Beyond your basic first aid kit

[shooter115]

"IFAK's" are really popular on gun forums these days. Part of the increasing sense of EOTWAKI and the resultant prepper phenomenon. My sense, from reading those posts, is that the majority belief is that just buying some Quikclot and a fancy pouch with a bunch of fancy bandages will automatically make you prepared for an emergency. Sort of the same concept that getting gun and a handgun permit will improve your capability of self-defense. I see people post frequently asking "what equipment should I put in my gunshot wound kit"? I would submit that if you have to ask that question, having a gunshot wound kit is pointless. It means you don't know how to use the stuff anyway.

I'd recommend getting training first. That will give you a better sense of what equipment is useful (not to mention how to actually use it).

I absolutely agree.

That being said, I don't think its a bad thing if there are a bunch of people with various medical supplies at the range so the people that know what to do have extra supplies floating around.

Agree with both of you. While I have not taken a specific class on treating gunshot wounds, I have taken first aid and CPR classes from our local ambulance service as well as additional first responder training through my employer. A majority of the stuff on this list was already in my first aid kit, but the opportunity to get filled in from someone who has acually patched up a lot of bullet holes was held in high regard. I was unfamiliar with occlusive dressings as well as the Petrolatum gauze/ Asherman chest seals and the list he provided prompted me to look into it. If you start looking into specific items and treatment options there are hundreds of professionally done training video's on just about everything. I'm not saying you can replace hands on training with YouTube, but it's amazing what you can learn if you put some time into it.

Since dogs were mentioned. Other things in my first aid kit include a suture kit and surgical staplers. While I've never used them on myself or any other human, I have used them to patch up dogs a couple times. Aggressive bird dogs are really good at running into sharp pointy objects.

[Jack's My dog]

Actually I'd rather have a class from a vet that can train me to take care of my dog if she had a hunting accident, cuts. broken bones ect.

Dude, set it up, I'll bet you're not alone, I think a lot of hunters would like the same thing.

MMCNX2 is not alone, I would be interested in both.

[Jackpine Savage]

Vetrap/Coban is handy to have around.

I was out bird hunting in the middle of ND one year and a truck pulled into where we were parked. They opened the back of their truck cover and their dog kind of stumbled and fell out. It was bleeding heavily from one leg. It had been loose in the back of their truck and ripped it's leg open on something. Blood all over. I bandaged it up with some gauze and vetrap and they raced off to try and find a vet.

Barbed wire has gotten my dogs a few times.