Medic kit

[E.J.W.]

Had a fellow shooter experience a range accident a few months back. No serious injury to anyone, but it did require a trip to the doctor for one person just to be sure. This got me thinking about adding a medic kit to my range pack. Does anyone already have such a kit with them at all times? Did you put it together or buy a kit of some type? I'm looking at the My Medic brand kits.
Feel free to share what you use.
Thanks.
E.

 

[PolarFBear]

Found what I wanted at Academy Sports in the camping section. About $40.

 

[LeverGunFan]

We carry a general purpose first aid kit in all of our vehicles for non life threatening injuries. When there is danger of a life threatening injury we carry a trauma kit, which will help to control bleeding until help arrives. Take a first aid class periodically to brush up on your first aid skills.

 

[Sharkbite]

A “boo-boo” kits with band-aids, Neosporin and such is handy for slide bite and little cuts and such.
Gunshots require more elaborate gear AND training to use it. There are a number of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) type classes available. There are even youtube vids out there to watch (not a substitute for hands on training, but better then nothing).

Tourniquets, pressure dressings and wound packing materials are not hard to use and can save a life.

If you look at the kind of gunshots that happen on shooting ranges, those 3 simple to use items will help with 90% of mishaps. NPA’s, Decompression needles, cricothyrotomy supplies and the like take MORE training and are not really needed for a “range kit”. I would put those in a “nice to have” category not a “need to have”.

That being said, and to directly answer the OP’s question about what we carry. I carry a fully stocked IFAK on my “range belt” when i teach any class. I have a larger “trauma kit” in my Jeep. That kit comes out and is on the range during training. Im a firm believer in the “id rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it”.

Since very few of us have to carry this stuff very far....go big.

 

[AirForceShooter]

Best gun shot packing material is a tampon.
Ask any medic

AFS

 

[jcj54]

First aid kit.

My Army veteran son gave me a couple IFAK while home on leave a number of years ago. One is always in my range bag.

 

[T. O'Heir]

One must keep in mind that some places will hold you liable if you're not trained and don't ask if you can help. It's one of the first things mentioned on my Red Cross 1st Aid course(Did a St John's Standard 1st Aid course years ago that I found to be better.), up here. And our courts do not put up with frivolous law suits.
Either way, look into what NYS says. It's probable that the range is required to have one. Then buy any kit. Those My Medic brand kits are pricey though. Kits aren't cheap in Cabela's either.
"...Gunshots require more..." Yep. Call 911 then control the bleeding and treat for shock, get to an ER tout suite/chop chop/mui rapido.
"...A “boo-boo” kits with band-aids..." It has always amazed me that most commercial first aid kits do not have simple things like band aids.

 

[E.J.W.]

Thanks to all for the replies. Lots of great advice.
I am on the first responder team at my day job. We have to attend CPR and other first aid training every 6 months.
The club range we shoot at is prepared and has a qualified person on scene.
I was thinking more of when we're at the cabin, miles from a paved road and no cell service. I'd hate to possibly lose someone just because we had nothing but bandages and aspirin in our trucks.
E.

 

[dahermit]

Best gun shot packing material is a tampon.
Ask any medic

AFS

I was a medic, and the best things to use an a gunshot would are the things developed for that purpose. A tampon may be used in a pinch as can a sanitary napkin. However, we leaned that clean is not the same as sterile...a sterile dressing has been designed to use on gunshot wounds, sanitary napkins and tampons have not and would be classified as "clean", not sterile.

 

[LeverGunFan]

....I am on the first responder team at my day job. We have to attend CPR and other first aid training every 6 months....

You are already better prepared than most people! If you know a first responder who is also a shooter, ask them for advice on what supplies to add to your emergency kit.

 

[E.J.W.]

Unfortunately I'm the only shooter on our responder team.
Our training prepares us for warehouse and manufacturing accidents like cuts, shock, broken bones, burns, eyes etc.
Our trainer is a professional EMT and I've asked, but I don't really get a serious answer out of her, only to join my local fire dept to learn the answers to what I'm asking.
I did call "My Medic" help line today and it was pretty much just a salesman on the other end.
Guess I'll try surfing some survival/prepper blogs and sites to see what they discuss on this subject.
Thanks again to all.
E.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

One brand of kit that's available:

https://ezine.m1911.org/showthread.php?269-DTL-Gear-Outdoorsman-First-Aid-Kit

From the review:

The downside is that we decided the DTR Gear Base kit lacks a few items that we consider essential, and neither the Intermediate nor the Advanced kit offers a solution. None of the DTR Gear kits include a nasal tube, used for when the airway is obstructed and the first responder needs to intubate the patient to restore air movement. My friend has nasal tubes in all his kits. Discussing this with a friend who is a fellow veteran and who works as a nursing supervisor in the emergency room at a large Veterans Administration hospital, he agreed that a trauma kit should include a nasal tube, and he added that there should also be a small tube of KY Jelly for lubricating the tube for insertion.

...

We also didn’t like the either/or choice on the tourniquet. The SWAT-T type has some advantages in some situations, but for a major bleed on an arm or a leg it isn’t the best choice. We think that a fully equipped trauma kit should include both types of tourniquet. DTL Gear offers an option when ordering from their web site to add a second tourniquet, of either type, so for an additional $29.50 you can add the SOFTT-W to the Base kit.

