Applying deer tallow to patches

[Dphariss]

This will work with any tallow or fairly stiff fat. The tallow is pretty hard to start with but the rubbing warms it and too takes less rubbing to get the patch lubed.

[walks with gun]

   If you have dogs around, the combination of deer tallow and rotten egg smell of burnt powder will attract the dogs like crazy.  They will roll on and eat every patch they can find.   Police the grounds well.

[bob in the woods]

   If you have dogs around, the combination of deer tallow and rotten egg smell of burnt powder will attract the dogs like crazy.  They will roll on and eat every patch they can find.   Police the grounds well.

My dogs have eaten far worse things   

[Dphariss]

   If you have dogs around, the combination of deer tallow and rotten egg smell of burnt powder will attract the dogs like crazy.  They will roll on and eat every patch they can find.   Police the grounds well.

I don’t shoot around dogs.

[Hungry Horse]

 I still prefer to heat a tin of deer tallow, or bear grease, or a combination of the two, and dip a precut patch into it. I then press the excess out of the patch, and let it drie.

  Hungry Horse

[Pukka Bundook]

I do same with deer tallow as Hungry Horse, though I lube strips of patch and then cut them near through, so one at a time can be torn off.

[Dphariss]

I still prefer to heat a tin of deer tallow, or bear grease, or a combination of the two, and dip a precut patch into it. I then press the excess out of the patch, and let it drie.

  Hungry Horse

I squeeze oiled patches, bear or Neatsfoot, to get a uniform oiliness in the patches. I lightly oil most and put in a few dry ones in the stack to take up the excess then squeeze in a vise. I have Brownells plastic vise jaws so I just clean off the oil afterwards.
There is no absolute best way that I know of. I have done about everything described here at one time or another. Including Beeswax and Sperm Whale oil made into a paste ALA the old Sharps Rifle Co. lube wad formula. Think I dipped these. But its 40 years ago or so….

Blowing through the barrel between shots I can shoot 20-30 at least with the Neatsfoot oil or the tallow. In fact I decided a few years back to make some tallow and try it and have been pleasantly surprised on all counts.

Dan

[Daryl]

Likely the best lube I found coming from an animal, is marmot oil. This is fried out from the interior oil, fat from about the organs - absolutely the oiliest
fat I have ever handled. Mind you, these animals were shot in very early October & had a full winter's fat on them. These mountain maggots were very
 tasty indeed.  After handling the fat, I had to wash my hands in dish detergent twice to get the oil off my hands.
Pre-cuts in a plastic bullet box, pour oil over them, squeeze the stack to drip back into the jar, wipe hands on shop rag, then wash twice.  If using a WD40
spray (hose down) on the hands first, then only 1 washing was needed with the dish detergent.
It sure worked well in the .58 with those big charges I was using back then.

[Panzerschwein]

So you rub the grease on the patch?

Already figured that one out decades ago but thanks.

[Dphariss]

So you rub the grease on the patch?

Already figured that one out decades ago but thanks.

I never thought it was new. I suspect that back in the day this was common. I only started using tallow a few years back, and rubbing is more economical than soaking. I had been using Neatsfoot oil for the most part. I did make up some of the old Sharps lube wad formula about 40 years ago but Sperm Whale oil is now impossible, it was wonderful patch lube. Beeswax and Neatsfoot, if both ingredients are pure and Beeswax is heated in a double boiler, works really well if soft enough. But really clean Beeswax is pretty pricey. I gotta get by a butcher shop and get some more kidney fat for tallow.

[Panzerschwein]

So you rub the grease on the patch?

Already figured that one out decades ago but thanks.

I never thought it was new. I suspect that back in the day this was common. I only started using tallow a few years back, and rubbing is more economical than soaking. I had been using Neatsfoot oil for the most part. I did make up some of the old Sharps lube wad formula about 40 years ago but Sperm Whale oil is now impossible, it was wonderful patch lube. Beeswax and Neatsfoot, if both ingredients are pure and Beeswax is heated in a double boiler, works really well if soft enough. But really clean Beeswax is pretty pricey. I gotta get by a butcher shop and get some more kidney fat for tallow.

Sperm’s oil and a bear’s grease was tops for the old timers.

Finding good sperm is especially tough. It was used as transmission fluid during the war, but is now a rarity.

[Dphariss]

So you rub the grease on the patch?

Already figured that one out decades ago but thanks.

I never thought it was new. I suspect that back in the day this was common. I only started using tallow a few years back, and rubbing is more economical than soaking. I had been using Neatsfoot oil for the most part. I did make up some of the old Sharps lube wad formula about 40 years ago but Sperm Whale oil is now impossible, it was wonderful patch lube. Beeswax and Neatsfoot, if both ingredients are pure and Beeswax is heated in a double boiler, works really well if soft enough. But really clean Beeswax is pretty pricey. I gotta get by a butcher shop and get some more kidney fat for tallow.

Sperm’s oil and a bear’s grease was tops for the old timers.

Finding good sperm is especially tough. It was used as transmission fluid during the war, but is now a rarity.

According the a friend it was a staple in ATF until whaling stopped.
It is pretty neat stuff being a liquid wax.