Essential First Aid for Shooting Range

[Cosmoline]

The greatest realistic threat to the well-being of the ordinary Joe is rooted in lifestyle choices.

Indeed. And thinking back on the avid shooters I've known who' passed away, quite a few have been lost in their 60's to massive heart attacks. Not much first aid will help when you've led a life of stress and sedentary behavior. Of course, thus is the world. But there is a lot we could be doing to help improve the situation. I really like these events that are incorporating running and other cross-training into shooting.

 

[Losov]

Battle dressing, IV and call the chopper.

 

[wgaynor]

Double Naught, i must have read your post wrong. I thought you were asking a serious question and not a rhetorical one. No offense meant, just trying to be helpful.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

IVs are harder to teach than how to put a simple pressure bandage or tourniquet. So much so that it is no longer taught as part of the Combat Lifesaver course in the military. Ah miss the good ol days of making the squeamish ones faint with a little blood. In most cases where higher medical assistance is less than 1 hour away, an IV wouldn't be mandatory anyway. Now when getting evaced to a hospital is 12 hours or so away, yeah an IV is your friend.

 

[Tim the student]

Threads like this frustrate me sometimes.

It seems as if people think "Oh, I did it once, during perfect no stress conditions, on an easy part of the anatomy, so I'm certainly proficient."

Which is great to start with - but not a mark of proficiency.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

I would add, in addition to everything already posted: make sure you have a way to contact the emergency services.

I was present when an ND occurred at an indoor range, and the shooter injured himself. To call 911 two people had to run out the door, down 100 feet of hallway, up two flights of stairs and down another 100 ft. of hallway before they could get outside and make a call on a cell phone. In the town where I lived at that time certain cell carriers were known not to work in certain areas of town because of the placement of the cell towers.

Is there a phone at the range, and does it work? If not, does yours?

 

[rodinal220]

Sorry to the anti-tampon crowd but you are dead wrong.Certainly entitled to your "opinion" but tampons/pads are expressly designed to soak up blood and tampons go into an orfice that is bleeding. I have seen them work first hand (GSW)they they work fine,just like gauze rolls and pads,a lot cheaper too.
Sounds like some here listened to some "modern trainer type" that pushes their class and products or is a paid whore for some company.
Again to each there own but its a sound trauma method that has worked for decades.Todays crowd likes fancy packaging,DVDs,APPS and Class Room Commandos pushing their money making speal.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Well, seeing if you need to plug as GSW at all, you probably only need to plug one or two, why not spend the money one time and get an actual sterile medical product and not some improvised "hope it works" device?

Yeah, tampons may work....kinda.

But let me ask you this. You've just been hit by a stray round in the leg at a gun range. The rangemaster or another student runs up to you and pulls something out of a first aid/GSW kit.

Do you want that something to be a:
A) Tampon from a CVS 12pack
B) Roll of Combat Gauze designed specifically for packing bleeding wounds and quickly clotting hemorrhaging.



There's a lot of places in life where saving money and buying cheap is a great idea. Regular gas instead of Premium. Wal-Mart brand paper towels instead of Bounty. Heck, even a good old box of Winchester White Box for practice instead of premium SD ammo for punching holes in paper. But sorry,"stuff that can keep me from bleeding to death" is not an area where I feel skimping on money is the right choice.

I keep a role of Combat Gauze on my training vest in my blowout kit and another 2 rolls in my range bag. Did it cost a bit of money? Yep. But if I find myself or another person covered in that sticky red stuff that keeps us from dying on the floor, I plan on using what I know will work the best.



On that note, to answer the question posed, on my person at the range I keep an ITS Tactical ETA Kit. It contains:

QuikClot Combat Gauze LE (1)
HALO Chest Seal (2)
MojoDart Decompression Needle (1)
Naso Airway Adj. 28fr w/ Surgilube (1)
Israeli Bandage (1 – 4″)
Ace Bandage (1 – 4″)
Z-Pak Gauze (1)
Combat Casualty Card (1)
Nitrile Gloves (1 Pair)
Pencil (1)

I also keep a slightly larger first aid kit with my range back with more Combat Gauze, Isreali Bandages, 4x4 dressing, lots and lots of 2"medical tape. Some pre-staged in strips on an piece of MRE plastic. Plus the assorted Band-Aids, alcohol pads, larger adhesive bandages for decent sized lacerations, etc.

