Bear grease as a component of bullet lube

[Joshua]

I made homemade doughnuts with bear grease this past weekend. They were just fine.

I will be making some muzzleloading lube with bear grease that will be used in conjunction with Pyrodex.

What do you guys think about this mixture as a lube.
55% beeswax
40% bear grease
And
5% anhydrous lanolin

 

[Joshua]

I will be using a bullet cast with this Accurate mold with the bear grease lube.

 

[fiver]

i wouldn't go any more on the lanolin, and maybe even a touch less.

 

[JWFilips]

I have A gallon of the Rendered stuff from the (90's) Used to do a lot of trading with Bear fat back in my 18th century reenacting days!
It is a good weather prognosticator ! Some guys swore by it! It does make a good Black Powder / Flintlock lube!

 

[Joshua]

Thanks Fiver, I’ll cut the lanolin back a bit.

 

[RBHarter]

It's animal fat . Eventually it will turn .
I've read , like others , antidotes of it's use in days of yore .
I have a good friend north west of me a couple of hours that is/will render some fresh bear fat from his daughters 54 Hawkin bear taken about 5 weeks ago . I expect to see some testing in 1858 , 1860 and a 58 cal flintlock in the spring .


I would think for BP use that making a firm bearbee lube for a Maxi type use , wads , or lube cookies that one would use the bear oil or grease to get the desired viscosity of the bees wax . Less oil more grease for summer and more oil in the winter , just grease for a neutral all purpose lube . That's based on olivebee and a brief encounter with pigbee . Gelatin sucks to mess with I lost interest and walked away probably about 15 minutes from success .

For smokeless use I think probably your going to want to start with olivebee proportions and full grooves in old designs , say pre' war . It would be at home I think in 3 grooves to start with in something like a 458193 or 458132 for.the 45-70 . I tend to think you'd have a lead star instead of a lube star at the muzzle with modernized designs or something like the XCB types .

The above is based on very little experience , lots of 3rd party and old reference lore from a guy that still wants to believe that in the long game 12 sets of breaker points is more reliable than than the late model low potential coil on the plug digital ignition , but knows he's wrong .

 

[RBHarter]

I did a search on this site where I'm a member . The original intent was an escape from the rigid purists shooting BP like many here many there were banned from other places . It's a bit of a beer buddies site and not always in good taste , they often have poor language but you would be hard pressed to find a more solid group . Proceed with caution .

This is a search page there are 3-4 posts that specifically address bear grease one is a very traditional guy that did circa 1800 winter camps . All of the bear reference is in BP or BP cartridges . There are only 11 pages but with different searches one might get more . It's also old so many of the posters may not be around anymore . Fly can be found off and on at CB .

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[Ian]

I don't think it even needs lanolin. The bear oil is amazing stuff all on its own.

 

[RBHarter]

More specific links Incase that doesn't work .
A brief reading of some threads will again urge cautions about occasionally course language .

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[Joshua]

It looks like I will have to join that site to see those posts.

 

[Joshua]

Many of my favorite folks seem to be banned somewhere!

 

[RBHarter]

I don't think they're to picky about membership .
I think I've seen a gunslinger here .

 

[fiver]

number-24 here.
banned though... for not enough participation,,, LOL
wish i would have printed out at least half of the threads i started there.

 

[Ian]

I still have my card somewhere.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

RB Harter wrote: "It's animal fat . Eventually it will turn ."


I think that sums it up nicely.

Our ancestors used animal fat for many different applications: lubricants, waterproofing, preservatives, candles, cooking, bullet lubes, etc. They did that largely because …THAT’S WHAT THEY HAD.
I think we sometimes place a little too much nostalgia on old practices that were undertaken out of necessity rather than superior performance.

While petroleum was known in the ancient world and used where it was available, it was not widely available. Whale oil, in particular, spermaceti oil, was the best oil known to man at the beginning of the industrial revolution. It wasn’t until petroleum was exploited on a large scale that petroleum replaced whale oil as a common lubricant.

Animal fats can be rendered and purified to a point, but in the end, they remain animal fat. They have severe limitations as lubricants, preservatives, waterproofing, etc.; but when that is what you have – that is what you use. I do not wish to disparage our ancestors; they did outstanding work with what they had available. However, just because a practice is old, doesn’t mean it is the best practice.

 

[Ian]

However, just because a practice is old, doesn’t mean it is the best practice.

So then, please tell us what's better than animal fats, plant oils, and beeswax for black powder bullet lubricant?

 

[fiver]

you know ATF is just a synthetic sperm whale oil replacement.

there is a bunch of old tractors dumped down the side of the black canyon.
i was sorely tempted a bunch of times to climb down there, cross the river, and check their transmissions for the sperm oil that might be in some of the older ones.

 

[RicinYakima]

If you really need some, check eBay and buy Hudson wet clutch fluid (sperm oil).

 

[Joshua]

However, just because a practice is old, doesn’t mean it is the best practice.

I’m not an expert, but everything that I have read indicates that black powder residue mixed with petroleum oils will create an extremely difficult to remove tar.

In my c&b revolver I have always used Crisco and had good results. Olive oil, beeswax, mutton tallow, and bear grease have all been recommended for their ability to keep the powder fouling soft and easy to remove.

I shot the bear, I cut up the bear, I rendered the fat, and I will mix that bear grease with my friends beeswax from the hives in his backyard. My gun may not be traditional, but my lube will be. Making things from scratch with my hands means something to me. Hecho a mano.

I’ve heard that jacketed bullets are modern and can go faster. We should all probably stop casting, it’s way too old fashioned.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

you know ATF is just a synthetic sperm whale oil replacement.

there is a bunch of old tractors dumped down the side of the black canyon.
i was sorely tempted a bunch of times to climb down there, cross the river, and check their transmissions for the sperm oil that might be in some of the older ones.

Whale oil was a component in some transmission fluid. The old type F fluid had whale oil in it but it was mostly 10 weight oil from petroluem.