close-up on the deck, is keeping an eye, …or two, on us. What big eyes they have.
Experts say halibut start their life vertically with an eye on each side. As they grow, their eyes migrate to the darker side and then swim flat on the ocean bottom. Most all large halibut are females called “barn doors” and smaller ones are males called “chickens”.
Halibut are prized as a food fish costing 30 dollars per pound or more.
Fast Facts from Alaska Fish and Game
Size Length to over 8 feet, weight to over 500 lb
Lifespan 55 years (males and females)
Distribution/Range California to the Bering Sea, west to the Sea of Japan
Remarks Both eyes on the right (upper side), with rare exceptions
Other Names Large halibut are “barn doors,” small halibut are “chickens.”
Below, Adam wearing his GoPro hooked a ling cod, not in season, and threw him back.
All the rods are put away below, the Kenai mountains off in the distance.
We each caught two rock fish, great fight for a smaller fish.
Jamie and husband Scott with all our catch.
Scott and Jamie with our Catch
Nat and Alyra with all our catch.
Nat and daughter Alyra with our Seward Catch
Lady friends with all our catch. Great fishing ladies!
Lady friends with our Seward Cat
John, John and Ed showing off all our catch. I gave a thumbs up!
Ed with his “barn door” halibut. This barn door is what I hoped to catch on this Alaska adventure. Success never felt so good. I was in the gym for three months to prepare for the fish fight of my life. Good thing I did! Not bad for my senior body!
Ed and John show off their big ones.
Below is our Kasilof Drift Boat Launch.
Nat caught one sockeye, nice fish, and lost a king salmon.
Male and female loons below
Loons on the Kasilof River
Bald Eagle I photo’d on shores of Kasilof River. Such a majestic symbol of the USA.
One of my best adventures is the Fly-in to Big River Lake where ocean salmon just arrived to spawn. Below is our float plane, a De Haviland Otter Turbo. It seats six.
Fly-in to Big River Lake with De Haviland Otter- Seats 6
Loading packs and lunch in the float plane.
Just Landed at Big River Lake
Breath taking Mountain view at Big River Lake at the base of Mount Redoubt an active volcano
Dock At Big River Lake Lodge
We all caught three salmon here but saw no brown bears.
We take off the De Haviland and tour the local Big River Glacier on the way back.
This was my last Alaska adventure trip of 2026. Now I prepare to fly home with our frozen fish. I ended the trip with 41 pounds of delicious frozen vacuum sealed halibut, 4 rockfish, salmon and some codfish.
Below is our bus, complete with baggage and many boxes of frozen fish as we depart the lodge.
I enjoyed this Alaska adventure fishing trip. I bought this T-shirt at the airport. Eat Organic with Moose meat cuts shown. Photo on my porch and back yard in New Hampshire.
Thank goodness for youtube video testing of bullets like 300g vs 350g vs 400g and penetration. I am new to the 45-70, so seeing the penetration and mushrooms for hard-cast vs jacketed and hollow point vs flat point is very telling.
Hard cast lead bullets are made from a mixture of lead, antimony, and tin, resulting in a harder bullet that offers deeper penetration and less deformation upon impact.
I typically like bullets to mushroom for thin skinned game like deer but in the case of bears, I like penetration and less mushrooming. Why is that?
Primarily I want penetration on bears for an exit wound/blood trail shooting them end to end.
I like Hornady 250, 300 for deer size game and 350g and 400g flat points for bears. You never know when a 300 pound black bear or even larger shows up at a bait. I believe the 45-70 is great wild hog medicine up close as well. Having the ability to lever fast shots is essential around ornery game is a real plus.
For longer range elk and moose, I will stick to bolt rifles like my 7mm Rem Mag or my .375 Ruger. I did take a small bear with the 7mm at 30 yards but felt it better utilized at longer range.
What does Strong Action mean when it comes to Lever Rifles such as the new Ruger made Marlin 1895?
Strong action means 40,000 c.u.p. (copper unit of pressure). Some reloading manuals such as Barnes® et al, use 43,000 psi as a marker for pressure. To check your rifle cartridge for either psi or cup pressure see below.
In 1873 the standard 45-70 Government cartridge used a 45 caliber 405g bullet with 70 grains of black powder…hence the name 45-70. I consider the 400g bullet as big, however these vintage rifle barrels and actions like the trap door or Sharps were no where near capable of todays modern 45-70 pressures.
Many of todays 45-70 lever rifles can handle bullets over 500 grains as long as they don’t exceed COL cartridge overall length and have a cannelure for a roll crimp to fit the 45-70 lever rifles. As an example, see
And because of strong actions, these big bullets can achieve velocities approaching and in some cases exceed 2000 fps. Like getting hit by a fast train.
These heavy bullets provide a key ingredient. Penetration! Alaskan guides sometimes use the 45-70 lever actions as back-up for close dangerous game encounters such as brown and grizzly bears.
It is momentum, a product of mass (bullet weight) and velocity which creates unparalleled penetration. And it is the damage done by the bullet as it passes through tissue. Bullet speed aids greatly in radial damage as well.
Some use the Marlin on African safari with great success.
I prefer a controlled feed bolt action with my M77 .375 Ruger like I did with my recent American buffalo hunt, or larger like the 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger for really big dangerous game such as cape buffalo.
I use a recoil taming shoulder harness when practicing on the bench.
Standing free hand, these big rifles rock your whole body thus absorbing the more tolerable heavy recoil.
It is a wild ride that keeps me coming back for more adventure.
Since purchasing my new Marlin 1895 45-70 SBL lever rifle a month or so ago, I searched on line for cost effective 300g bullets to practice with. Below are images of these ACME Hi-Tek coated bullets I tested at moderate velocities using Viht. N- 130 powder at 50 yards.
What surprised me was my Garmin chrono data from my first 6 shots I took with 40 grains of Vihtavuori N-130 powder. Shot Avg 1577.9 fps but the Standard Deviation was an unbelievable 4.0 fps. Wow!
Cost is $26 for a box of 100. Very inexpensive. Shipping will vary. For me shipping was 12 dollars. Cost works out to 38 cents a shot. And they load well and my brass crimp holds them secure. Very nice indeed.
I called ACME to shared my exciting experience above. Further, that I was unsure how fast/slow to shoot them. They are designed to be a hard cast and will not mushroom and are used in cowboy shoots and target at moderate speeds. They don’t have a gas check, thus speeds need to be moderate.
Keep bullet velocity on the lower end to reduce lead barrel fouling. Fast bullets without a gas check mean lead fouling and a hard to clean barrel.
See www.acmebullet.com for more details or place an order…
