Sheep/mutton tallow sources or alternatives

[thewanderer]

I know this has been talked about quite a bit but I'm having trouble sourcing lamb/sheep/mutton tallow. I ordered some felt for wads from Duro-Felt but unfortunately their tallow is out of stock. The one local butcher I checked did not have it but I'm going to track down a few others. I saw fannieandflo.net mentioned here but unfortunately they are also out of stock. Dixie Gun Works does have it but after shipping, it's $25.45 for a pound which seems awfully expensive! Duro-Felt was $13/lb delivered which seemed a bit more reasonable... I just wish they had it in stock.

Are there any other good sources for reasonably priced sheep tallow? Are there other fats that can be used that won't go rancid? I've seen mixed information here regarding lard, crisco, etc. and whether they will last for long before going rancid. Thanks!

 

[bluemule66]

I have had good luck with rendered deer fat. have had some for several years. I mix it with olive oil for patches and with bees wax for felt wads.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...itional-mutton-tallow-patch-lubricant.117860/

 

[APG]

Last time I bought lamb tallow it was off Amazon. It's been about 6 months ago but it's worth a look.

 

[bigstick6017555]

https://grasslandbeef.com/lamb-tallow

 

[Bighorserider]

$6.25 an ounce makes $25.45 a pound look pretty cheap.

 

[French Colonial]

Dixie gun works $17.50 for 16oz

LA1500 LAMB TALLOW (dixiegunworks.com)

 

[Whughett]

Lambs tallow seems to be a spring time product.
I’ve used Crisco solid shortening for a decade or so.Mixed 50/50 bees wax for wads and 40/40/10 bees wax crisco and olive oil for over the ball lube. Did have some wads smell rancid but they were a year or more old and stored in a Florida garage over the summer. Quite frankly I’m not wearing the stuff and the guns didn’t know the difference.

 

[BullRunBear]

I get lamb tallow from Dixie, as French Colonial mentioned above. $17.50 for a pound and it's in stock at the moment. I use it in the Gato Feo lube recipe or straight as a patch lube. It is seasonal so if you go through a lot it might be worth getting two. Dixie has had mutton tallow in the past but they don't list it at all right now. It is usually a lot cheaper. Bear fat is supposed to be an excellent lube and doesn't normally go rancid. Good luck finding some.

BTW, that Duro-Felt is great material. I punch my own wads from it to use in cap & ball revolvers and when loading BP cartridges. (Note to self: I'm spending more time shooting my BP guns. Place another order for Duro-Felt.)

Jeff

 

[Erwan]

Duck grease, white grease from beef, mutton tallow, goose fat etc. Never seen a real difference so, now, when the tallow is rare or when I'm too lazy for making my own, I use industrial tallow, something like this https://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/products/downloads/ar_bo_tallow.pdf, and it works as well as the other in fact...
That works : GEBPRODUITS ENTRETIEN ET RÉNOVATION

 

[thewanderer]

https://grasslandbeef.com/lamb-tallow

I had forgotten to mention this in the original post but I did see this site mentioned before. Unfortunately this particular lamb tallow is listed on their site as "no longer available" and the "see SKU" other item (Lamb Tallow - 1.7 lbs | US Wellness Meats) is out of stock.

Dixie gun works $17.50 for 16oz

LA1500 LAMB TALLOW (dixiegunworks.com)

It's $17.50 + $7.95 shipping, so $25.45 all said and done.

 

[thewanderer]

I get lamb tallow from Dixie, as French Colonial mentioned above. $17.50 for a pound and it's in stock at the moment. I use it in the Gato Feo lube recipe or straight as a patch lube. It is seasonal so if you go through a lot it might be worth getting two. Dixie has had mutton tallow in the past but they don't list it at all right now. It is usually a lot cheaper. Bear fat is supposed to be an excellent lube and doesn't normally go rancid. Good luck finding some.

