First Aid Kit Contents and "BlowOut" Trauma Kits

During one my recent Concealed Weapons Permit courses, we were discussing the need for a good first-aid kit for the home or a vehicle. One of my students asked for a recommended list of contents.

The items listed below would form a good general first-aid kit. It would not be the kit that I would recommend for any severe injuries or penetration trauma (knife or gunshot wound), but would be excellent for the minor injuries that might occur in and around the home.

• Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, and aspirin tablets: For headaches, pain, fever, and simple sprains or strains. (Aspirin should not be used for relief of flu symptoms or given to children.)
• Ipecac syrup and activated charcoal: For treatment after ingestion of certain poisons. (Use only on advice of a poison control center or the emergency department.
• Elastic Wraps: For wrapping wrist, ankle, knee, and elbow injuries.
• Triangular Bandages: For wrapping injuries and making an arm sling.
• Scissors with rounded tips.
• Adhesive tape and 2" gauze: For dressing wounds.
• Disposable, instant ice bags: For icing injuries and treating high fevers.
• Bandages of assorted sizes: For covering minor cuts and scrapes.
• Antibiotic ointment: For minor burns, cuts, and scrapes.
• Gauze in rolls and in 2" and 4" pads: For dressing wounds
• Bandage Closures: 1/4" and 1 ": For taping cut edges together.
• Tweezers: To remove small splinters and ticks.
• Safety pins: To fasten bandages.
• Rubber or Nitrile gloves: to protect yourself and reduce the risk of infection when treating open wounds.
• First Aid Manual
• List of emergency telephone numbers.

If you are talking about being able to deal with severe injury or penetrating trauma, you might want to add the following items:

• Tournequets (2): These can be very effective in stopping severe blood loss from extremities and are completely safe if left in place for less than an hour. That generally is more than enough time to seek professional medical attention.
• Trauma Dressings (2): These are used to not only absorb blood but to also be of a type that would allow them to be packed into a wound. The key is to be able to apply pressure to slow the bleeding in the wound. The Bloodstopper dressing or a good multi-trauma dressing is recommended for this purpose
• Rolled Gauze Dressings (2): These should be sterile, disorganized, conforming rolled gauze. It should have a minimum width of 4". Kerlix gauze is a good example of this type of dressing.
  

Several pre-packaged kits or "BlowOut Kits" specifically for penetrating trauma are available on the market that work well for this purpose. Two examples are the TacPack Trauma Pack and the BattleLab Intervention Response Kit.

Defensive Firearms Drills - Intermediate Level

Recently one of my students asked, "What are some good defensive firearms drills". For an Intermediate level shooter, there are a number of drills that can help you become a more effective combat shooter.

I have listed several drills below and provided a brief explanation of how they work:

One Hole Drill

The objective of the "One Hole Drill" is to help the shooter develop good trigger control and sight picture skills. The way this three shot drill works is very simple. The shooter stands approximately 3 yards from the target and picks out a point.

The first shot is aimed at that point and the shot is fired. After the first shot, the shooter uses the hole in the target as the point of aim. The objective is to fire the second and third shots through the first hole. The perfect outcome would be a jagged 'cloverleaf' shaped hole in the target. If the shots are spread out in a larger group, the shooter needs to look at the placement of the holes to determine what he or she needs to work on.

For example, if shots 2 and 3 are located below the first hole, the shooter may be allowing their wrist to break down or is looking over the top of the gun sights to see where the shot will land. For a right-handed shooter, if the shots are going left or low and left of the first hole, the shooter is likely pulling the trigger abruptly back causing muzzle movement down and to the left. The shot placement for a left-handed shooter would be reversed, with shots 2 and 3 going low and to the right.

This is a great drill for helping to fix accuracy problems at distances of 5 to 10 yards. If the shots are spreading out a greater distances, the problem is most likely in the trigger press. By going back to 3 yards and working on this drill, you will get the correct feel of the trigger press which should result in better shots at greater distances.

Gunsite 'School Drills'

These drills are designed to allow the shooter to improve shooting accuracy and speed to different points on the target while working to keep the draw smooth and consistent. In all these 'school drills', the emphasis is on smoothness and consistency in the draw and presentation of the pistol. Accuracy is the first objective with speed coming as accuracy improves.

