Black bear fat for lube?

[flingwing]

I acquired some rendered bear fat this fall and was wondering whether anyone had used it in a lube recipe and, if so, how did it work? I was told it has a very high temperature tolerance before scorching.

[huntrick64]

A friend of mine gave me a quart of rendered bear grease/oil. I make Osage Orange selfbows and wanted it for a traditional sealer/finish. After smelling it and smelling SPG black powder lube, I thought about making some BPCR lube with it. Several people on this forum gave me recipes which were basically variations of Emmert's Lube, but substituted bear fat. I made Emmert's lube with Crisco and anhydrous lanolin first and liked it so well I never used the bear fat for bullet lube. So, I'm back to using it to seal bows, and with a quart, I have a lifetime supply. That's why I keep it in the freezer (to preserve it for my lifetime).

If you end up with something you like, post the recipe and results. If it works and you need more, just use coon fat, their fat appears identical to me.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

mix it 50-50 with beeswax.
adjust the percentages for cold weather or Hot weather.
Good Luck,
Jon

[GabbyM]

Lards are a standard in black powder lubes. Bear fat is a very old favorite. For one thing there is a huge amount of fat on a bear. So you have enough to be worth setting up a rendering. Have never rendered lard. What I do know is you don't want any salt added. Which is sometimes done for other uses. I've always just used Amour brand lard for bp lubes. Any recipe that calls for hog lard can be used with bear lard. May need less of the bear lard in proportion to bees wax. In my mind the bear grease will be really greasy. I've butchered about five bears in my life. They usually had abut four inches of fat under the hide over the ribs. And that's the least of it. Just what you have to shoot through. Bear taste quite a bit like a piece of cardboard to me. So the lard and hide may be the best part.

For smokeless powder loads. Usually lard base lubes are relegated to hand gun boolits. Or other low pressure loads. But so far I've never had a lube fail on me. Except the hard wax ones that came on store bought cast bullets. One downside to lube made with lard is shelf life. That is probably the big one. However long it takes the lard to go rancid at room temp is how long the lube is good for. With my muzzle loader BP lubes I keep the lube in the fridge then take it out to go shooting. Apply to conical bullet and shoot. Although I've a small jar here with Amour white lard and bees wax that must be three years old. Stored in the cabinet at room temp and still doesn't smell rancid. I'm no chemist. Just don't load up rounds to store long term.

[waksupi]

Better to cook with. One of the guys brought some bear fat to the shoot to give away last weekend. The women about mugged him getting a share!