AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Black Powder Shooting => Topic started by: Sweeney on March 09, 2019, 09:30:43 PM
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I now have a good supply of bear oil in qt jars. It has settled - clear in upper third, cloudy in lower. Is all of it suitable for patch lube or only the clear?
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If you can pour the oil or most of the oil off, that will need much lower temperature to solidify.
The thicker, milky oil is still good for patch lube. Even Bear Grease is good lube, which is more like
shortening than anything. It also makes terrific pie crusts.
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I once thought about using it until I learned what one had to do to get the stuff.
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I've found that the slower you render the fat you get oil. faster gives the grease/lard/tallow<---?
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I once thought about using it until I learned what one had to do to get the stuff.
I traded for some a while back, but have so little of it that I only use it sparingly (locks, and similar). The folks I talk to who go bear hunting think I'm nuts-asking for fat when I hear they are going over to the mtns to kil a bar. I'll make a connection someday.
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Thanks for the replies, fellas. Though I hunt everything else, not yet been after bear. Enjoy eating it but thought of killing one has been a bit tough. got this fat from friend who killed this season in West Virginia. Might soon get over my aversion to killing one. So goes life.....
Looking forward to trying this new lube in my new .40
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You have liquid gold as far as im concerned. When you dont have a big enough bear population in your area to hunt then bar squeezins is mighty dear to ya :'(
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I did see Colorado has reduced bear tag price to $100 for nonres. They must have aplenty. Maybe this season when chasing elk.....
Hey Daryl, if it makes good pie crust, would it also be good for frying potatoes, or scrapel?
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Works good for seasoning cast iron skillets or griddles. Don't see why not, personally I like it for patch lube better.
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I like it very much.
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We're about over run wit the @!*% things around here. Hardly anyone shooting/eating them any more, it seems.
A friend gave me about 10 oz. I haven't used it for lube, yet.
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Troy , the first quart of bear grease/oil that I acquired was milky and uneven in texture. It worked just fine. When I was running low I bought some from a guy at the Western Nationals. It was thick and dark. It worked just fine. A friend in AZ gave me a quart last year and like what you have,
it seems to have separated I just stir it up before I lube my patch material. I bought some from Ranger Pam at Martin's Station last year and it is as clear as moonshine. Again it works fine. I think hers would have been better utilized for making pie crust.
See you soon.
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How hard do you have to squeeze a bear to get the oil to come out? ??? How many squeezins in a year can a bear handle before it can't make anymore oil?
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You will just have to squeeze one and let us know.
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I did see Colorado has reduced bear tag price to $100 for nonres. They must have aplenty. Maybe this season when chasing elk.....
Hey Daryl, if it makes good pie crust, would it also be good for frying potatoes, or scrapel?
Not only that but they made the tags B tags which means we can get two tags now.
Bear is all I hunt now. Deer herds are hurting and elk is too much meat for me to haul out now. Plus, bears kill the newborn deer and elk. Nothing makes me madder than that and why I can't give up hunting them. Hawkens and bears go together like peanut butter and jam. :)
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How hard do you have to squeeze a bear to get the oil to come out? ??? How many squeezins in a year can a bear handle before it can't make anymore oil?
You have to squeeze with 76.3 lbs per square inch pressure an the average black bear can take 2 squeezes a yr. After that its all tuckered out from being squeezed. Sounds good while here at the keyboard but im not willing to try it ???
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You all have helped persuade me it's time I go after a bruin. Thanks for tipping the scales!
Alacran, Sounds like your experience confirms the application of bear oil regardless of color/texture. Good to know! See you next month!
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As usual in my opinion the group is overthinking the whole Bear grease/ bear oil thing. Any and all of it works great as a patch lube.
And as for using it in locks, and triggers, why would you do that when there are a dozen modern lubes specifically designed to lube mechanical devices?
Yes it makes the best pie crust you can get, bar none.
No don’t season your cast iron with it unless you use it very regularly, because it will get rancid, and you will have to strip, and reseason, your cookware. Food grade flax seed oil is unsurpassed for seasoning cast iron cookware. It creates a coating like Teflon, and never gets rancid.
Hungry Horse
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As usual in my opinion the group is overthinking the whole Bear grease/ bear oil thing. Any and all of it works great as a patch lube.
And as for using it in locks, and triggers, why would you do that when there are a dozen modern lubes specifically designed to lube mechanical devices? ...
Because anwhere I can use a simple old-thyme technique/practice/process and get servicable/sensible results (IOW I'm not giving up much, but keeping tradition alive), I'm going to do it where feasible/affordable (i.e. -not- a sperm whale oil type thing).
Bear grease/oil is one of those deals (in my perception at this time). I would love to get some fresh enough and in sufficient quantity to cook with a time or two. It'll happen eventually. Matters no to me what others use on their patches and locks, I'm not selling that stuff.
