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Thread: What's so great about bear grease ???

  1. #1
    Boolit Master RU shooter's Avatar
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    What's so great about bear grease ???

    I see it mentioned a lot as a patch lube everyone claiming it's "the best" all they use ect ect . So what makes bear fat/grease superior than say deer , pig, cow , chicken , raccoon or any other fatty animal ? I'm sure the shooters way back when had better access to other animals besides bears . Oh yeah add sperm whales to that too hear that being used a lot way back when .

    Tim
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Having rendered the lard off several bears, this is what I see. It is not like pig lard. For cooking, your body does not absorb it, so healthy. It is a great leather conditioner, but does not rot stitches like silicone, does a decent job of waterproofing. Everything I have cooked in it is double delicious, and you know how good stuff fried in pork lard tastes, 5x that good to me..Professional bakers buy it because it makes any pastry/bread/dough rise about 3 times higher than conventional shortening. Now, onto ML patches, it does not seem to dry out, is consistent shot to shot, cuts down on fouling, shoots great, and is just plain cool to use.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by koger View Post
    Having rendered the lard off several bears, this is what I see. It is not like pig lard. For cooking, your body does not absorb it, so healthy. It is a great leather conditioner, but does not rot stitches like silicone, does a decent job of waterproofing. Everything I have cooked in it is double delicious, and you know how good stuff fried in pork lard tastes, 5x that good to me..Professional bakers buy it because it makes any pastry/bread/dough rise about 3 times higher than conventional shortening. Now, onto ML patches, it does not seem to dry out, is consistent shot to shot, cuts down on fouling, shoots great, and is just plain cool to use.
    All that koger said X2 for me.

    In my use as patch lube it behaves more like an oil than a lard or tallow. When mixed with beeswax it is the best lube I have ever used for "holy black". Deer (elk, caribou, moose, whitetail, deer family) is next best tallow. Mutton is the best of domestic animal sources.

    And OH YEAH, biscuits made with bear lard are the best you'll ever taste!

    I got 3 coffee cans of bear "grease" about 7 years ago and keep it in the freezer to prevent rancid and use it as necessary. A little goes a long way. JMHO others will vary. 10
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  4. #4
    Boolit Master opos's Avatar
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    Decades ago when I was growing up in Colorado I wore Engineer boots all the time and lots of times there was snow on the ground or rain in the spring and summer...I used bear grease (got it from a local gun shop) and rubbed it into the heavy black leather....man did it waterproof the boots and make them soft..also caused the black dye in the leather to soak through if they got wet enough and my socks and feet got really dark...still recall sitting in our basement rubbing that stuff into those boots.Click image for larger version. 

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    Whats great about it? Nothing.

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    The best part is the grilled bear steaks you usually get with your own rendering...
    I can not know what I don't know.

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    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by opos View Post
    decades ago when i was growing up in colorado i wore engineer boots all the time and lots of times there was snow on the ground or rain in the spring and summer...i used bear grease (got it from a local gun shop) and rubbed it into the heavy black leather....man did it waterproof the boots and make them soft..also caused the black dye in the leather to soak through if they got wet enough and my socks and feet got really dark...still recall sitting in our basement rubbing that stuff into those boots.Click image for larger version. 

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    bsa ?
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  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Don't know about bear grease but horse grease does'nt go rancid.

    My old man was a butcher right after WWII and whenever they slaughtered a horse the farmers from miles around came in to buy sone fat to render and use on their saddlery.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by 10 ga View Post
    All that koger said X2 for me.

    In my use as patch lube it behaves more like an oil than a lard or tallow. When mixed with beeswax it is the best lube I have ever used for "holy black". Deer (elk, caribou, moose, whitetail, deer family) is next best tallow. Mutton is the best of domestic animal sources.

    And OH YEAH, biscuits made with bear lard are the best you'll ever taste!

