Pheasant hunter dies in California

I read a horrible story today that a 65 y/o pheasant hunter was shot in the leg the other day, and bled out from the wound. They called for the helicopter to get him but it was 25 minutes out but he was dead when they got there. Got me thinking, how many of us are trained in CPR/First aid, and how many carry a first aid kit when out and about? It seems to me that it might be logical to include CPR/FA training during the hunter safety courses since, at least here in Pa. we are required to accompany kids to the training. Probably little chance to save this guy if his femoral artery was hit, but I would at least want to try everything I could before the squad gets there. I for one, am ordering a Meditac EMT kit to have available in the unfortunate event something really bad happens. What does everyone have for a F/A kit and do you carry it in your truck?

 

I know nothing about CPR or first aid, it's been on the list of skills to acquire. However I carry a North American Rescue mini first aid kit in all of our vehicles, and it has a tourniquet and blood clot and gauze, etc. If we go shooting it's always there, all our offroad vehicles have one strapped to the cage, etc.

 

CPR recertification was done a last year. I took a WFR course about 3 years ago. Wouldn't hurt to get recertified in that as well. Most of these certs only last 2 or 3 years. I'm of the opinion that training for rescue and first aid should be commonplace if you recreate outside often. Kinda like being able to fix your truck if it breaks down on a trail. I see it as a need.

 

My shotgun sling is made of CATs and I carry a very basic FAK. I'm not much of a hunter but if I can help someone on the road with what I have available I won't hesitate to do so. Luckily I've never had to.

 

I was an ER nurse for 14 years. In the field CPR, the Heimlich and how to tourniquet an extremity would be most helpful. If something is bleeding, hold enough pressure to make it stop until help arrives. Call 911 first, then render aid.

 

https://youtu.be/K63AVSCPcSI


Jk, keep these and quikclot on my person and in all vehicles, especially for chainsawing activities.

 

The Body.

 

Been on the campus trauma team for a few years and I volunteer to get recertified in CPR every year/2 years. I am always concerned when I see the lack of teachers volunteer for certification considering we are around a lot of kiddos throughout the day.

I also have first aid kits in the house & vehicles.

 

STRAP that on your :?! !!!!

 

If you're going to be in a remote or rural area, it is also a good idea to ensure you have some way to get your gps coordinates and communicate them to emergency services. First aid may get you out of immediate danger, but if it takes 4 hours for help to find you, you're gonna have a bad time.

 

Wife wants a CPR course, basic stuff was taught pretty well when I was in junior high and later on with the fire department.

I've kept a first aid kit in my car or truck since 2003. Haven't been hunting in over a decade but that'd be a good thing to keep in one's pack.

Once used a sling to bandage up an HVAC guy's finger that he did a number on with a hole saw. Amazingly he didn't fall off the ladder he was on. Talk about a "cluster----." That was a crazy event! Me with a leg in a cast and on crutches treating that very freaked out and very bloody guy! NATURALLY I had my dad's truck that day and didn't transfer my kit over to it. Their "company truck" kit was just a couple of dried out Bandaids and that sling. Dude bled all over me but I guess he didn't have any blood borne diseases as I had an open cut too. Gloves? Who wears gloves? LOL

Great thing about CPR classes is EVERYONE gets the flu because, well, Rescue Annie just lies there and lets everybody kiss her!

 

Last time I heard about non-healthcare worker or bystander CPR classes they were teaching chest compressions only. Fast and hard. Around 100 compressions per minute. Oddly that's the same tempo as the Beegee's "Stayin Alive". Also the tempo for Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust". No rescue breaths unless a second bystander was present and a safety mask was available. They also usually teach the Heimlich at the same time.

 

In the past I would have given CPR (including rescue breaths) to a stranger but given the amount of drug addicts wandering around, FORGET IT. They look or act like a user I will do as Saint Fauci preached: "social distance."

I was on a hunting trip, not with these other guys, but two other guys were there. One had shot a deer with a bow and (naturally) it ran off. I uncapped my muzzleloader and joined in the search UNTIL the dude with the shotgun behind me loads a round into the chamber.

Me: "hey man, unload your chamber, I don't need a slug in my back." Him: "on no! I'm staying loaded, we might jump a deer." Me: "I'm out and going home, you ain't shooting me in the back" and I left.

That was the last time I saw either of those guys and I never got invited to hunt on that land again, which was fine by me.

Colorado TJ, sorry about your dad, hope he recovered. Drunk hunters should be shot on sight.

