Bear Grease

[glrerun]

Does anyone have experience with bear oil or bear grease as a patch lube?

I have a couple of friends that will be hunting the Wisconsin bear season. They have promised me all of the fat and sinew.

I will render the fat and then run through a cloth filter. Will try straight bear grease and will also try blending 2/3 bear grease with 1/3 bee's wax.

What are your thoughts or experiences?

 

[gunsmithscott]

I have good luck with the bear grease all by itself for a hunting lube.

 

[Snakebite]

I had a small bottle of bear grease many years ago and my rifle seemed to shoot best with it. A friend gave it to me but I never found out where he got it from and I've never found a source since.

Now, it's mink oil.

 

[BrownBear]

I have bear oil, and it's dandy. Kinda hard to keep in its own bottle and apply in the field without making a mess. Best for me is to prelube patches with it.

For field carry I've had great luck blending it with deer tallow to make a softer grease. Only problem is, it's real sensitive to temperature change. Goes from hard to soft over a spread of about 20 degrees, so always lots of variability in how much lube gets on the patch from one day to the next.

Only grease I've found that really gets around that narrow temp is the TOW Mink Oil Tallow. Stuff is just about pure magic in a lot of guns for some reason. I'm still dinking with my bear oil/tallow blend, but I've got a long ways to go to match the TOW version.

 

[stantdm]

Back in the early 80's I got a large can of it from a neighbor who had shot a bear. I used it for quite a long time just straight. Prelubed patches were what was used in a .50 percussion rifle and it shot pretty well. I cannot, however, say it shot any better than a lot of other stuff I tried back then.

 

[matt denison]

Bear grease works fine as a lube but CAUTION: keep out of reach of dogs. 'specially if you have prelubed patches in your patch box. Your dog will lick the finish off your gun once he discovers that there is bear grease in there.

 

[BillinOregon]

Laffindog, is this one of those "don't ask me how I know" deals?

:rotf:

I had the same experience using beaver oil on an atlatl ...

 

[agill]

I have started using bear grease mixed with bee's wax and like it after seeing Swampy post about it on the Forum. I microwave the grease and dip patches into it and let them cool down. :thumbsup:

 

[Wes/Tex]

Still not exactly sure how to degrease a bear...one's I've tried just get testy!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oSs3pxBmGUE/S9I9p467UkI/AAAAAAAAAI8/KlsbstIuAwQ/s400/33.jpg

 

[ike]

Last winter I found that the moose snot I was using did not work very well. My shot group was not up to standard. I tries several other patch lubes and settled on streight bear grease. Shot groups closed up. In Minnesota it gets cold. I shoot down to 0 degrees. The deer did not give me a shot but the squirels lost their heads to my 40 cal FL. I also found that I needed to swipe the bore with Hopes #9 between shots for best accuracy.

It is all I will use when the temps drop.

 

[nhmoose]

The best biscuits and pie crust my family makes requires bear lard/grease. Scrumptious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BrownBear]

Oughta try donuts cooked in bear fat. None better!

 

[M. De Land]

I've been wanting to render some bear oil now for a couple of years and will do so if I get a Grizzly or black this season on our float hunt.
I will also take the back strap sinew out of any caribou we shoot this season for flint knife lashing.Mike D.