Range Medical

We take to the range prepared for an opportunity to exercise, grow and develop our skills and understanding of marksmanship, gun-handling and even sometimes steal away a chance to test our skill sets in contest with others, but we often do this against a background of unconscious incompetence of the dangers that can surface while we have a good time. Our new man “Lunchbox” takes a cold-hard look at how you can prepare for those “SHTF” moments…

We don’t know what we don’t know until it is often too late and a mishap occurs and the discharge of a firearm leads to injury. Are you prepared to manage a friend or family member with a gunshot wound? Are you prepared to provide self-aid? Do you carry the necessary medical skills and equipment to do such?

If you have not taken the time to prepare for the worse in a controlled environment, what makes you think you are prepared for that moment of truth on the street when violence erupts and you have only half prepared? Take a sobering moment, even two, and examine the need to marry your skill at arms with the equally important life-saving skills and understanding of practical first aid and the use of medical devices designed for gunshot wounds.

Never lose track that while firearms use constitutes a good time, it is also a serious one never to be lost track of. When the golden rules of the range are not enough to ensure safety your medical skills and supplies must be ready to take up the difference.

Here’s where to start:

1. Have a plan. Know where the nearest hospital and medical facilities are situated in relation to your range and be prepared to call for EMS services and render aid until they arrive. Make sure all members of your party know the range address so they all can call for help and assist.

2. Plan for the worst case scenario. If you are shooting at a location unaddressed, plan for such. Be ready to provide transport in the most dire of cases. Game out what is possible and think ahead.

3. Have at the ready all the supplies you might need to manage ballistic wounds. At a minimum, here is a starting list of supplies to have organized and at ready access each time you find yourself at the range: 

a. Tourniquet(s) 

b. Compression Bandages 

c. Gauze for Wound Management 

d. Needle to Treat Tension Pneumothorax