 

Even w/a femoral hit, a properly applied tourniquet would've probably saved that dude or at least bought him some more time....

This is a great topic!!!!

Basic first aid and CPR classes are a good start, but for those that play (or for those that are around those that play) I'd suggest you shoot for a civilian level field trauma course... A good trauma course will cost you a little money, but actually being able to go hands on in a practical sense w/the training you're receiving and using the tools that you'll be relying on to save someone's (or your own) life makes a huge difference; especially during extremely stressful conditions.

If you have a first aid/trauma kit and haven't opened it up.. do so!!! *** All except the items that are meant to remain sterile. Regarding these items, buy extras, and open a couple up and see what they are about ***

You don't want the first time you take your tourniquet out of a package to be when someone is leaking out on you... Take it out of the plastic, manipulate it, get proficient enough with it to deploy it and put it on one handed and w/your eyes closed; and then when you're done, secure it an approved holder for future deployment in the same configuation every time... *** I wouldn't recommend cranking it down to the point where you're cutting off blood flow to an extremity unless you're being trained by a professional or have the appropriate experience as you can cause some injury or damage to yourself or others *** ... but it doesn't hurt to deploy it from it's holster/storage, open it, slip it on, tighten the strap, set up the windlass, and start to apply a few cranks to see how the device works (and how tight it really needs to be to work)

There's a saying (mantra) in combat trauma that basically tells you what you need for most 'trauma'...

Tourniquet the Limbs, Pack the Junctions and Seal the Box!!!

So, if you have an arterial bleed on the limbs apply a tourniquet.

'Junctions' refer to where the neck meets the shoulders, arms meet the arm pits and the legs meet the groin... Since you can't apply a tourniquet to these areas, you must stop the bleed by applying pressure or a hemostatic agent or a combination of the two. So, to 'pack the junctions' you'll need guaze, combat guaze w/quick clot, etc. and the pressure you can provide w/your hands, or by packing, wrapping and tying off...

'Sealing the box': Collar bone to the pelvis and all the way around the trunk is considered the box. Any penetrating wounds to the 'box' should be 'sealed' off using a non-pourous occlusive 'vented' dressing is available. This type of dressing allows pressure to be released passively to prevent build up of exceesive pressure... However, you must know the signs of a tension pneumothorax and be constantly monitoring the patient for signs and indicators this is happening. Just because you have the proper dressing in place over the penetrating injury doesn't mean it will always work as intended. It's critical you know what to look for and how to address it if pressure does begin to build up in 'the box'.... but you need proper practical training for this!!!

None of this is hard or extremely technical to learn. You just have to get yourself into some good training and gain the knowledge, experience and confidence

Trust me... it's really more difficult and probably more technical to do a drain n fill on our transmissions than it is to learn 'basic' combat trauma!

Here's a link to a website that offers/arranges training in various locations and the link will take you to a page that talks about the above info in a bit more depth...

https://darkangelmedical.com/blog/t...FumIQVtO9LkSfq4LRRtgXmUELbOlx1VXNc5aXSshxEx3v

North American Rescue is also another good source of products and information.

https://www.narescue.com/?campaigni...jOuyQ-IgXWO2yDmd81dG3a8Vq4qt08RMaAkVpEALw_wcB

You can also reach out to your local Fire Departments, National Guards, VFWs, etc... as a lot of these entities will periodically host training or will be willing to arrange training at little or no cost to you in your area!!!!! You simply have to put yourself out there and ask

The above links will also advise of various online programs/training, and while that's better than nothing... do you best to get yourself into some hands-on practical training. The life you save may be your own, someone you love, or a stranger you happen to come across that needs help!!!!

 

It might have been this website but it seems someone talked about medical helicopter insurance. Would be nice not to be out 100 grand for such an ambulance ride.....

 

Search Air Medical Membership or Life Flight Network Membership...

 

I have to maintain current cpr/aed/first aid certification for my profession. I am also an American heart association bls instructor. It’s definitely something that has come in handy and teaching the classes have helped keep the skills fresh. I have also taken the stop the bleed class and am an instructor for that.

