One of the most important and life-saving tools that you should always have in your range bag is a tactical IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) and trauma kit. Death due to massive hemorrhaging is a very real concern when it comes to gunshot wounds, but it can be prevented if you have the right tools and equipment with you and they are used quickly and properly.
There are typically three different kinds of tools included with quality IFAKs to help stop bleeding and prevent massive hemorrhaging:
- Tourniquets – a strap that you tighten around the affected area to stop the flow of blood from the wound
- Pressure dressings – a thick pad of absorbent bandage covering the bleeding wound and held in place with a nonadherent wrap bandage (this applies and maintains pressure on the wound to stop it from bleeding without you having to manually apply and hold pressure yourself)
- Hemostatic agent – a gauze that comes with a particular substance that promotes blood to clot when placed on a bleeding wound
When you make your decision to purchase a first aid tactical kit, be sure that your kit includes at least one of those three tools above.
Here are three highly rated IFAK medical kits that you can stick into your range bag.
1. Northbound Train First Aid Kit, Fully Stocked IFAK
The Northbound Train First Aid Kit, Fully Stocked IFAK offers premium contents in this water resistant/waterproof tactical first aid kit. Designed by a U.S. Marine, this first aid kit is effective, ultra lightweight, and small and portable. It has everything you need in just the right quantities to help you survive a variety of situations. It is also MOLLE-compatible and can easily be implemented into your MOLLE system.
Kit Includes:
(1) 6″ Stainless Steel Shears
(1) Stainless Steel Tweezers
(1) Mylar Emergency Blanket
(1) Triangular Bandage
(4) PVC Protective Gloves (1) Medical Tape
(1) Conforming PBT Bandage
(1) Large Adhesive Wound Dressing
(4) Large Gauze Pads
(4) Medium Gauze Pads
(4) Antiseptic Towelettes
(4) Alcohol Towelettes
(3) Sting Relief wipes
(10) Medium Adhesive Bandages
(5) Small Adhesive Bandages
(5) Butterfly Bandages
(5) Safety Pins
(2) Large Laminate Bags for Contents
(2) Medium Laminate Bags for Contents
(5) Poly bags for medicine
2. Tactical Medical IFAK Kit with Advanced Clotting Sponge
The Tactical Medical IFAK Kit with Advanced Clotting Sponge is a tough, waterproof pouch that contains only the essential items needed for stopping a bleed quickly, allowing you to act fast because you don’t have a ton of equipment to dig through. This specific trauma kit contains a hemostatic dressing that stops bleeding three times faster by accelerating your body’s natural clotting process with zeolite, making it one very effective, potentially life-saving kit to keep in your range bag.
Kit Includes:
- (1) Advanced Clotting Sponge (Zeolite)
- (1) 5″ x 9″ Trauma Pad
- (1) Pair Nitrile Gloves, One Hand Wipe
- (1) 2″ x 26″ Duct Tape
- (1) Triangular Bandage
- (1) 4″ x 4″ Sterile Gauze Dressing Pkg./2
- (1) 2″ x 2″ Sterile Gauze Dressing Pkg./2
- (1) 3″ Conforming Gauze Bandage
- (4) After Cuts & Scrapes Antiseptic Wipe (Lidocaine Hydrochloride, Benzalkonium Chloride)
- (1) Re-Sealable Bag for Bio-Waste and Sucking Chest Wounds