Some time ago I posted a question about using beef tallow to formulate a Black Powder bullet lubricant because beef fat is easy to obtain and inexpensive. The non- answers were to render baby sheep fat to tallow or render deer fat to tallow.
Apparently it was a problem with reading comprehension. The question was not what to use, but how to use what I had. I do not deer hunt although there are plenty of deer on my ranch. That is my choice. It is also my choice not to allow sheep or sheep products on the property with the exception of fleece lined coats in the winter. This is a cattle ranch only no sheep, sheep herders, or sheep products allowed.
Since it seemed the entire expert advice of this forum consisted of non- answers I decided to experiment. Fifteen pounds of beef kidney fat was obtained from a local butcher and was rendered by boiling in a kettle of water (this is not something to do indoors) the hot result was strained through a screen and cheese cloth to remove the tissue and allowed to cool which resulted in a big block of very hard tallow. Kidney fat is much harder that carcass fat and a 60:40 mix with bees wax was too hard to pan lube or run through my lubricating/sizing press. Bit by bit I softened the mix with shortening to a product about the consistency of SPG.
End result was a big batch of bullet lube that cost next to nothing even when including the cost of wax and shortening.
I would surmise that carcass fat, since it is softer than kidney fat, would result in softer tallow, and if it were rendered in a skillet the “cracklins” would be enjoyed by the dogs.
Respectfully submitted,
Bunk