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Selling it might be illegal anyway. I'm not sure but i've never seen it for sale.
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Could be - selling of ANY bear parts here in B.C., is Illegal.
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As much as I like bears, which is a lot, I'm not sure I wouldn't feel very, very bad about it if I killed one. But I also won't shoot crows at all or any more coons for that matter. Any creature whose intelligence approaches (or surpasses) that of human's, gets an automatic pass from me.
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Boy, you just jumped out onto a slippery slope. Judging what you’d kill by its intelligence, leave the door wide open for getting me in trouble yet again. Or maybe shot, since I don’t know how high the bar is.
Hungry Horse
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As much as I like bears, which is a lot, I'm not sure I wouldn't feel very, very bad about it if I killed one. But I also won't shoot crows at all or any more coons for that matter. Any creature whose intelligence approaches (or surpasses) that of human's, gets an automatic pass from me.
Think about this. Bears kill and eat the newborn fawns and calves. My blood boils when I think about it. Bears don't kill the adults like mountain lions. They eat the babies. Same with coyotes. Cowards! I have no remorse for killing bears and coyotes.
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I'd like to try squeezing a bear, but it might want to return the favor.
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I've been lucky enough to shoot a bear every year , always with my flintlocks, and the last few years, with my smoothbore.
I don't shoot them for any other reason than that they are very tasty :) Here in Ontario, it's really simple. Buy a tag, and you can shoot a bear. Most of the ones I've shot have been on my property. Closest one was around 8 feet away. Last year's was 10 feet. He was sleeping on a beaver dam, and I paddled up on him in my canoe at sunrise. I was going to go closer, but thought better of it. Bear roasts and stews are our favourites . The oil is about the slickest stuff I've seen. I use it all the time.
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It's not so easy here. In my units there are about 250 bear hunters. 1 or 2 bears will be shot each season.
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I've been lucky enough to shoot a bear every year , always with my flintlocks, and the last few years, with my smoothbore.
I don't shoot them for any other reason than that they are very tasty :) Here in Ontario, it's really simple. Buy a tag, and you can shoot a bear. Most of the ones I've shot have been on my property. Closest one was around 8 feet away. Last year's was 10 feet. He was sleeping on a beaver dam, and I paddled up on him in my canoe at sunrise. I was going to go closer, but thought better of it. Bear roasts and stews are our favourites . The oil is about the slickest stuff I've seen. I use it all the time.
Could you please share the procedures for your roasts and stews? I try to eat only meat that I hunt and it looks like bear may be in my future. I have eaten it many times but never cooked it myself. thanks for any info on cooking it
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Rendered bear fat is great stuff, you can put it in the pan for fryin stuff, it makes pie crust, you can lube your patches, put it on your boots and it even works to slick back your hair. I've also popped pop corn with it.
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My Lakota friend uses it on his skin.
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Mike,
For bear squeezing, do you need a thing like an over-sized lemon squeezer?
Next question,... oh forget it!
Hanshi,
Yes, you opened yourself up for all kinds of stuff with your last post!
H-Horse,
Yep, LOL!!
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Mike,
For bear squeezing, do you need a thing like an over-sized lemon squeezer?
Next question,... oh forget it!
Hanshi,
Yes, you opened yourself up for all kinds of stuff with your last post!
H-Horse,
Yep, LOL!!
Ever hear of a "bear hug"? ;D
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You can Bear Hug my Bear Rug anytime you want.
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Hmmm...Well, Hungry Horse, I guess I stepped in it, but for a country boy like me, that's quite normal. I just figure that all creatures are just as intelligent as they need to be to survive - that, IMHO, pretty much leaves out Homo Sapiens. Man has concentrated his on how to wipe himself out. :o
The kid (me) has always been a hunter and a lover of the outdoors, critters and guns. It doesn't bother me that others hunt bears & such; population control is usually a necessity. There may even be a chance I'll do it someday, but probably not. I've killed lots and lots of deer and always feel a bit of sadness for them but also thankfulness for their sacrifice. :'(
I encourage all to enjoy their bear hunts; I've enjoyed all my encounters with them immensely. Also had a pet crow, once; and a squirrel. So, Ahem, don't bother with the pitchforks and tapers; I yield. :-[
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We'll let you slide this time but don't tell us you like to hug trees.
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We'll let you slide this time but don't tell us you like to hug trees.
Uh oh; I'll need to be more careful. ???
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For those who wonder , the main thing to consider when cooking bear meat, is to slow roast, cook, in plenty of liquid.
Hence our preference for pot roasts and stews. Also, I remove all the fat that I can from the meat prior to cooking.
Bear oil is wonderful for keeping skin soft and we use it a lot on hands and feet during the winter.