I have been conditioned to believe it’s a good idea to carry a med kit / crash bag, especially if you work in a school setting. My crash bag has evolved over the years and includes the following:

Wound seals
Tourniquets
Some basic meds (baby aspirin, Tylenol, aleve, Benadryl, advil, etc)
Epi-pen
Moldable splints
Various types of tape
Ace bandages
Airway management supplies
Gauze and gloves
Sling
Pulse oximeter and BP cuff / stethoscope
Saline bottle

The reality is that people sometimes believe that the only thing they can do is call 911 and wait. Obviously, in emergency or unknown situations, it is always a good idea to activate EMS. However, even in the worst situations, there are things that can be done to help increase the likelihood of a good outcome. Most states protect the public who are trying to help by implementing “Good Samaritan” laws.

There is some really good research (backed by statistics) that suggest hands only cpr is very effective in most situations. Understanding that there are people who are nervous about performing rescue breaths on a stranger, the hands only training is very basic and increases the chance of survival for someone suffering from a cardiac arrest exponentially. I suppose it is almost second nature for me at this point in my life / career / training, but I have always advocated for people to receive the training (especially aed). The likelihood that you will need to use it is probably slim…..but in most cases it will be to someone you know and love. I have had to use my crash bag multiple times at work, but also at home…..and having that level of experience and training is reassuring in the event that it is necessary.

 

Smart move getting out of that situation. Here in jersey there was a deer hunting accident in which a son walking behind his father had an accidental discharge and the father died. I think the father was a law enforcement officer. Gut wrenching sadness. I don’t remember this being engrained into our brains having to be unloaded while walking behind a group 30-40 years ago when we started but hearing about these accidents it’s definitely a normal practice nowadays.

 

There was a thread here recently about people who carry daily on their person. They all thought it was the best idea to carry with one in the chamber, even on firearms with no external safety mechanisms present. I argued against the practice as it invites accidents like these. They all thought it was necessary to be able to quickly carry out their vigilante justice scenarios. Oddly the conversation started because of a series of accidents with one style of firearm that people were carrying around loaded….

 

I dated Annie in High School. I just carried a pack of Alcohol Wipes with me and swiped her before each "kiss!"

 

Lots of good advice here.

Training, training and more training is the only thing that will save a life.


Whenever I travel internationally I've always had a policy from https://medjetassist.com/ for a just in case scenario. I've only had to use it once and I'll say it was well worth it. Flew home from the middle of nowhere in Guatemala at no extra cost to me. Went into Surgery when I got home.

 

And yet, revolvers don't have "external safety mechanisms."

"carry out their vigilante justice scenarios"...that's what it is....there is no such thing as "crime," there are just people that wish there was crime so they can justify taking a life. Right.

I don't think a reply about how guns work is applicable because there seems to be a certain perception to overcome....

***
John Correia of Active Self Protection fame (Youtube) advocates carrying a first aid kit on one's person. I think his is carried on his ankle.

 

So that's why she always tasted like grain alcohol...

 

There must have been something wrong with the alcohol wipes at my jr. high because even though poor Annie was basically drowned in alcohol after each lip lock session about a week later there was a big outbreak of flu in school. Seemed concentrated for those in 9th grade Health class....LOL

 

There was such a case that made the news in my area a few years prior to my incident (or incident avoidance, depending on how one looks at it). Father and son out hunting, son blasts dad very close in the back with a .410. Dad lived a short time afterwards and then died. Could you imagine?

I've never "jumped a deer" when hunting and I think anyone being able to get on target in time, walking through the woods (brush), just isn't going to happen, but they are convinced it is....just avoid morons. Don't have them in your life. "Don't go to stupid places, don't do stupid things, don't have stupid friends."

 

My truck has a decent trauma kit in it. I also have a pretty extensive pack for family trips or larger groups. My daypack has a smaller kit designed to get me back to the truck or survive until help arrives. I figure my biggest risks in the bush are cuts, gunshot wounds and broken ankles.

On the outside of my pack is where the kit lives. It has a tourniquet, Israeli bandage, QuikClot, chest seals, gloves, space blanket, shears and 3 triangular bandages with safety pins. With that I can stop bleeding, seal a chest wound and improvise slings and splints. That's enough to hopefully live long enough to either get to help or have help arrive after smashing the SOS button on my InReach.

 

I'll be doing that to the missus tonight based on your recommendation.

 

Don't seal it so well you can't get it open again...

 

Newer research is showing that the act of compressing the chest is generally enough gas exchange during CPR to keep everything happy. There is also a TON of skill required to properly keep a airway open and get air into the lungs.

I would maybe give rescue breaths to a very small kid, my wife, few family members. There are also very few people that I will work on without protection. I will guide a victims family member in what to do but the risk of blood born pathogens is one I am willing to take. (even if it is very low).