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this article was written by Ed Harris and was published in the Nov/Dec 2006, #184 issue of the Fouling Shot.

The question of what to carry on a “woods walk” often comes up amongthose of us that like to spend some quality time in the great outdoors. Here are my preferences:

I carry a Ruger Single Six 4-5/8” .32 H&R Magnum as a trail gun. I don’t anticipate too many encounters with grizzly bears or AK-armed banditos in the hills of West Virginia, so six rounds in the revolver plus a dozen spare rounds is enough for my usual weekend outing. The .32 Mag. is far superior to any rimfire for the occasional feral dog, rabid fox, raccoon or skunk and is a dandy 50-yard meat getter for groundhog or (if in season) wild turkey.

A leather Cartridge Belt Slide, while intended for .22 rimfire ammunition, can be readily “wet-stretched” to hold .32 S&W Long, or .32 H&R Magnum rounds.

THOROUGHLY soak the belt slide in warm water, work up a good lather with saddle soap and while still wet, carefully press a dozen .30 cal. Jacketed rifle bullets into the loops to stretch them. Let the belt slide dry, then press the bullets out. Repeat the process after applying neat’s-foot and using either 8mm jacketed bullets or dummy .32 H&R Mag rounds to complete the final fitting process.

I sometimes pack a leather drawstring bullet bag in my pack which easily carries 100 extra .32 handgun rounds, or several hundred .22s if I plan any serious plinking. It could alternately carry about fifty .38 Specials or .357s, maybe 40 rounds of .45 Colt or .44 Mag, twenty ‘06s or a dozen 12-ga. shotgun shells. Quite enough for most backpack hunts.

A small deerskin zippered coin purse has enough room for three Bianchi Speed Strips of .38 or .357 ammo or a dozen .30-30s, your hunting license and a bit of folding money for that trip into town. I prefer Speed Strips for concealed carry reloads because they don’t rattle or “print” an obvious bulge!

Speaking of bulges, one bulge that won't be "made" as a threat is a snuff tin. The tin itself isn't really big enough, but these plastic Can Keepers are just right. Yes, you can really fit that much .38 Special ammunition in one of them!

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