Mink Oil question

[coloradoclyde]

**** I can shoot all day long....But my geese are off limits.... :wink:

Anyone ever hear of possum being used....One possum has enough fat for a lifetime supply....I just got one of them the other day in my rabbit shed....

 

[Black Hand]

Try it. What have you lost if it doesn't work? And you get to eat Possum...

 

[coloradoclyde]

I skinned so many possums when I was a kid that just the thought of eating one makes me want to :barf:

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

By that token, is mink's oil PC?

Also, is the Track of the Wolf mink's oil product actually wrung (or rendered ) from real minks?

 

[coloradoclyde]

I say yes...PC and yes rendered from real minks.
Minnesota is a huge trapping state with several large furriers...

 

[Black Hand]

By that token, is mink's oil PC?

Unlikely...

 

[coloradoclyde]

in the late 18th Century tamed minks were used as rat hunters around farms and other properties. They proved to be better at catching rats than terriers and cats.

 

[coloradoclyde]

In the pre-petroleum age every kind of fat imaginable was rendered into oil, lard or something useful.....

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thanks! I will order some from Track of the Wolf.

My problem with them is they have so much neat stuff I have to wait to put in orders because I am always finding new stuff to get!!

 

[Twisted_1in66]

If I recall correctly, Stumpy used the castor oil in it instead of olive oil or vegetable oil because it doesn't burn the lower temperatures that other oils do.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[Twisted_1in66]

The personal metric I use is:
If I were to be transported back to 1760 - would I look out of place?
I have come a long way and feel I can continue to improve...

If you were transported back to the 1760's you'd find a lot of bear grease and bear oil being used. I'd use it if I could get it.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[BrownBear]

If you were transported back to the 1760's you'd find a lot of bear grease and bear oil being used. I'd use it if I could get it.

I'd further bet that they often had several fats/oils to choose from, and therefore used what they liked best. Narrowed down to one, say pork or beef, they'd just use that till something else came along.

I'm blessed with a good supply of bear, as well as a small remainder of a blend Stumpy made with bear (other ingredients unknown by me). It's dandy stuff alright, and easy to understand why they liked it. It's hard to make the oil "behave" and stay in whatever container you use. Hard to imagine guys back in the day coming up with something that stoppered well enough to keep the oil from leaking out. I sure have trouble doing it with modern containers! Leads me to use prelubed patches when using bear oil, though I prefer to lube at the muzzle with greases.

 

[coloradoclyde]

If I recall correctly, Stumpy used the castor oil in it instead of olive oil or vegetable oil because it doesn't burn the lower temperatures that other oils do.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

Castor oil actually has a lower smoke point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Who is Stumpy? And why is his liquid so coveted?

As a newer black powder rifle shooter, I sometimes am a bit wary of these complicated recipes. Are they really and better than mink's oil or tallow/olive oil etc.? Do I really need witch hazel and hydrogen peroxide and all these strange things?

 

[Okie Hog]

i'm wary of them too. Years ago i mixed up and tried all that stuff. None of it was better than other stuff that was more readily available.

Yep, folks 150 years ago used all kinds of stuff. Thank goodness we have better stuff today.

Recently found one full container of Outers LeathRSeal and a partial can in my old junk. It had not melted and it makes the very best patch lube. GoJo and Goop hand cleaners make good patch lubes too.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

"Stumpy" is one of the moderators here who goes by the handle "Stumpkiller". Stumpy for short because that's what he put on the concoctions when he first listed them.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I see. I am sure they are very good.

Does anyone use mink's oil as a summertime lube as well? I hear much of it's use in winter as I hear it doesn't freeze so readily.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

i'm wary of them too. Years ago i mixed up and tried all that stuff. None of it was better than other stuff that was more readily available.

Yep, folks 150 years ago used all kinds of stuff. Thank goodness we have better stuff today.

Recently found one full container of Outers LeathRSeal and a partial can in my old junk. It had not melted and it makes the very best patch lube. GoJo and Goop hand cleaners make good patch lubes too.

Okie Hog, if you mixed up a batch of Stumpy's Moose Snot (SMS) and it didn't work better than the "other stuff that was more readily available", then you mixed it up wrong.

I'm not saying this is the only thing than works but having used it exclusively now for over 15-years, I can tell you it works darn well in all temperatures and conditions. I've used it in sub-freezing temps (11°) in Vermont during the winter and in the sweltering heat and humidity of Virginia in the summer. It never froze and never melted and leaked.

I now use it in the rainy climate of Washington state and it still works great. As long as I use the right amount on the patch, I don't have to wipe in between shots. If it loads a bit stiff on one shot, I just use a little more SMS on the next patch and loading is nice and smooth again.

Of course, feel free to use whatever you want - do what you like to do. That's part of the fun of shooting muzzleloaders. But don't even think about trying to tell me that SMS isn't any better than that stuff you buy over the counter because that's just wrong. I have had such great results with Stumpy's Moose Snot over the last 15-years in so many divergent conditions that I'm not even interested in using anything else.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[FishDFly]

Are the minks harmed in order to collect their oil?

Bullets to the head and electrical shock treatment is a major hazard in collecting animal products and oil for human use.

Go to a slaughter yard.

 

[FishDFly]

Sir, you are wrong, do women eat mink meat before wearing the coat?