Yes I have been trained on using all of this, more times than I can remember. And I've had the unwelcome opportunity to use some of it in real life, though not at a range. I'm not a medical professional by any means. But I know the above gear works, I trust it with my life, and I've seen it save the lives of another. That's one of the reasons I'm not going to use tampons or any other half-arsed method for stopping blood flow. I've had blood on my hands and had to use an Army issue IFAK to stop it. Stuff like Combat Gauze, Israeli bandages, etc, work.

 

[Tim the student]

Do you want that something to be a:
A) Tampon from a CVS 12pack
B) Roll of Combat Gauze designed specifically for packing bleeding wounds and quickly clotting hemorrhaging.

I want someone who knows how to use either. And honestly, I think the chances of that are probably pretty slim.

 

[hso]

WRT Training - You can take a 2 day Wilderness First Aid followed up by one of the gunshot seminars taught by experts who actually treat gunshot wounds in the field like Ian McDevitt or Hugh Coffee to address shooting/hunting injuries. Not everyone is an 18D (or has one for a dubby to train them).


In addition to the basic ARC First Aid/CPR/AED I've paid for the 2 day Wilderness First Aid from SOLOand a 2 day with Ian McDevitt. I've wanted to take a course with Hugh Coffee, but never was able to make the time.

Since medical skills are perishable skills I recommend taking refreshers periodically.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Good point Tim the student. When on looks on the box of tampons, does it tell one how to treat a GSW with it? Is there a medical school or combat lifesaver course that teaches proper tampon use for GSWs? Does any agency or military branch issue tampons as part of their office first aid kit?

There is no "knowing how to use a tampon to treat GSWs" because that's not what they're for. Anyone using a tampon for that purpose is by definition, going outside the scope of their training and equipment since no training course or issued equipment kit issues tampons for GSWs or teaches how to use them. They are by their very nature, an improvised item.

Actual medical items such as gauze, hemostatic agents, pressure dressings, etc are all recognized by both the medical field and the "shooter" field (LE, military, etc) as legitimate items to be used with training for treating gun shot wounds. Military, law enforcement, and even civilian training school teach their use and issue them to those who have been trained/certified. They don't issue tampons. And more importantly, they don't train you on tampons.


If I'm dying of a GSW and your choice is between plugging it with a tampon that you just happen to have, and doing nothing, please use the tampon. But we're not talking about seat of the pants improvising here. We're talking about stuff that you would equip yourself with ahead of time. Why would you settle for anything less than the best?

A comparison: can you use a pointy stick to ward off an attacker? Yep. But if you're expecting to be attacked do you purposely just bring a pointy stick? Of course not. You use it if that's all you have on hand. First of all, you avoid the situation where you'd get attacked. If that's impossible, we've all heard the "bring a rifle and friends with rifles" quip.

Well medical trauma is just the same. First of all, avoid getting hurt. Obviously. But if you're making a backup plan, you bring the best. You don't deliberately cripple your attempts by preparing yourself with substandard stuff. A tampon, or a t shirt, or towels, etc are all the pointy stick version of medical equipment. Stuff you use if that's all you have. But if you're already making a plan on possibly needing it, you bring the best. If you're expecting an attack, you bring the rifle and friends with rifles, and if you're planning on the possibility of a GSW, you bring real medical supplies and real training to go with it.

When you thankfully have the opportunity to prepare for a GSW ahead of time, there is absolutely no reason not to find the absolute best materials and training you can. Why would anyone set themselves up for anything less than the best shot at surviving? I'm not saying tampons are the worst thing ever. But if you've got the opportunity to prepare ahead of time, why waste it on getting less-than-the best?

 

[wgaynor]

Never thought I'd see a thread with so much concern about Tampons.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Lol, it's not exactly the tampons that I'm so concerned about. It's the "Eh, this is probably good enough" attitude with regard to treating life threatening gunshot wounds....

 

[parsimonious_instead]

Cope Reynolds (Southwest Shooting Authority, Pinetop AZ) does an occasional Tactical Medicine class.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

If the range you're shooting at has no landline phone, and all you have is a cell, find out the non-emergency direct-dial number of the nearest Public Safety department ahead of time. Trust me, they'll handle your call as an emergency if you tell them there's life at stake. This way precious time isn't wasted while your 911 call is routed through whichever call centers before landing at the appropriate place.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

Tampons are in the category of "better than nothing" when it comes to dressings. During one of my CLS lectures I had the good fortune of training with Doc Strauss, the medic from the infamous Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia. According to him the best stuff to use, is the stuff issued. But if you don't have the gauze or you run out and all you have is tampons, then you use what you have. Same thing goes for nearly any implement in place of another. Such as using a plastic bag to seal the entrance and exits to a sucking chest wound and a sharp hollow pen to decompress a tension pneumo thorax.