    I got 3 coffee cans of bear "grease" about 7 years ago and keep it in the freezer to prevent rancid and use it as necessary. A little goes a long way. JMHO others will vary. 10
    I agree to all of these attributes ,the only negative to bear grease as I see it is talking the bear into it (cedar shafts work for me)

  10. #10
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    what's great about bear grease is that you might think it's great, or heard that it was great, or want to believe it's great.

    that the stuff goes rancid is too big a negative and there are lots and lots of other far better alternatives.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by OS OK View Post
    bsa ?
    Looks like a single jug 500 cc. from the early 50's.
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  12. #12
    Boolit Master RU shooter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rfd View Post
    what's great about bear grease is that you might think it's great, or heard that it was great, or want to believe it's great.

    that the stuff goes rancid is too big a negative and there are lots and lots of other far better alternatives.
    So if it goes rancid besides just stinking everything up does it also loose its lubricating properties ? Same for any other rendered animal fat ? I've never used any animal tallow as a patch lube but I am interested in learning about different things
    If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

  13. #13
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    I use mutton tallow as per the Gatofeo's #1 lube recipe which was found in an old gun magazine (40's?) that showed an original recipe for an outside lubricated bullet from the late 1800's. I've had it for years stored in the closet with no issues.

    The recipe for it is (by weight) and made in a double boiler:
    1 part mutton tallow
    1 part paraffin wax (Gulf Wax)
    1/2 part beeswax

    This works well on my pistol bullets, rifle bullets, felt wads, lube pills, and I'm told as a patch lube as well, which I've yet to try.

    Gatofeo found this recipe and has stated he's tried just about everything imaginable with this doing the best, and he's been around quite some time. Someone named it after him.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by RU shooter View Post
    So if it goes rancid besides just stinking everything up does it also loose its lubricating properties ? Same for any other rendered animal fat ? I've never used any animal tallow as a patch lube but I am interested in learning about different things
    Lubes just fine ,don"t know how it works for cooking .Just remember you need to kill one to know for sure

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Edward View Post
    Lubes just fine ,don"t know how it works for cooking .Just remember you need to kill one to know for sure
    And have some help to get him back to the truck!

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    I just use it for cooking. A quart jar full in the refrigerator for immediate use, gallon containers in the freezer for later.

    An advantage as a patch lube, is it's high flashpoint. Not so many smouldering patches lying on the ground. That would be a hanging offense around here at the time.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
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    another long time brewer and user of gato feo ("ugly cat") #1 formula. used for lubing patches, grease groove bpcr bullets, whatever. straight up mutton tallow (from DGW) never goes rancid and is good for yer skin to boot. the gato feo story from the man hisself ...

    "About 1998 I began posting a 19th century bullet lubricant recipe that, when assembled with very specific ingredients, works exceedingly well with black powder. It must be made, as no one offers it commercially.

    Within a year of my posting it with ingredients I specified, someone else named the recipe after me: “Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant.”

    “Gatofeo” means “ugly cat” in Spanish – and I’ve been grinning like a drunken Cheshire at the honor.

    The recipe I posted – when made with the specific ingredients I list below -- equals or exceedss SPG, Lyman Black Powder Gold or other commercially made black powder lubricants and is cheaper to make than buying the commercial stuff.

    Many have attested to its excellence on other message boards, particularly when soaked into 100% wool felt wads for use in cap and ball revolvers. It’s also a good bullet, patch and shotgun wad lubricant with black powder.

    The recipe is:

    1 part mutton tallow. I buy mine from Dixie Gun Works, which offers it again after months of unavailability. This is the toughest ingredient to find, but worth the search. There’s something almost magical about mutton tallow. It doesn’t go rancid and it really keeps black powder fouling to a minimum.

    1 part canning paraffin -- the same paraffin used to seal preserves in jars, sold at the grocery store in 1 lb. packages containing four slabs. Gulf is a common brand. Hardware stores with canning sections have it too.

    1/2 part real beeswax -- Beware of today's toilet seals, which are not real beeswax but petroleum-based. Get real beeswax, not the synthetic stuff. Though hobby shops may carry small cakes of beeswax, it’s expensive. Your best bet to find it will be at “Mountain Man” Rendezvous, Renaissance Fairs and from local beekeepers. Check the net for reasonably priced beeswax. I’ve also seen it offered occasionally, at a good price, on Ebay. Can’t find a local beekeeper? Call your county extension office in the government pages; they’ll have a handle on who rides herd on bees in your area. Toilet seals haven’t been made from real beeswax for at least 10 years, near as I can tell, and perhaps much longer. Check the label, if it doesn’t say “beeswax” it’s almost certainly synthetic and should be avoided.

