I’ll probably miss my medium Case stockman. SAK makes much more sense, but gosh darnit!
Safety pin?? Genius. I was just thinking how I’ll miss the pin in my larger SAKs if I switch to an Executive. Safety pin in my wallet will fix that.
Any rec for a woods gun? Nothing big caliber. Something easy to carry.
Yeah, I miss the Case peanut and Boker 240 pen with he nice rosewood scales. They were pretty, but just didn't have the sheer utility of the small SAK's.
The safety pins were my dad's idea, as well as the keychain screw driver. I carry an Eagle Creek trifold wallet that has the little zipper compartment. I keep one to two safety pins and a paper clip in there, as well as my old P-38. The safety pin is a great splinter removal tool as well as securing a bandana bundle of something. The paper clip is good springy steel if I need a emergency twist tie or small poky or lock pick or book mark. Lots of uses there. I've jettisoned the big old fashioned Sear's 4-way keychain screw driver and now had a Victorinox quatro in the zip compartment. The quatro is smaller and lighter than the sears, but has much better shaped large and small Phillips screw driver bits on it. Plus its a one piece unit meaning it's rugged, if I don't want to beat up my executive. The executive is my Case peanut replacement.
My woods gun is usually my EDC gun. I have used a small .22 revolver most my life as I don't want to lug a bigger than needed gun around. Again, I grew up watching dad and his .22 Colt woodsman do most anything he had to, up to and including defense of himself and his family. tiguy7 makes an excellent choice with the S&W 317 he has in his post. My wife, Karen, has one she got in 1998, and its been a great carry gun. She keeps it close and with 8 CCI mini mags on board, its a formidable defense tool. The only single thing I don't like about it is, the aluminum cylinder warms up and makes extraction hard. I like to shoot a lot, so I really prefer a steel cylinder like my S&W model 63.
From 1980 to 2007, I carried a 63, and loved that gun, but always regretted tha tit held only 6 rounds. And the front sight got a bit harder to see a I got older. But, and a huge 'but' here, in 2007 Smith and Wesson finally got smart and made it an 8 shot, shortened that barrel to 3 inches, and added a fiber optic high visibility front sight. I got one have been in love with that gun ever since. I can go to the range and put 200 rounds down the spout with no ejection problems, and I can really see the front sight.
BUT...that little three letter word again...a few months ago, I got a Ruger LCR in .22lr. I've put 4 bulk boxes of Federals through it now, and I love that gun too. Not quite as accurate as my 63, mostly because its double action only, but for CCw, it's a bit under a pound, and rides in a holster high on the right hip very very comfortable. The little snubbie barrel and no hammer makes it more a CCW gun, which is what I bought it for, so my 3 inch S&W 63 is still by woods gun. I dearly love Smith and Wesson revolvers, and have a 51 year history with them, but the new Ruger LCR series revolvers have impressed the ever lovin dog poo out of me. If I didn't already have my S&W 63, I'd consider a second LCR in the LCRx version with the 3 inch barrel, adjustable sights, and exposed hammer for single action shots. It's only a few ounces heavier than the snubbie LCR, but is in the woods gun class, a step above the LCR hammerless.
I've been very, very, very impressed with the Ruger LCR. If I wasn't already a Smith and Wesson fanboy, and I was starting from scratch looking for a woods gun, I'd very seriously consider the Ruger LCRx. If you don't want .22, its available in larger calibers like the regular LCR. But for general use, a .22 is good. Since this is Texas, we keep the first round a CCI snake shot, just in case. I hate snakes, but haven problem with black snakes, rat snakes, milk snakes, corn snakes, king snakes, or whatever. But rattlers get no free pass and get shot when encountered.
I've also got two of the little North American Arms .22 mini revolvers. I like the for being soooo damm easy to carry, but they are strictly a very close range 'get off me' gun. For all practical purposes a modern derringer. But...that little word again, in the thirty plus years I've had them, they have saved my butt three times, just by being there when I didn't feel like carrying anything bigger and heavier. Criminals are cowards, and don't want any holes shot in them by even a little gun. The last time I had need of one, the two would be car jackers armed with truck stop knives, couldn't get out of that highway rest stop restroom fast enough. No shots needed to be fired, so the .22 worked as well as a .45.
Hope this has been of help.