BTW, that Duro-Felt is great material. I punch my own wads from it to use in cap & ball revolvers and when loading BP cartridges. (Note to self: I'm spending more time shooting my BP guns. Place another order for Duro-Felt.)

Jeff

Yeah, I was planning on making the Gatofeo recipe. I have everything else I need now aside from the tallow. I was excited to see Duro-Felt also sold mutton tallow for $13/lb delivered but deflated when I saw it was currently unavailable. I can't bring myself to spend the $25.45/lb delivered from Dixie. I'm still holding out hope for a local butcher but so far it's only been beef tallow and pork lard. Cost was significantly lower, only a few bucks a pound. I'll have to tell the bear hunters in my family to have some fat saved to be rendered for me next time they get one!

 

[popgun54tc]

Check out Ebay, $14.00 plus shipping for a lb.

 

[Maven]

The wanderer, Stumpy's Moose Snot is something you can make yourself for a great deal less $$$ than sheep tallow. It works very well, i.e., I can get at least 8 shots with Stumpy's on my patches before I need to swab the bore.

 

[thewanderer]

Check out Ebay, $14.00 plus shipping for a lb.

$14 + $10.35 shipping, so $24.35 / lb or $1.10 cheaper than Dixie Gun Works. While certainly not cheap, it seems to be cheapest that's currently in stock.

The wanderer, Stumpy's Moose Snot is something you can make yourself for a great deal less $$$ than sheep tallow. It works very well, i.e., I can get at least 8 shots with Stumpy's on my patches before I need to swab the bore.

This looks very interesting, thanks! I hadn't heard about this mix before. The Murphy's Oil Soap addition is quite different. I see it contains sodium tallate, which looks like it's a soap derived from tallow.

 

[Whughett]

I’m not questioning any ones choice of lubricants. But is lambs tallow that superior that it’s worth three times or more of the cost of a vegetable based oil.
Just curious.

 

[Erwan]

I’m not questioning any ones choice of lubricants. But is lambs tallow that superior that it’s worth three times or more of the cost of a vegetable based oil.
Just curious.

I don't think so, but each shooter have his habits and for me, it is pure neatsfoot oil for all my patched round ball and homemade grease for the Minié and other long bullets. That works well and does not require a large budget for the year…

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Are there any other good sources for reasonably priced sheep tallow? Are there other fats that can be used that won't go rancid? I've seen mixed information here regarding lard, crisco, etc. and whether they will last for long before going rancid. Thanks!

OK so "tallow" is already "rendered" sheep or beef fat.

Most American butchers are not going to have "sheep tallow" because we don't eat sheep here that are old enough to become mutton.

What you want to ask for at an American butcher shop is Raw Beef Suet. American butchers keeps this for folks making salami and bologna, and a few other meat dishes (and it's the ONLY fat for a British Boiled Pudding - but that's for another thread) The raw stuff is like crumbly cheese, and all you have to do is to loosely grate it or break it up with your hands into a pot, and then heat that on the stove, picking out any membrane that might be in the fat.

IF... it's not white but pink, then you melt it in boiling water to remove any blood. Allow to cool, and remove the hardened fat from the top of the water, carefully scrape away the very soft fat that was in contact with the water in the pot, keeping the harder stuff and Voila, beef tallow...

A plain fat of any type will smell a bit "funky" over time, but that's not "rancid". You could always add a bit of beeswax to stabilize it, and reduce stickiness in hot weather.

($10.00 a pound or more is most ridiculous! Raw suet is like $4 a pound or less ) I'm Scottish in part, so my genes make me be frugal!

LD

 

[Erwan]

(and it's the ONLY fat for a British Boiled Pudding - but that's for another thread)

OMG, worse than frog legs and snails.
For the rest, it's a good way to get tallow easily and cheaply...
Alternatively, wait for someone to make a haggis, and save the tallow... if there is any left after the British Boiled Pudding ...