Bear Grease

[keweenaw]

So who has used rendered bear grease as a patch lube and how did it work for you?

Tom

[Sam Everly]

A friend of mine makes and uses it all the time . It must work ok , as any unsalted grease/lard, will. The only bad thing i have heard him say about it, he burnt a batch one time and it went bad.    

[sluggunner]

A friend sent me about three gallons of bear fat last year. Managed to get about a pint of oil out of it and saved the rest to use as lubricant for rifling cutters. I used the oil to lube paper patches for my slug guns. Worked as well as Sperm oil. The grease worked great for cutting rifling and I'm sure it will work well for lubing roundball patches but I haven't tried it as yet.
                                                      Rich

[elk killer]

i have been using it for the last 35 yrs now,,gee im old,,,!!!,,its all i have ever used,,for hunting and just plain shooting as well,,
in all types of weather,,its basically free,,if of course your hunt bear...or know someone who does,,shoot all day with plain water clean up...

[Dphariss]

Ned Roberts  states in "The ML Caplock Rifle" that bears oil was the best for patches and rust prevention.

Dan

[ottawa]

i herd it makes great pie crust as well

[ChipK]

I have used it with chamois cut into patches for my bullet boards.  Works well and does not dry out.  I also mix it with beewax for leather grease.

[chuck c.]

I've wanted to try some for quite some time now, but what bears we have in Texas are protected. Is it possible to buy it or would it be illegal like galls, and paws?

[Roger Fisher]

I've wanted to try some for quite some time now, but what bears we have in Texas are protected. Is it possible to buy it or would it be illegal like galls, and paws?

Suggest you list your needs in the WTB section.  I'm sure its out there for sale!

[keweenaw]

Please, nobody list bear grease for sale unless you want to get in lots of serious legal trouble.  If someone wants to give some to someone else and charge for the container and a shipping and handling fee, well that would be ok.  What are used jelly jars going for these days?!  I just rendered out a couple quarts last evening but do not, repeat, do not have any to give away.  Can't wait to try it out in my 54.  My wife, who couldn't figure out what in the world I was doing, had to admit that there wasn't any objectionable odor but told my daughter on the phone that not only was I rendering bear fat but had spend about an hour in the afternoon pulling quills from a road killed porcupine. 

Tom

[Michigan Flinter]

I use it for patch lube some straight and some 80 % bear grease and 20 % bees wax . Can shoot all day and not have to clean . With the bees wax mix you can use it for waterproofing  , chapped lips or for your hemroids.Just remember to get the order of use right. I also use it on my tap and drill for lube . The best way I found to render it down is to use a double boiler that way you shouldn't burn the batch. I haven't tried using it to fry eggs or Indian bread. Eric D. Lau Riverdale Mi.

[keweenaw]

The composition of bear grease is interesting.  Most samples from eastern black bears have about 80% of unsaturated fatty acids  - the stuff that is supposed to be healthy.  These aren't much made by animals, rather the bears get them from the plants in their diets and incorporate them directly.  These unsaturated fatty acids are the reason that the rendered stuff is mostly an oil at room temperature.  I rendered mine in a large heavy dutch oven on the stove top and ran the temp higher than a double boiler would.  At the higher temp you get some of the remaining saturated fatty acids and a product that will have some solids in it at room temp.  At a double boiler temperature I think you would get less yield but a product that is almost all unsaturated fatty acids that would be liquid at room temperature like any vegetable oil.

Tom

[fcguth]

Since I have a good chance of receiving some bear fat
this fall, could someone please describe the
process for rendering it into usable oil. Thanks, Fred

[BrownBear]

i herd it makes great pie crust as well

I can verify that.  And if there's a better oil for frying donuts, I'm yet to try it.   I'm speaking of black bear grease, though.  Haven't tried any brown bear fat.  Plan to do that this year if I can get any.

[Daryl]

Since I have a good chance of receiving some bear fat
this fall, could someone please describe the
process for rendering it into usable oil. Thanks, Fred

 Read the post above yours for directions. Pretty simple.

 Bear Grease is great for pie crusts!

 The oil worked well for patches with heavy loads in the .58, but neded to be wiped every 10 shtos or so. Fine for hunting. With the squib loads most guys use today, it would probably shoot more cleanly for extended strings, as attested to by some of the guy's posts above.
: Oil will be best from internal fat, which seems mosly oil while the outer fat renders a lot of grease - heavier than oil and white in colour - that's for crusts, etc, but also works as a patch lube.  I've not mixed it with beeswax, but that would make sense for a bullet lube as long as enough beeswax was used to prevent it from melting on the bullet in warm temps.

[keweenaw]

It's very easy to render, just cut the fat into pieces about 3/4" square, put in a heavy pan or kettle and heat.  The lighter oil will come out of the fat first before the fat starts to cook and turn slightly yellow.  I suppose you could pour this off and then continue heating to liberate the grease from the fat or you could simply heat it in a double boiler and all you'll get off is the light oil.  This oil is basically straight, unsaturated vegetable oil that the bear incorporated from plant material in its diet.  As the temperature comes up to slightly above boiling the kettle will start to foam as you drive off the water.  Don't fill the pot to the top unless you want a real mess of boiled over fat on your wife's stove!   I heated mine over fairly low heat until the fat was slightly yellowed and the foam began to subside.  I then poured it through a sieve into another pan.  If you have an old potato ricer you could squeeze a fair amount more oil from the pieces of fat while they are still hot.  If the fat is nice and clean there doesn't seem to be any reason to filter it through a piece of cloth. 

Tom

[fcguth]

Thanks Tom, sounds like it is not to compliated. A number of
friends are seeing bear on thier deer leases, so I should be able
to get some fat sometime this fall,  will give it a try.
Fred