Using rancid pork fat to lube patches, etc. for muzzleloaders?

[DixieKen]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the group; but a longtime muzzleloader. I recently started getting into flintlocks; but have years of shooting/hunting/reenacting with percussion guns.

I have a question for the group, concerning using rancid lard/fatback as a patch lube, or general lube for gun locks, etc. Every since I had a frozen nipple in my 1853 Enfield keep me out of service at a CW reenactment, I have kept rancid lard in an empty cap tin to lube the threads of the nipple after cleaning and drying. It seems to work fairly well. I also use it on swivels that may get "squeaky" or stiff. It seems to work for me.

My question is concerning some fatback I found in the bottom of my father in laws deep freeze. I have no idea how old it is; but I found bags of okra dated "1993" on top of it, so it is probably at least that old. The slabs look great; but they have that "soapy" rancid smell, so not fit to eat. However, my "mountain man" kicked in and I started thinking about uses for it. I've used rancid lard in firestarters, etc; but it occurs to me that I also have a lot of beeswax to render, and I thought about rendering the fat off the fat back, to use in a bullet lube recipe.

I've been reading different advice, both for and against, using salt fat from animals in a muzzleloader. I just thought I'd throw this out to the group and see what the reigning opinion is.

Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated. Take care,

Ken

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I would not want to use salted fat because it can cause rust (the salt) but then again so can black powder residues. I’ve found lard to work nicely in lube recipes though. Lard and beeswax make excellent Minie lube I know for sure.

 

[Ames]

And you can buy NEW lard for $2.50 a tub and not have to deal with the rancid smell.
Toss the old stuff out. Use it for fox bait if its legal where you are.

 

[ohio ramrod]

You can remove the salt by mixing the lard with water 50/50 bringing to a boil, then let cool. Most of the salt will go into the water, skim off the salt free lard. You may have to repeat with new water, but it will remove the salt. I have used lard/beeswax lube for over 45 years. It was recommended to me by an old time shooter after they outlawed the sale of Sperm Whale oil which we were using in 1968/ ( I still have a few ounces of the real stuff left. )

 

[Kansas Jake]

As Ames said, why mess with rancid or something with salt. I'm a tightwad too, but there is a point where I draw the line. No need to use rancid stuff unless you're trapping or fishing for catfish.

 

[DixieKen]

I found some more today that my father in law cut for catfish bait, so I'll probably end up cutting some for that. It's not so much being a "tightwad" as much as it is wanting to know how to make something out of bad stuff, as opposed to just buying new stuff. I usually eat a lot of fried fatback; but this stuff is too rancid. My wife usually makes some soap out of our rancid fat; but she has plenty so I thought I'd try and make some "bore butter" with it. I just figure its one more thing to learn and experiment with. Just trying not to waste stuff I could end up using.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Take care,
DixieKen

 

[Pratt]

I have used Crisco shortening for years with no ill results to the bore.