Debated about posting this, but I think it is good for our discussion.

Karl and Ian have a YouTube channel ("InRange") (no association) dedicated to various firearms and related topics. They work out of Arizona, and shoot in the remote desert. Recently there was a range accident that severely injured Ian. No safety violation, but an unexpected out of battery detonation that put shrapnel into Ian.

They made a video about their experiences with first aid, what medical equipment they had (and weaknesses in their kits), and getting to medical help, and future increases in their preps, even though they were better prepared, maybe way more so, then the average person.

A 30+ min video, but I think it is well worth watching, and discussing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FhFw86Xk7o&t=2s

Good share.

I've said it before but I'll say it again: Training. Without training the wound they describe could easily have caused a fatality, especially as far as they were from definitive medical care. With training, it turned into a lessons learned situation.

My training, apparently, is somewhat different from the treatment they described, as I would have had and used a hemostatic bandage to pack the wound before applying the compression bandage. Also, compression bandages give better compression if knots are tied directly above the wound rather than on the opposite side. That may not have been possible for that particular wound and bandage however.

Once you are trained have the gear on you. Sometimes having the gear in the car is just too darn far away.

Agreed. Training is far more important than gear. ideally, both will be present.

Two more things that aren't stressed enough:

Practice.

Don't practice with your "carry" tourniquet -- buy a trainer or "demote" an older TK to trainer status and never carry it for live use. Ditto for chest seals, compression bandages, wound-packing gauze, and so on. Obviously some of these things have very limited reusability even in training.

Re-train.

The knowledge and skills you gain from training are perishable. Also the training curriculum may change as CoTCCC (in particular) learns more about what does and does not work in the real world. I've taken a number of trauma classes from several instructors and learned something new at each one.

Interesting video, they did a pretty good AAR that will hopefully get some of their followers to adjust what they carry, get some training and change some behaviors to be better prepared for a medical emergency. One of the key points they made was how much more likely it will be that you are involved in an incident requiring medical equipment and training verse a firearm and training.

There is a trend in the shooting community of inadequate medical training and equipment despite the high risk nature of the activity. Dark Angel Medical recently posted a video refuting the idea that a feild expedient tourniquet made from a belt is effective. Yet, the most common heard excuse for not carrying a tourniquet is "I have one every day, I wear a belt". You can make an effective field expedient tourniquet, but it takes practice and a good commercial tourniquet will usually be quicker and more effective.

The video hit on the 3 key factors to responding to an emergency:
1. Training... Get some and practice.
2. Equipment... Re-evaluate what you carry based on a risk assessment of your activities, where you are doing them and who you are with.
3. Have a plan... What is the plan for communications, evacuation, etc. Do you know where the closest hospital is? Do you know how to communicate your location to 911?

Forgot to add... please don't start a wildfire with your signaling methods.

Well, I finally watched the video and I want a gold star.

They take way to long to make an obvious point - that first aid training will come in handy some day, in very unpredictable ways. True enough, but it does not require thirty minutes of two guys in love with the sound of their voices to convey that important message.