    All parts are by weight, not volume!

    I measure out 200/200/100 grams on a kitchen scale, toss the ingredients into a wide mouth Mason jar, and set the jar in 3 or four inches of boiling water for a double-boiler effect to melt it. When thoroughly melted, mix well with a clean stick or disposable chopstick, then allow to cool at room temperature.

    (rfd note: when melted and mixed, i pour the hot lube liquid into a cleaned out milk or juice carton - when solidified, peel back the carton and extract the cake of gato feo).

    Do not try to hasten cooling by placing the jar in the refrigerator, or the ingredients may separate.

    The result is a medium hard lubricant that keeps black powder fouling soft and eliminates or reduces leading. No refrigeration is needed to store this lubricant; just tighten the lid on the jar and place it in a cool, dry place.

    I have lubricant I made in 2002 that is still like-new, stored in a tightly sealed jar. Mutton tallow does not go rancid like other natural fats, or at least not as quickly. The mutton tallow I have on hand was purchased in 1998; it’s still good.

    The above recipe is not quite invented by me. I found the ratios in a very old factory recipe that listed only “tallow, paraffin and beeswax.”

    The Gatofeo No. 1 lubricant calls for very specific ingredients: mutton tallow, canning paraffin and real beeswax. Any deviation from these three specific ingredients results in an inferior lubricant.

    Let me restate: Do NOT substitute lard, Crisco, old candles, deer tallow, bacon grease, bear fat, vaseline, synthetic beeswax or anything else – it won’t be as good as these three in combination. I know, because I’ve made small batches of variants and others have tried other ingredients, reporting back that the lubricant worked okay, but not as well.

    To lubricate pistol and rifle wads or patches, melt a little lubricant in a tuna or cat food can at a very low temperature on the stove. Add the wads. Two tablespoons of lubricant will easily lubricate 100 .44-caliber wads. Stir the wads until they soak up plenty of lubricant. Turn off the stove and remove the can. Allow the lubricated wads to cool to room temperature. Snap a plastic pet food top (sold in the pet food aisle) over the can.

    Write .44 Greased Wads (or whatever) on the side of the can with a wide marker. Store the can in a cool, dry place. You can easily bring the can to the range in your bag. When you get low on greased wads, simply place the can on the stove at very low heat, add more wads and lubricant, and recharge your stock.

    The cans stack on top of each other on the shelf. The plastic lid keeps out dust and critters, and holds in the lubricant’s moisture. It’s a quick, easy, transportable system to make and use the greased felt wads. The same system can be used for unlubricated wads, small parts, balls, conical bullets or whatever you need to organize.

    Plastic, pet food lids are inexpensive. Check a Dollar Store or its equivalent for a good price.

    Smaller quantities of greased wads are easily carried in Altoid sour candy tins or shoe polish tins. Both types have indents or keys to open the lid easily with greasy fingers, and that’s important. Trying to pry open a greasy lid with greasy fingers, without some lever or side-indent, is maddening.

    Hinged tins are not as good, because moisture escapes around the cutout for the hinges. The Altoids sour candy or shoe polish tins seal tightly.

    Zip-Loc bags are also good for holding small amounts of wads (greased or dry) for the range but I most like the cans. They seal tighter and resist damage to their contents.

    Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant is good for a variety of black powder applications. I also use it for heeled bullets in my Marlin Model 1892 in .32 Long Colt caliber, over small charges of smokeless powder, and in my .44-40 rifle bullets over black powder or smokeless powder.

    Give Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant a try. I haven’t found anything better for lubricating the felt wads and Lee conical bullets in my cap and ball revolvers.

    (rfd note for muzzleloaders: rub a cake of gato feo into yer patch material on both sides, then heat gun the lube into the weave on both sides, roll up the strips or cut into squares, a Superior lead ball patch lube that's also excellent for swabbing the bore when afield if need be, too. "

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check