Finally, there’s the question of the DTR Gear upgrade to a kit that includes Quickclot. Disclaimer: I have Quickclot, both the powder type and Quickclot pads, in the items I am assembling for my “bugout” bag trauma kit. My friend reported that his instructor advised against using Quickclot. I referred the question to the VA ER nursing supervisor, and his response was that medical professionals indeed do not like Quickclot, and also that it doesn’t work when/where you need it most. That would be a deep injury affecting an artery. The damaged artery is likely to be deep enough that the Quickclot can’t get to it to staunch the bleeding, so it just creates a mess for the ER doctors to deal with. Consequently, we can’t in good faith recommend the upgrade to the DTR Gear Advanced kit.

Overall, I give the DTR Gear Base First Aid Kit a solid B+ rating. It has almost everything that belongs in a well-prepared sportsman’s first aid kit, in a compact and portable carry bag that has enough space (barely) to add the nasal tube and second tourniquet that we believe should be in the kit.

Earlier in the review it was also noted that the kit doesn't include a chest decompression needle.

I discussed trauma kits with my now-former (as of two months ago) neighbor, who is an emergency room physician at the local trauma center hospital. His view is that a chest needle is nice to have, but not essential because most people won't know how to use it. I think my preference would be to have it in the kit. I don't know how to use it, but it's there if someone who does know how is on the scene. My doctor neighbor also didn't think nasal tubes are all that important. Maybe he's right. Nasal tubes are not one-size-fits-all. A full set includes five or size tubes, to cover all sizes of people. I have full sets, and they definitely won't fit in a kit bag the size of the one in the review I posted the link to. (They also won't fit in the next larger size trauma kit bag, if you have everything else on the list plus two types of tourniquet.)

Another commercially-available kit I recently came across is this one:

https://www.mountainmanmedical.com/product/the-yellowstone-trauma-kit-mountain-man-medical/

I haven't seen any independent reviews of this one yet. The honcho behind it claims to be a former Navy corpsman who served with the Marines in the sandbox, so he does know the difference between a first aid kit and a trauma kit. It's worth checking out.

Lastly, if you do more research don't Google "first aid kits." Google "trauma kits" or "stop the bleed kits." At a range, within shouting distance of an EMT service, the most important thing in the event of a serious injus=ry is going to be stopping the bleeding of a major wound. At a remote cabin in the woods, where emergency response time might be rathyer long (or not available), you'll want a more complete kit than what's included in a basic stop the bleed kit.

 

[shafter]

I'd recommend a pair of tourniquets, pressure dressings, and Quick Clot combat gauze and perhaps a chest seal. These are all easy to use with a minimal level of training. Anything more that this and you're going to need a lot more training.

 

[RUT]

>>One must keep in mind that some places will hold you liable if you're not trained and don't ask if you can help<<

Fortunately I live in a state that has a "good samaritan" law in place to preclude such nonsense.

 

[big al hunter]

Fortunately I live in a state that has a "good samaritan" law in place to preclude such nonsense.

I also live in a "Good Samaritan" state. However, there are still things that we can be held liable for. If you go beyond first aid, something like using a large needle to perform a procedure that you are not trained to do. The law is specific to rendering aid up to the abilities of the provider. You can't do something you saw on an episode of your favorite T.V. show.

 

[HiBC]

First aid training and kit is one thing,and of course,a good idea. There are plenty of resources to pursue.
I'm by no means any kind of expert,but the OP identified "at the range or remote cabin with no cell service".
And I'm assuming the "readiness" is for gun shot wound.

Lets consider any GSW life threatening and urgent for the purposes here.

Among the highest priority actions to take is Activating Emergency Medical Services.

Yes,a kit and some skills might help keep the injured person alive till a rolling or flying mini-ER with two paramedics arrive.(Agreed,Medics buy some time!! God Bless them!! But the best thing for a GSW victim is a Medivac Chopper!)

The main useful tool would be a protocol to make that happen. At a club range,a GSW list of "Things to do" should be posted,with contacts and phone numbers. The plan needs to be in place already.

A club might want to drill the plan periodically.

Remote cabin with no cell service? Look into an "In Reach" device and subscription. Is a satellite communication linked GPS that will interface with a smart phone.
The device (ballpark guess) is $300 ish for the fancy one that sends a GPS track of your locations and messages to a family member. They have an emergency panic button that will locate you and get help coming 24/7 about anywhere in the world. You subscribe to a service thats not too expensive. There are various devices and services depending on what you need and what you can spend. Do your own research on YouTube or at REI,etc.

I looked into them when my daughter started doing 14,000 ft peaks solo.

To do the basics of keeping someone alive takes mostly your mind and your hands. You can do a lot with a couple of GI Carlisle wound dressings and maybe a couple of ace bandages.

The arrival of an ambulance or helicopter on site sooner beats your best DIY followed by a ride bouncing around in the back of a pickup.

Whatever will work for you,just have a workable plan in place.

In some cases,like at your cabin,maybe....a bottle of oxygen can be helpful.
But that takes some training,too.

 

[Aikibiker]

Both of my range bags have trauma kits I put together based on previous medical training and experience. Lots of gauze, 4x4 dressings, and chest seals (because boyscouting a sucking chest wound would suck. Also trauma shears boo boo items etc. Plus I always have a tourniquette on my person.

 

[Shane Tuttle]

The My FAK is what I recommend. Add in a tourniquet of your choice and you'll have most of what you need to care for basic injuries.

https://mymedic.com/collections/first-aid-kits/products/myfak-firstaidkit

 

[Ricekila]

 

[JERRYS.]

in civilization a kit containing two quick clot sponges, a cat tourniquet, and a chest seal should suffice.