Tell me more about Bear Oil

[Jerry Samouce]

At Lafayette Long Rifle's club shoot event, I was just given a ball jar filled with pure bear oil.
The fellow who gave it to me is BIG into period hunting and has bagged and tanned over 5 Black bears over the years.

Being a relatively New Guy to Flintlocks, I had never heard of such a thing...
I was struck by how incredibly slick it is and how little you need of it to treat a rifle. Inside and out.
I was told there was nothing like it for my Long Rifle and that overtime it would actually "cure" the barrel, much like one can cure a Dutch Oven...

Sooo, perhaps some of you super knowledgeable types can continue my "edumifacation" about all the in's and out's of Bear oil and its uses.

 

[rafterob]

Don't fall for the barrel "Cure" statement. If you clean your rifle, that will never happen. Plus barrels aren't made of cast iron and don't need to be "cured". Bear oil is rendered out of the bear fat at a fairly low temperature to yield just the oil. A higher temperature will render all the fats and yield more of a tallow, firm and waxy. Never had the opportunity to handle any but for those that are able to obtain it, it is highly prized.

 

[Jerry Samouce]

Aaaah, rendered bear fat... I was wondering how someone could get a whole bear to fit into an orange squeezer... he he he

 

[Grenadier1758]

Don't believe in the cure or "seasoning" of a barrel. All that seasoning is a mix of fouling and the grease and does no good in the long run. Probably more rifles were considered shot out because of the fouling and grease crud than by use.

 

[oldwood]

Bear fat rendered , is a most wonderful patch lube. In warm temps , it stays liquid , and also is a good release agent for epoxie gun barrel bedding. Like most fats , to slightly harden ir for warm weather patch lube , a touch of bee's wax does the trick. I said a touch. I ruined a nice batch with too much bee's wax..................oldwood

 

[tenngun]

I have never used the real thing. I like mink oil but I can’t say it truly works better then lard.
I think the allure of bear oil was it was more easily available on the frontier then whale oil.
Most game is short on fat, but fall bears have it by the barrel full, or at least tub.
It does everything a modern gun oil does and does it as well or better, so users say.
It’s a ‘right’ lube historically for ML and I doubt you will be disappointed.
I’ve yet to meet the user that didn’t think it the best.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Don't fall for the barrel "Cure" statement.

Don't believe in the cure or "seasoning" of a barrel. All that seasoning is a mix of fouling and the grease and does no good in the long run. Probably more rifles were considered shot out because of the fouling and grease crud than by use.

Worth repeating over and over.

 

[Jerry Samouce]

I was told to double jar it. because if you dropped and broke the jar on your kitchen floor.... You would NEVER be able to fully clean it up and it would remain a slipping hazard until you replaced that part of the floor. Myth or truth?

Should I keep it in the fridge or the cabinet?

 

[Grenadier1758]

yes, @coloradoclyde, the advise to not even consider "seasoning" a barrel is worth mentioning and repeating. That's why the topic is included in the General Muzzle Loading Forum.

Tables, Useful Information thread links. | The Muzzleloading Forum

Why We Don't Season Barrels | The Muzzleloading Forum

 

[Pete G]

Dip yore b'ar in it to keep him frum a skeekin'

 

[hanshi]

For one thing you can't cure a barrel because they don't get sick. Never used it but bear oil may be, according to those who use it, about the best patch lube you're likely to find. Of course in your situation where you were given a jar of it you are relieved of the task of finding a bear and convincing him/her to give away some of their oil.

 

[oldwood]

A White captive , James Smith wrote about about how some Northern Ohio Indians , Conewago's , enjoyed dipping deer meat cooked over an open fire into warm rendered bear oil. In the fall when Indians had much bear oil , they transported the liquid oil in deer stomachs, sewn into vessels when moving around place to place...............oldwood

 

[Cattywompuss]

Bear oil is readily available to all, from Pennsylvania when that Old Store has it in stock in season. Got two pints a couple of months ago. It is great for oiling, great for patches, et al. Black bear are like a human, a dog, and a pig had a wyrd mixing moment.

