Preparedness and Survival Skills

I was debating whether to put this in training or here in Preparedness and Survival Skills. It is both, but this is good preparedness and survival skills for your family too.

Take Your Loved Ones to the Shooting Range

By Beth Alcazar // 07/17/2018

Beth_PP_Featured_7-17-18.jpg


There’s probably no greater responsibility or greater reward than taking your loved ones, especially your kids, to the shooting range. Teaching the people you love about safe, responsible gun ownership is part of our heritage, our education and our lives. It is an amazingly gratifying way to spend quality time together and to share knowledge, experience and confidence along with a healthy respect for firearms and the Second Amendment. So I always encourage people to be on the lookout for youth programs, family classes, date nights, shooting competitions and other opportunities to get friends and family out to the range.

Of course, getting folks to the shooting range is not always easy for every person or in every circumstance. Some people may not be able to go to the range for medical reasons. Some children may be too young or too little to handle firearms. In addition, some of the people you care about the most might not have any interest in training. They may not like guns, or they may not even support the right to keep and bear arms. Even so, you should still take them to the shooting range. And I don’t mean literally. I mean figuratively.

What I’m talking about is the importance and power of visualization. When you are at the range, do you just shoot at paper targets? Are those just random bullet holes, or are they chances to stop the threat? This is where the defensive mindset comes into play. While it is fun to shoot matches or try your hand (pun intended) at a poker-themed target, we cannot overlook the importance of defensive training methods. Isn’t that why many of us have guns and train in the first place: to be able to defend and protect lives?

We know that mindset and visualization have been used successful for sports, martial arts and even musical performance for many years. A study called “Positive Effects of Imagery on Police Officers’ Shooting Performance under Threat” was conducted by researchers in the Netherlands. It showed that these same mental imagery tactics can help during high-threat encounters.

Retired Navy SEAL chief and author Chris Sajnog reports that the Dutch researchers conducted before-and-after performance tests with 66 law enforcement officers and saw pretty dramatic results. He said, “After everyone shot a basic course to get their baseline, they were split into groups where some listened to an audio tape guiding them through mental imagery of a gunfight in which they performed flawlessly, and others listened to meaningless audio.

“After the audio session, both groups were then presented with a more dynamic scenario where the threat was now shooting back at them with Simunitions (small marking rounds). The group that listened to the guided imagery with a positive outcome consistently outperformed the group who listened to the unrelated audio.”

This research may have been done with professionals who train in these kinds of scenarios all the time, but it does not mean that it is something unheard of or too difficult for us regular folks to consider and to employ. If you think about it, these law enforcement officers were encouraged to focus on flawless performances and successful outcomes in which the bad guys were thwarted. Imagine how much more powerful it could be if you included the visualization of saving your life or the lives of your own children.

It’s all about perspective, really. Is training important to you? Are your family and your friends important to you? Then keeping your true training purposes in mind and imagining that everything you do is part of defending your loved ones can be a powerful training tool.

Always remember to take your loved ones to the shooting range. That mindset is what is going to make a difference in our training — and quite possibly in our lives.



 
Part of a good preparedness plan would be to have at least a basic class in first aid, and preferably additional training as well. Ideally, your group would have at least one if not more people who are professionals in the medical field. Part of your equipment should also include a well-stocked first aid/trauma kit.

Massdrop has a Rothco Military Trauma Kit available right now.
Rothco Military Trauma Kit | Price & Reviews | Massdrop

Be Ready for Any Emergency

Prepare for anything that comes your way with this comprehensive military trauma kit from Rothco—a company that’s been producing authentic military apparel since 1953. Featuring more than 190 different first-aid supplies, it has virtually everything you could think of to treat wounds, bites, infections, and more. It comes with a selection of bandages for anything from small cuts to large, gaping wounds; antiseptics and ointments to sterilize them; EMT shears to expose them; ammonia inhalants to revive fainted comrades; plus old standards like ice packs, aspirin, skin and eye wash, and a first-aid book to guide your way—and all of this is just scratching the surface. The backpack has one large compartment and multiple smaller pockets packed into a MOLLE-compatible nylon body.

AI7B7681_copy_20170707113712.jpg


AI7B7664_copy_20170707113709.jpg


AI7B7657_copy_20170707113711.jpg
 
Here’s the first aid kit I put together. Still a work in progress but it’s mostly finished. Your thoughts?
Good kit Charleh. The only thing you would need to do if you're on the move, is personalize it with your own particular needs like medications, etc. I like how you have items to help others out too. When I had my trailer, I bought a huge first aid kit because I figured camping and outdoor activities you can have a lot of injuries and I wanted to be prepared for others too.

Another thing to do is if you have pets is to have an animal first aid kit too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Charleh
Good kit Charleh. The only thing you would need to do if you're on the move, is personalize it with your own particular needs like medications, etc. I like how you have items to help others out too. When I had my trailer, I bought a huge first aid kit because I figured camping and outdoor activities you can have a lot of injuries and I wanted to be prepared for others too.

Another thing to do is if you have pets is to have an animal first aid kit too.
Good call. Luckily I don’t have any specific medical needs at this time. So I’m building it based on what I’m likely going to have to see in my area. Lots of drugs=naloxone. I’ve heard of a lot of violence here, so there’s a ton of gauze. And I’m either gonna buy a tourniquet or make one from paracord.

The thing about big first aid kits is there are likely some specialty items like sutures, tourniquets, poison extraction tools, etc. You gotta make sure you know exactly how to use all those fancy pieces in the kit. I know I need a refresher.
 
The thing about big first aid kits is there are likely some specialty items like sutures, tourniquets, poison extraction tools, etc. You gotta make sure you know exactly how to use all those fancy pieces in the kit. I know I need a refresher.
Yes, good point. One thing to think of too is this - military basically carry their own medical supplies, meaning not for use on someone else, but when the medic comes to them and they're hurt, the medic uses the wounded guy's kit to fix him up. I know guys who have in their EDC a trauma pack just in case they're ever involved in a shooting so someone can use the kit on them. If they're not hurt but the bad guy is, then they can use it on the bad guy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paulm and Charleh
Yes, good point. One thing to think of too is this - military basically carry their own medical supplies, meaning not for use on someone else, but when the medic comes to them and they're hurt, the medic uses the wounded guy's kit to fix him up. I know guys who have in their EDC a trauma pack just in case they're ever involved in a shooting so someone can use the kit on them. If they're not hurt but the bad guy is, then they can use it on the bad guy.
A lot of people completely forget that once the smoke clears, if your enemy, the guy who just shot at you is the casualty, you gotta tend to him. Good you brought that up.

Heh so medics rely on the other guy to have a kit?
 
Yes, good point. One thing to think of too is this - military basically carry their own medical supplies, meaning not for use on someone else, but when the medic comes to them and they're hurt, the medic uses the wounded guy's kit to fix him up.

Heh so medics rely on the other guy to have a kit?


S.O.P can be different for each type of unit. I was on LRS teams and while we each carried our own atropine injections as part of an NBC kit we really didn't carry much in the way of our own first aid, maybe slings and some small items, but each team had a combat life saver who carried a kit of sutures, quick clot, tourniquets etc... Basic get you home to a medic kind of stuff. But still fairly well equiped for what they could pack in, Now the medics in the field trains, they had it going on. Full capabilities to get you to the next level of care.
So this is dependant on unit type and training and availability / access to medical/mash units.etc....