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.