Head Shot - 3 yards -- Here the drill is to face the target at a distance of 3 yards, draw and fire two controlled shots into the cranial/ocular area of the target. The key objective of this drill is to have 100% accuracy. If you aren't consistently getting both shots in the target area, you need to SLOW DOWN. Head shots need to be 100% accurate in order to be effective. Once you have achieved 100% accuracy on 10 consecutive repetitions, then you can speed up. The objective is to be able to place two accurate shots from a draw in about 1.5 seconds.

Center Mass Shot - 5 yards -- Here the drill is to face the target at a distance of 5 yards, draw and fire two controlled shots into the center mass area of the target. The key objective of this drill is to have 100% accuracy. If you aren't consistently getting both shots in the target area, you need to SLOW DOWN. Once you have achieved 100% accuracy on 10 consecutive repetitions, then you can speed up. The objective is to be able to place two accurate shots from a draw in about 1.5 seconds.

Center Mass Shot - 10 yards -- Here the drill is to face the target at a distance of 10 yards, draw and fire two controlled shots into the center mass area of the target. The key objective of this drill is to have 100% accuracy. If you aren't consistently getting both shots in the target area, again, you need to SLOW DOWN. Once you have achieved 100% accuracy on 10 consecutive repetitions, then you can speed up. The objective is to be able to place two accurate shots from a draw in about 2.0 seconds. The time is increase since at 10 yards it will take you a little longer to get a good sight picture.

Braced Kneel Center Mass Shot - 15 yards -- Here the drill is to face the target at a distance of 15 yards, draw, drop to a braced kneel and fire two controlled shots into the center mass area of the target. The key objective of this drill is to have 100% accuracy. If you aren't consistently getting both shots in the target area, you need to SLOW DOWN. Once you have achieved 100% accuracy on 10 consecutive repetitions, then you can speed up. The objective is to be able to place two accurate shots from a draw in about 3.5 seconds.

Once these drills have been mastered while the shooter is stationary, you can introduce movement by taking a step to one side or the other while performing each drill. You'll be surprised at how much taking that one step will decrease your accuracy.

The key is practicing for smoothness in the draw, quick acquisition of the sight picture and good trigger control. These drills are most effective when you have a qualified pistol instructor watching and coaching you. Most good instructors will be able to quickly spot issues and offer suggestions on how to improve your draw and shooting accuracy.

Fourth Rule of Firearms Safety

Be aware of your target and what is beyond it.

Under no circumstances should you discharge your firearm at any target unless you are absolutely certain of your target and you have determined beyond any doubt that the target deserves to be shot. You must also be absolutely certain that your bullet will find a safe resting place if the shot misses or completely penetrates the target. You are responsible for the final resting place of every bullet that leaves the muzzle of your gun. There is a significant potential for criminal and civil liability if you do not obey this rule.

The first issue associated with this rule is being able to clearly and unequivocally state that the target you are aiming at deserves to be shot. You need to be able to clearly see the target and identify the validity of the threat by seeing that there is a weapon or other potentially lethal instrument about to be used against you or someone else. IF YOU CANNOT IDENTIFY THE TARGET OR A VALID LETHAL THREAT YOU SHOULD NOT SHOOT.

If you intend to carry a firearm at night, you should carry a flashlight in addition to your firearm. There is a very high statistical likelihood that any confrontation you might be involved in will occur at night. You cannot count on the fact that there will be enough ambient light to let you to clearly identify a potential threat. Having a flashlight could make the difference between a justified shooting and horrible accident.

In a future post, I will have a more detailed discussion on flashlights and what kind of lights are out there...

The second issue is being aware of the final resting place of any bullet that you fire in the direction of the target. This means that you should know what is behind the target in case your bullet fully penetrates the target, emerging on the other side.

You also need to take into consideration the possibility that you might (heaven forbid) miss the target. If you do…where will your bullet end up? If you shoot at the target and miss, but hit an unintentional target, your justification for shooting at the original target will not protect you from significant criminal or civil liability.

If you shoot an innocent person accidentally and kill them while engaged in an otherwise justified shooting, you will probably be charged with manslaughter under the very best of circumstances. You will also very likely be sued for “wrongful death” by the family of the person you shot. The financial liability could easily run into millions and you could end up spending as much as 10 years in prison.

