#FirstAid

Extreme heat and extreme cold often claim the lives of those who don’t come prepared – even if that means you’re in the range when conditions change. In light of some recent examples I’ve seen across the internet like people getting helplessly stuck in the ice and snow, I thought I’d bring along a subject matter expert to help us all be better prepared for these types of situations. BrassFacts has done a lot of research, training, and actual survivalist camping throughout his entire life and has even taught winter survival overseas. While the advice he has in this particular podcast isn’t what you’ll get from Artic Ranger training, these simple tips, items, and pieces of knowledge are just about what everyone needs to keep themselves out of trouble and alive if they find themselves in trouble in the snow.

A lot of you will remember a couple of months back Nick C’s ass suffered quite a traumatic range event. Many lessons were learned that day, most notably, not to violate basic range safety rules. The biggest takeaway for me from that day was just the sheer value of simple training. That’s why today we’ve brought on both TFB’s Nick C as well as Brad Gilpin from Blue Force Gear to talk about the accident and the specific training that allowed all of us to respond to the injury quickly, efficiently, and without panic. Brad Gilpin is the Director of Medical Programming at Blue Force Gear and is a prior law enforcement professional who has served at both the state and federal levels. He was a founding member of the USBP BORSTAR unit serving as Assistant Team Leader / Team Medic and has been involved in advocating tactical medicine skills for LEOs since long before it was cool to do so.

Back in September 2021 some of the TFB crew were in Refugio Texas for an event. At that event, Brad Gilpin of Blue Force Gear taught us a combat medicine course. Basically how to treat gunshot wounds. At the end of the course, we all got our own Micro Trauma Kits. Brad had set them up with the advanced supplies but he took the chest darts out since we didn’t need those. My Micro Trauma Kit has been sitting unused in my FJ Cruiser and sometimes out on the range with me or in my backpack when I am traveling. I never thought I would have to use it let alone on myself but Murphy’s law reared its ugly head.

Walther Arms is primarily known for making handguns. This German manufacturer produces a variety of semi-automatic pistols suitable for a range of purposes. Their modern lineup includes models optimized for competition, concealed carry, duty use, and more. Even James Bond is a fan, with the iconic PPK serving as 007’s primary sidearm throughout a great deal of his time on the silver screen and in the pages of many Bond novels. The company recently began offering high-end custom shop versions of some of their pistols, upgraded under their “Meister Manufaktur” program. In addition to guns, this fine gunmaker offers a smattering of accompanying gear items as well. To compliment their EDC-intended handguns, they’ve just announced a new ankle medical kit.

Tourniquets are an essential piece of life-saving equipment that I think all shooters should have and learn how to use. They could save your or someone else’s life should the unthinkable happen. Having one nearby and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice is also important and Chase Tactical has a great option for keeping your Tourniquet handy with their Elastic Tourniquet Holder.

Every week, we sit down and look at different aspects of the concealed carry realm, but medical is often something that goes without much coverage. Some of you may disagree, but being in a situation where someone may need medical help is much greater than being in a self-defense situation. Whether it’s witnessing a bad car collision or having an unfortunate accident, things happen. Having the proper equipment as well as knowledge is incredibly important when emergencies occur. I know some will argue that medical products are too big or bulky for everyday carry, but there are plenty of classes and products out there to help the everyday civilian be better prepared for a stressful situation. Let’s dive into a few different ways to be more prepared in a medical emergency.

EDC is always a hot topic, but the importance of medical gear is often overlooked. This might be because it doesn’t seem as sexy of a topic, but it is an important part of the gear we might need. There is a greater probability that we will need to plug holes than make them. This simply means the likelihood of us having to defensively protect ourselves is far outweighed by the probability we will come across someone in medical trauma needing medical gear. However, there are some drawbacks to medical gear. Often medical gear is large and difficult to carry, getting torn up when carried in a pocket or taking up valuable space for other tools. Defense Mechanisms came out with an ankle med kit to solve this problem. I previously had never carried anything on my ankle so it was a new endeavor for me, but it was worth the effort.

Walking through the Wednesday Pop-Up showcase is always a mixed bag.  Most of the booths are things that would not warrant a full display at SHOT.  I do, however, enjoy heading up there and looking for the diamonds in rough.  I think this year Rapid Stop Tourniquet was my favorite find.

Everyone should have a well-stocked medical kit. More-so, I think that all gun owners should have, at the very least, a small kit to deal with the injuries they have an increased chance of encountering. We all enjoy watching YouTube videos of “people doing dumb things and getting injured” but rarely do we see any of these “influencers” applying basic first aid. Let’s take a look at what should be in a gun owner’s EDC First Aid Kit.

Road rage is no joke. Having seen it (but fortunately never been involved), the constantly rising tension can lead to some bad ju-ju in no time flat. That is especially true if a firearm becomes involved. Able to easily penetrate the standard sheet-metal of most modern vehicles, even pistols can be dangerous. One hapless individual found that out the hard way in North Texas.

Right in the middle of TFB’s 12 Days of Christmas are the least glamorous gift suggestions. But sometimes the least flashy presents, the ones you fail to buy for yourself, are the most satisfying to receive. Case in point: first aid.

The running joke in the Marine Corps is that one tends to get their common sense and intelligence back with their DD-214. Having been in and living it for years, there is certainly some credence to the joke which often gets nods of understanding when told. However, its possible for Marines to break the cycle and eek out a good idea.

My friend was at a USPSA match last Sunday when the worst case scenario happened. Someone got shot. From what I hear, the match has concrete dividers for the bays. Supposedly a projectile managed to go inbetween a crack between the concrete blocks used as dividers. A shooter was down range in one bay, pasting targets, while another shooter in the bay next door was shooting his stage.

From the beginning, ITS Tactical has worked hard to provide concise knowledge and information for all breeds of warrior: Military, Law Enforcement and Civilian alike. So it is no surprise that they also produce superior gear. After realizing that my ITS ETA Trauma Kit had surpassed its recommended expiration date (by a wide margin), I decided to crack it open to see how everything held up. After five years of bouncing around both the U.S. and the world (nothing Tier 1) it was time for a refresh anyway.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the XSTAT-30 Rapid Hemostasis System for use on humans. XSTAT is a product of RevMedX, which has been in use with the military for a few years, helping prevent death by exsanguination (ie bleeding out).