I’ll start by stating that you may not want to watch the video above if you quiver at the sight of blood. The footage is from the responding officer’s badge cam and picked up after the man had already been shot.
Once the officer got onto the scene, the man had already lost a lot of blood. Someone had already wrapped a belt around the man’s wounded leg as an improvised tourniquet. The first thing the officer does is disarm the victim for their own safety. And we can see that it was a 2-shot revolver with an exposed trigger and no holster.
The officer then applies a tourniquet to the man’s leg. He doesn’t identify where the wound is and later wonders if the entry wound is above the tourniquet he applied. This could cause issues, as SkinnyMedic explains in his video. Regardless, this man’s life was saved by the quick action of the responding officer.
The first thing we will discuss here is carrying a gun in your pocket without a proper holster. We all should know that this is a huge no-no. The trigger guard must be protected no matter what position you are carrying in. And this is a perfect example of why. This man’s gun didn’t even have a trigger guard. Even if you carry a double-action revolver with a long trigger pull, it must be in a proper holster. Period. Don’t end up like this guy.
Secondly, you should always have medical supplies on you or within reach. And, at the very minimum, a tourniquet. In this video, we see that someone used a belt, but that won’t work 100% of the time. You should be carrying a tourniquet explicitly made to stop the bleeding. These days, many products will allow you to carry a tourniquet or a trauma kit without stuffing your pockets full of medical supplies.
Personally, I always have a trauma kit in a backpack that is usually always with me. This includes a tourniquet, hemostatic agent, gauze, chest seals, and medical shears. I carry this in a Walker Small Medical Pouch by Vertx. (Use coupon code USACARRY for 25% off everything at Vertx.) This allows me to grab the pouch and toss it into whichever bag I am using that day. I also carry extra gauze in the same section of the bag as my medical pouch.
I also have an ankle trauma kit known as an AFAK (Ankle First Aid Kit). I’ve tried a few different ones, and the one I get the best concealability with is the AFAK from Ryker Nylon Gear. I keep this loaded with the same supplies as the pouch I explained above. If I am wearing shorts, I try to at least have a tourniquet in a pocket or a holster that I can easily attach to my PHLster Enigma.
Whether you carry concealed or not, you should keep these supplies on you or within reach. You are more likely to need to use them at some point than your concealed carry gun. But you also need to know how to use the supplies. Is your tourniquet staged properly? Do you know how to apply the tourniquet? Do you know how to pack a wound? If not, it is time to fix that. Find a Stop the Bleed class or a TCCC course near you and get the proper training so you’ll know what to do should you find yourself in a situation where you need to use your trauma kit on yourself or someone else.