 

[W.E.G.]

I have probably spent a full year of my life at the range.

I have yet to witness a gunshot wound - let alone treat one.
Although I nearly experienced a self-inflicted one in 1972 with a malfunctioning H&R .22 revolver when I managed to get my hand too close to the muzzle while trying to clear a misfire. Other than that, I just don't understand why every inquiry as to first aid kit recommendations always devolves into the notion of treating gunshot wounds.

All this talk about GSW's seems to miss the point of the OP's post.

 

[taliv]

WEG, point taken, but if you want to view it through that lens, most of us have CCW for 5-10 years, will probably do so for 20 years, and will probably never use it. and yet, there are probably more than a million posts on this board alone on that topic. I probably won't use my car or life insurance either.

 

[W.E.G.]

I still find it curious that folks go on-and-on about Quik-Clot and tampons whenever this topic appears, yet rarely share significant advice, or anecdotal experiences, regarding the other 99.9999% of the first-aid situations encountered "at the range."

In my experience, those ACTUAL situations "at the range," have been quite parallel to the types of treatment required for incidents at a peaceful street carnival.

Otherwise, tape - lots of it, 4x4 dressings, water, and good commo to the ambo for significant medical situations that are not amenable to the aforesaid. The quite-common challenge is how to move the 263-pounder before they succumb to an exacerbated pre-existing medical condition.

 

[hso]

The most common injury I've seen at the range is the occasional burn from a hot casing trapped on skin (.45 behind glasses stings!), some debris in the eye and hammer or slide bite.

A little burn ointment can help the first.

Eyewash can help the second.

Band-aids will handle the third.

I did see a fellow abuse a screw driver and jam it in his hand once and that required stitches which meant bandage at the range.

I saw a kaboom once when a Winchester Defender fired out of battery. That resulted in a quick visual inspection of the face, eyes, hands of my buddy that was shooting it. Luckily, other than a very rattled condition there were no injuries.

 

[W.E.G.]

Ah yes.

The hot shell casing on bare flesh.

I've actually witnessed the hot shell casing down the young lady's shirt on several occasions.

In each case I had to "stand down" but for offering words of consolation and advice about correct range attire.

As they say, the best first aid is prevention.

I've seen the Garand slam-fire kaboom give a fella's hand a pretty good torching.
About all that could be done at the range was pour water on it, and send him away.
He was done for the day.

 

[cpt-t]

We were taught and told by the Mash Unit Doctors if we would do these 4 things and then transport ASAP to a Hospital. The wounded person stood a very good chance of survieing.
1. Clear the air way.
2. Stop the bleeding.
3. Protect the wound.
4. Treat and prevent for shock.
I have seen this done in some really bad condictions and a few times I had to do it my self and I am darn sure not a Doctor a Trained Medic, just an Old Infanrty Soldier, but you will save more than you will lose. You just have to give it your best shot and talking to the Man Upstairs while you are doing it. Seems to help I have found.
ken

 

[HorseSoldier]

Tampons are in the category of "better than nothing" when it comes to dressings.

That was the consensus in both the Wilderness First Responder and Wilderness EMT classes I've taken along the way in the civilian world, as far as tampons and pads are both concerned. The instructors in both classes did not consider them ideal, and at least one mentioned that both tend to be treated with chemicals to prevent clotting (I have no idea how accurate this is, though it makes sense). Someone up thread mentioned not using them for direct application to wounds, but as a secondary dressing for absorbency, which is pretty much in line with the thinking from those classes as well (though the "wilderness" part of both of course means you first and foremost do what you can with the tools available to you).

 

[Losov]

IVs are harder to teach than how to put a simple pressure bandage or tourniquet.

Of course they are. I was just quoting an old Nam mantra. However, all of this is contingent on what body part is hit, with what and how bad. There is no cut and dried, "bullet wound? Do this." But I do believe all range officers should have basic first aid and CPR training, and all ranges should have an AED.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

But I do believe all range officers should have basic first aid and CPR training, and all ranges should have an AED

Agreed. I would go as far as to say that all businesses should* have people trained in CPR/First and and have an AED.


*Please note that I did not type "should be required by law"