Mutton Tallow

D

denster

New member
I really like mutton tallow for patch lube and for making up black powder bullet lube. Only problem is Dixie seems to always be out of stock. I just found a unlimited source for premium pure mutton tallow at $12 a pound + shipping also available in smaller quantities. If anyone is interested I'll post the link.
 
Good stuff

I really like mutton tallow for patch lube
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Years ago, when I worked with mutton tallow or a mixture that had it, there was nothing better. This is old-school stuff and glad to see that someone is still using it. .... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
Sure, post a link.

I just made up a batch of period correct Civil War era cartridges, using the 1:8 tallow:beeswax lube. I got the tallow from Dixie Gun Works.

Steve
 
If you luck out and shoot a fat deer you can render the tallow. My deer tallow sure smells like mutton to me.
 
Made my own for a while. It was a bit better than other lubes, but just not better enough to warrant the time and smell to make it, or to buy it.
 
At least one source of mutton tallow

Went to Wellness meat but it appears that they will not ship orders of less than $75.00.

Used the link to Queens on eBay but for 12 tins of 1 ounce each of tallow for 31.43, the price seems a bit too high.

Dixie Gun Works has 12 ounce tubs for 5.75 plus 6.00 shipping.

I ordered that.

I am anxious to see how this stuff works in the lube I need for my shooting.

(Cap and ball revolvers and BPCR.)
 
Okay so....

a pound of tallow is something like 18.00.

I just got a pound of lard at Farm Fresh for 1.50. Is mutton tallow twelve times better than lard?
 
mutton tallow

While I agree Mutton is about the best.
In actuallity you can use any fat if need be.
Save the fat from your deer, bear elk, pronghorn
render it down.
Save the raw fat from your steak, or ask the butcher to save some.
You can even save bacon grease and render it down.
Yep a PITA, but as a sport and a hobby.....
If need be buy a 1lb block of hog lard at the grocery store.
 
Doc asked:
I just got a pound of lard at Farm Fresh for 1.50. Is mutton tallow twelve times better than lard?
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Nope, however, tallow is rendered differently than lard. To make tallow, I boil raw fat in water in a large enamel pot for several hours so that all the fat/oil separates and floats to the top. Then it has to cool, slowly. I can then pull the whole layer of tallow off the top in one big round chunk. Below that is a layer of jelly, some will cling to the tallow layer, but is easy to wash off. Below that jelly is nasty muck that stinks to high heaven. Lard is rendered by frying raw fat to separate the oil from the fat cells. Most tallow will not go rancid, probably because of the way it was processed. Lard can go rancid, probably because the separation of the fat from the jelly and particulates isn't as complete. Mutton tallow is traditional, but then again, so are corn cobs for other purposes :D. I use neither.
 
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What makes Mutton Tallow better?

Back in my Buckskinner days when working with Mutton Tallow, I recall reference to it's properties and what made it better than others. I recall that it should come from internal fat or suet as opposed to external fats. Also that it had the highest melting point of any tallow. So, I went looking and found the reference to internal fat but so far, nothing about the higher melting point. .. :confused:

Typically, tallow starts with the extraction of suet from a carcass. Suet is hard fat found in the neighborhood of the kidneys and around some other organs. While suet can be used as-is, rendering it removes the impurities and also extends the shelf life. Once suet is rendered, it becomes tallow. As long as it is stored in an airtight container in a cool environment, it can keep for an extended period of time, unlike suet, which will become rancid.
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Be Safe !!!
 
That's a lot of interesting info I wasn't aware of. Noelf2 I still use corncobs ground up as a polishing media. That is what you meant isn't it?:D
 
That's a lot of interesting info I wasn't aware of. Noelf2 I still use corncobs ground up as a polishing media. That is what you meant isn't it?
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Cleaning, not polishing. :D Polishing would hurt.:eek:
 
I'm not so sure that mutton tallow has any lanolin in it. Lanolin is an oily secretion onto the skin of the sheep to help waterproof the wool and keep the skin supple. I think it is a byproduct of wool production and used in human skin preps.

I would also think that sheep fat, whether it is around the kidneys or under the skin that fat tissue is fat tissue and the oils within are going to be the same whether internal or external. Just my thoughts. I'd say use it all, why limit to just one part of the body?
 
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