If you plan to carry a firearm for personal defense, you really need to think long and hard about this last rule.

Third Rule of Firearms Safety

Keep your finger off the trigger until your firearm is on the target and you have made a conscious decision to shoot.

Under no circumstances should your finger be on the trigger of a firearm at any time EXCEPT when the firearm is on the target and you have made a conscious decision to fire at that target. Any other time your trigger finger should be resting on the frame of the pistol or rifle, parallel to the barrel.

Modern firearms have been designed and constructed in such a way that ‘accidental’ discharges are virtually impossible. Most firearms manufactured in the last ten years have a variety of safety features built in that prevent the firearm from discharging when it is dropped. Virtually the only way to cause a firearm to discharge is TO PULL THE TRIGGER!

Placing the trigger finger on the trigger prematurely can result in potentially lethal and/or destructive consequences. Human beings are subject to what is referred to as the ‘startle’ response. Essentially this is an instinctive reaction to being surprised by something or to being confronted by sudden danger. The typical reaction of most people is to tense their muscles and make a clutching motion with the hands in preparing to defend themselves.

If this ‘startle’ response occurs when you have a firearm in your hands and if your finger is on the trigger, the clutching motion can result in the trigger being pulled and the firearm discharging. A similar type of response can occur if a person begins falling. In an attempt to catch themselves during the fall, their arm and hand muscles can contract with the same effect, again possibly resulting in a discharge of the firearm should their finger be on the trigger prematurely.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR FINGER IS NOT ON THE TRIGGER UNLESS YOUR FIREARM IS ON THE TARGET AND YOU HAVE DECIDED TO SHOOT.

Second Rule of Firearms Safety

Never point the muzzle of a firearm at anything you are not prepared to destroy.

You should never cover anything or anyone, including yourself, with the muzzle of a firearm unless you are prepared to accept lethal or other potentially destructive consequences. This rule applies to ANY firearm at ALL times whether it is loaded or not.


As in the first rule, this rule must also be consistently applied. When this rule is followed religiously any lethal or destructive consequences can be virtually eliminated should the firearm discharge. Unfortunately, this rule is routinely violated in retail gun stores, on television and in movies.

If you are in proximity to someone who is in possession of a firearm and they point the muzzle in your direction you need to MOVE OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE IMMEDIATELY. In most states, simply pointing a gun in the direction of another is considered to be a FELONY whether the gun is loaded or not.

First Rule of Firearms Safety

All firearms are always treated as if they are loaded.

If you encounter a firearm, you should consider it loaded and treat it as such until you have personally determined by visual and physical inspection that the firearm is NOT loaded. Then and only then can you consider any firearm to be “safe”.

Consistent application of this rule is absolutely fundamental. Consider the following example: You see a semi-automatic pistol resting on a table. The slide is closed and a magazine is in place. There is no possible way to determine if the pistol is loaded or not without additional inspection.
You should always verify for yourself whether or not the pistol is loaded. DO NOT trust another’s word on the status of the firearm. There are countless examples of tragedies that have occurred because someone said “the gun isn’t loaded” and yet it was.

Firearms Safety Fundamentals

Firearms Safety is the single most important factor to consider for anyone who owns or plans to use a firearm.

Any activity that involves the use of firearms includes the potential for serious injury or death if adequate safety rules are not built into the equation.

It is for that reason that virtually all firearms training stresses that the fundamental rules of firearms safety must be consistently applied and become reflexive on the part of anyone engaged in the use of firearms.

Virtually all firearms training in the United States today recognizes the application of the Four Rules of Firearms Safety as codified by Col. Jeff Cooper in his “Modern Technique of the Pistol”.

Those four rules are:

Rule 1 -- All firearms are always treated as loaded firearms.

Rule 2 -- Never point the muzzle of a firearm at anything you are not prepared to destroy.

Rule 3 -- Keep your finger off the trigger until your firearm is on target and you have made a conscious decision to shoot.

Rule 4 -- Be aware of your target and what is beyond it.

In the posts that follow I will be discussing each of the Four Rules of Firearms Safety and it's application in detail...