I like it. If Bama had a bear season I might try to make my own, but as we are still lite on bear until they recover fully, I'll take Quaker stuff.

 

[oldwood]

Pa. should be the pre-eminent bear oil state. Since the early 1980's , poorly timed seasons , short seasons , old bear hunters retiring , etc. , Pa. is becoming over run w/ bears. They are being allowed to over populate , so as to be used to kill off the fawn deer population. According to the Govt. agency in charge , bears currently eat 1/2 of all fawns born. The problem is bad enough that folks are defending themselves and property. It's a waste of a valuable resource , but it is , what it is. (Estimated population state wide , yr. 1980...4,500....yr. 2020...40,000+)

 

[coloradoclyde]

yes, coloradoclyde, the advise to not even consider "seasoning" a barrel is worth mentioning and repeating. That's why the topic is included in the General Muzzle Loading Forum.

Tables, Useful Information thread links. | The Muzzleloading Forum

Why We Don't Season Barrels | The Muzzleloading Forum

Also worth repeating.

 

[Grenadier1758]

All too often that section in the General Muzzle Loading Forum is not used. So many questions could be answered there almost as easy as asking the question in a new (old) post.

 

[coloradoclyde]

All too often that section in the General Muzzle Loading Forum is not used. So many questions could be answered there almost as easy as asking the question in a new (old) post.

That too is worthy of being repeated.

 

[Brokennock]

Pa. should be the pre-eminent bear oil state. Since the early 1980's , poorly timed seasons , short seasons , old bear hunters retiring , etc. , Pa. is becoming over run w/ bears. They are being allowed to over populate , so as to be used to kill off the fawn deer population. According to the Govt. agency in charge , bears currently eat 1/2 of all fawns born. The problem is bad enough that folks are defending themselves and property. It's a waste of a valuable resource , but it is , what it is. (Estimated population state wide , yr. 1980...4,500....yr. 2020...40,000+)

Connecticut, or at least part of it has a similar problem. The bear population has exploded in the western part of the state, and even more so in Northern third of that. Deer population is plummeting due to the bears killing fawns. Bears breaking into barns, garages, occasionally even homes, as people feed them or leave their bird feeders out too late in spring and habituate bears to associating us with easy calories. But, we have no bear season, and, no provision for allowing defense of self or property against a bear. They are completely unafraid of humans now.

 

[excess650]

I have property in southern Virginia and have witnessed an incredible bear AND coyote population surge, and diminished deer herd. The car insurance companies love it!

As for bear oil, I have a small jar of it that remains "oil" at room temperature. It looks like canola oil, so light and clear. My own patches have been lubed with mink oil for hunting, but I can easily see where rendered bear fat would be excellent for the same purpose. Having trapped fur bearers many years ago, I would expect 'coon and 'possum fat to render down similarly, and be useable for the same purpose.

 

[user 34300]

Back to the OP's questions. Bear oil works the same as any animal fat as a patch lube. I have used it and saw no big advantage over any other oil or grease as a patch lube. As preservative and lube it is not a good choice. Modern oils and greases are far better.

My speculation is that bear oil was the second best thing available before petroleum became common. Sperm oil was the best. Now when reading old texts we see bear oil as the best and infer it includes modern stuff. Things like Barracaid, LPS-3, colsmoline, and anhydrious lanolin are far better preservatives for the bore that bear oil. I think bear oil was the best they had.

I recently shot a perfect score in a weekly club shoot. The lube was beef tallow and mineral spirts 1:3. The patches were wrung out and allowed to dry. They were not greasy to the touch. They were harder to load than moose milk or grease saturated patches. The did not smolder. They did shoot extremely accurately. I think any fat would have worked the same.

I have not obtained as fine an accuracy with bear oil liberally soaked into the patches. Maybe bear oil used very sparingly would work better. I have observed that patches that are too slick do not shoot as accurately as less highly lubed patches. It may be that the additional drag promotes more complete powder burning.