Accidents involving firearms on shooting ranges are rare, but The Arizona Rifleman has some tips just in case. Most accidents don’t involve someone getting shot, but you might remember my friend Jason had his M950 blow up on him once. It’s not common, but it does happen. The worst injury I’ve ever gotten on the range was putting a staple through my finger tacking a target up to the cardboard target holder.
10 thoughts on “Range First Aid”
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As much as I would like to take a tactical-gun class and run around in elbow-pads shooting things with my Carbine, I’d also like to take a tactical-medical class and learn treatment options and methods – use of things like clotting agents and the stuff that medics do.
Add to the medkit something to take care of bee or wasp stings, when using an outdoor range. Oddly enough, nests of stinging bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets and (for all I know) snarling blugbeasts react angrily to the noise, percussion and fireball of a gun shooting near their homes.
Especially if you are allergic, some Benedryl is recommended.
A Hampton Roads gun range recently had a small explosion caused by improper housecleaning and improper storage of swept up gun powder residue. Just because you are safe at the range, and every other shooter at the range is safe, doesn’t mean nothing can happen.
On a related note, if you feel like the range where you shoot doesn’t take care of the place properly, the consequences of that can be much more severe than you might originally think.
That’s interesting. I wasn’t aware that powder residue still had anything left to burn in it.
IIRC from my instructor class, the most common injury at a range is a slip and fall. So it probably doesn’t hurt to keep an ace bandage in the car. Not that I have a habit of slipping and falling or anything…
I once smashed my thumb between the bolt and the scope. Does that count?
Mikee: (Un)fortunately, I’m not allergic to anything that I’m aware of, and so can’t get a perscription for an epi-pen. I do have some Bennadryl in my first aid kit for allergies, as well other OTC drugs (ibuprofen, aspirin, etc.) for minor aches and pains. I really like the Claritin D self-dissolving tablets (no water required, they dissolve in the mouth), but have been too lazy to go to the store.
Bitter: You’re absolutely right. Slips and falls are quite common. An ace bandage or two, as well as a SAM splint (in case a bone is broken) are inexpensive and effective.
First aid kits don’t need to be fancy or expensive. I tend to shoot in moderately remote areas (30+ minutes from a city, about 45 minutes from a hospital, out of the range of cell service), so my box-o-band-aids has stuff for both minor injuries (cuts, falls, etc.) and more serious things (getting shot), without going past the limit of my knowledge and ability to use the stuff.
Excellent post, here. I especially liked the part about anti-allergens. Now I have to get out to the store, and get some for my own li’l kit.
Oh yeh, M1-thumb can happen (we’re a CMP club) – and we have rattlesnakes.
i use a ziplock bag to hold adhesive tape, bandaids, 4x4s, generic neosporin tube, ibuprofin and acetominophin. rolled up, it’s about the same size as a rolled up dish towel and fits nicely in the bottom pocket of my range bag. it’s come in handy several times, including one time for me when i discovered how sharp my pocket knife is.
i’ll have to add some claritin and an ace bandage or two, those are good ideas I hadn’t thought of.