Author Topic: Beef tallow based bullet lube  (Read 8042 times)

Offline Bunk Stagnerg

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Beef tallow based bullet lube
« on: November 20, 2015, 08:14:27 PM »
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

Offline Ranch 13

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2015, 09:29:35 PM »
Acid test will be does it do it's job? There are a lot of old time recipes that use beef tallow, as the carrier.
Eat more beef the west wasn't won on a salad.

Offline will52100

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2015, 11:15:38 PM »
Test it and see how well it works.  You can add olive oil to soften as well.  I'm no expert on lubes, but seems to me all black powder lubes are basically an animal or vegetable fat mixed with a natural or clean wax to make it stiffer.  If it's already on the hard side olive oil or shortening, which is vegetable oil, should do the trick.  The Bee's wax will make it stiffer and help keep it from going rank.  Of course some seem to work better than others, and climate makes a difference.  I really like mutton tallow because of the lanolin in it, but beef tallow has been used for a long time.

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #3 on: Today at 10:59:44 AM »

Offline Bunk Stagnerg

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2015, 10:54:21 AM »
It works just fine. i have used that mix to coat the bullets in a percussion .54 Sharps using paper tube cartridges and in a .45 colt and .45-70. Those two used some of DDs large lube bullets. The fouling stayed soft and i had a nice grease star at the muzzle.

The rifles each had about 40 rounds run through them and the Colts about 60 rounds. Clean up was easy with the first dry patch pushing out nice soft greasy fouling.

I did use the original 60:40mix on the Sharps which made the bullets easy to handle. The others were a softer blend that went through my RCBS lubrisizer with no problem.
.
I decided not to use an oil but used shortening because in some of my tests the oil kept bleeding out of the mix.  I tried olive, corn, and mineral with the same problem.
Bunk

Offline Noz

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2015, 11:19:09 AM »
The only problem I have ever heard of from using beef tallow deer tallow or lard is that they tend to spoil and become distasteful to handle.
I don't mind the smell of black powder or Ballistol but I don't want that odor mixed with the odor of rotten meat.

Offline Bunk Stagnerg

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2015, 05:18:44 PM »
Hello Noz
I was going to load a few rounds today with bullets  i cast and lubed in the spring. They had been stored in a tin box since then in a semi- cooled part of my shop. During the summer thee temp in there did not get over 90. after reading your post I went outside to open the can. It smelled more or less like a steak that had been pan fried last night and stored in the icebox. The container with the rest of the batch from last spring smelled the same with a little wintergreen aroma from the oil of wintergreen i put in the mix.
Not rancid or anything like that.
I keep the big block of tallow in the freezer since it mildewed in a baggie in the icebox which required me re-melting it and straining out the mold.
I guess the heat sterilized it because it is nice and fresh smelling when iI used some of it for a second batch
Bunk.
.

Offline Cliff Fendley

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #6 on: November 21, 2015, 08:46:33 PM »
I guess whatever works for ya but I'll stick with the deer tallow. Does not go rancid or even have much of a smell once rendered.
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Offline hellgate

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2015, 10:34:53 PM »
I keep both my unrendered tallow and final mix bullet lube in the freezer until needed (wrapped in foil and inside ziplock bags. I use a 50/50 mix of tallow (deer) and beeswax which goes through my lubrisizer just fine and so far, no sweating or rancidiness of the lube but I use no oils. I've noticed that Wonder Lube has a wintergreen scent that I like.
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Offline Noz

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2015, 11:13:05 AM »
A cute anecdote.
I went to a local slaughter house and asked them if they had any mutton tallow from any sheep they might have butchered.
The owner looked at me like I was crazy and asked "Who eats sheep?".

Offline hellgate

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #9 on: November 23, 2015, 03:07:03 PM »
Noz, Maybe he didn't know how to spell "lamb". Isn't a lamb just a sheep under a year of age? A lot of folks like leg'o lamb, chops, racks, etc. of lamb. I'm surprised the butcher pooh poohed your request.
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Offline Cliff Fendley

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #10 on: November 23, 2015, 06:31:08 PM »
I save my own from my own deer but I would think this time of year it would be easy enough to get all the deer fat you want to render. Just go to the places that process deer for people.

I know the processors are not nearly as picky as someone like myself on my own meat but it's normal practice to cut away any deer fat so you would think they have tons of it.

I have probably five pounds of fat to render just off of two does I shot a couple weeks ago, I can't imagine how much a deer processor might throw away.
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Offline Noz

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #11 on: November 24, 2015, 06:56:04 AM »
A cute anecdote.
I went to a local slaughter house and asked them if they had any mutton tallow from any sheep they might have butchered.
The owner looked at me like I was crazy and asked "Who eats sheep?".
I doubt I could find a piece of mutton within 50 miles of where I sit.

Offline James Blue Lightnin

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2016, 01:36:50 PM »
Where the mutton preferences comes from is not the fat on the body, but the little globules of fat around the kidneys and other innards. Those globules of fat are different than the body fat. The innards fat is more like a wax after being rendered.

I have beef tallow I keep in a tin and it never goes rancid. After I cut up my fat into small pieces, I put them on to boil in shallow water constantly mashing them in the water to release the fat from the chunks. That also help press out the impurities into the water.

That is allowed to cool, the fat to harden and the water poured off. The same thing is done again, this time at the end I remove any fat chunks and little fat pieces that are left.  It is allowed to col, the fat to harden and the water poured off. Now I melt the fat under a warm heat until any water is gone and I pour it thru cheese cloth. I now have pure beef tallow for lube.

James Blue Lightnin'

Offline Noz

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2016, 07:29:26 PM »
Put whatever you are rendering in a cheese cloth bag before you start. When the fat comes out it will go through the cheese cloth leaving the cracklins, bugs and meat scraps in the bag.

Offline Dick Dastardly

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Re: Beef tallow based bullet lube
« Reply #14 on: February 11, 2016, 09:18:04 AM »
Ho Noz,

Then hang 'em cheesecloth bags out for the birds to peck at.

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