Deer Tallow

[JohnnyFM]

I’ve never experienced deer tallow going rancid. It may have a slight “gamey” odor similar to lamb or sheep but not rancid.
Now bear oil can go rancid in my experience which is why I keep it well sealed and in a cool place.
I have only used mink oil as a patch lube and never with any expectations of it preventing rust.

Others mileage may vary

[Daryl]

Guys - if you can procure some marmot oil - bit late or early at this time, it makes a super patch lube and also repels water
like no other animal oil or fat. It is tried out with low heat, Double Boiler method would likely be best, but I used a white gas camp stove
and likely too much heat, however the resulting oil was just great.

Only the fat from the inside of the body cavity is used. My friend who suggested this, when I lived in Smithers, simply put the fat into
sealer bags and froze it. He used it as a boot dressing, rubbing the 'thawed' fat into his boots.

After handling the fat, I had to wash my hands twice with Dawn dish detergent to get the oil off. They were still beading water after the first
scrubbing I gave them. It worked very well as patch lube for me. I suspect it would also make a good rust preventative.

I suspect a fat ground hog's innards fat would be the same.

[smylee grouch]

Daryl, would raccoon oil be comparable to marmot oil?

[Daryl]

Don't know. The marmot internal fat is VERY rich in oil content. The Marmot is purely a vegetarian, whereas the racoon is not. I

do not know if that makes a difference.  One could always try it, find out and let us know.

[Craig Wilcox]

A bit late to the party - still catching up on stuff.
Bear grease, deer "fat", mink "oil" are all different from lard.  Those products are a result of cooking meat down, or rendering the fat that is attached to muscle or is sub-dermal.
"Lard", we often call kidney fat.  It is present in the abdominal cavity as a white, waxy product, generally quite edible, with little or no odor to it.
For some time, I have been making what is called "Fixin Wax".  It is the lard mixed 50-50 with beeswax.  I generally put it up in tins such as an Altoids tin, and many times I add peppermint or spearmint flavoring to it.  You can put it on about anything made of metal or wood.  You can stick a wick in it and use it for a candle.  You can also use it for chapped lips or hands, and in a pinch, you can eat it.
Hmmmm.  Never tried it as a patch lube - gotta give it a try.  I have about 3 lb of buffalo lard stashed away, and a few pounds of bees wax.....

[Hungry Horse]

If you throttle way back on the bees wax, it will make a pretty good patch lube.

  Hungry Horse

[Dphariss]

How well does deer tallow work for rust prevention?

I would not use it for that or use it for cleaning as was done in the past. However, tallow, properly made, purified with nothing added,  and boiled 3 times with clean water each time, makes a great patch lube and will not show any discoloration of the patch if left loaded for 3 months then pulled, in Montana anyway.
This is not the same as dripping from cooking but it made, ideally from fat from the body cavity. Nor will it produce "oil" such as "bear oil". Beef fat from the same place can also be boiled in this manner and works great.

Dan

[Dphariss]

If you throttle way back on the bees wax, it will make a pretty good patch lube.

  Hungry Horse

Ditto. The wax will make it too hard for cold weather use. I would have to look it up but back the 1870s a company making brass suppository guns used to recommend 1 part Sperm Whale oil to 2 parts Beewax as a bullet/lube wad material. Its a great patch lube too. But getting the  Sperm whale oil is impossible...  Neatsfoot oil (actually lard oil now a days) should work too... But its just as easy to use the oil with no wax....
Note the Sperm Whale oil is not as "slick" as lard oil is.
If you use beeswax you MUST melt it in a double boiler and make SURE he has not honey left in the stuff...
Dan

[Turtle]

 Deer tallow does work real well for birds at the feeder-they love it.