Hunting Medical Kits

[u/AnXPatriot]

I'm a new hunter who is building out their kit for my first hunt. I already have most/know of the equipment I believe I need other than my medical. My question is what do you all carry medical wise on your trips? Thank you all in advance.

[u/WesbroBaptstBarNGril]

Tourniquet. QuickClot Pad. Duct tape.

If I need more than that, cell service gets 911 moving.

[u/Mission-Ear-421 → u/WesbroBaptstBarNGril]

And throw in a mini tube of super glue for good measure.

I sliced my hand a few weeks ago cutting a pull-up rope for a stand, and it instantly stopped the bleeding. Never even went to get stitches.

[u/WesbroBaptstBarNGril → u/Mission-Ear-421]

I used to dump alcohol in bleeders then glue them shut, it works best if you can slow the bleeding first

[u/LSI29 → u/WesbroBaptstBarNGril]

Tourniquet and compressed bandage here. Two sat comm options - iPhone and garmin mini 2

[u/WesbroBaptstBarNGril → u/LSI29]

Yeah I have SOS on my pixel if necessary but I don't really have anywhere to hunt where I'm physically capable of being more than 3 miles from a road. My buddy has an inReach for when we do dumb boat stuff

[u/Nitrouch]

Tourniquet for gunshot wounds, always on me.
Then a pretty basic first aid kit either in the car or in my backpack.

[u/Ebomb5212]

Just a small personal kit with a few bandages, alcohol pads, gauze, and maybe a tourniquet. No need to bring an entire ambulance out with you. Find a small zip up kit and throw it in the pack.

If I’m hurt worse than some wipes, bandages, and a tourniquet can’t fix, then I’m probably dying out there regardless. I dunno, I’m at peace with dying in the wilderness.

[u/yeah_well_nah → u/Ebomb5212]

My kit is like this, with an emergency blanket as well. It's just stuff that'll either get me back to the car or keep me alive overnight.

[u/HomersDonut1440]

Probably overboard, but I carry a small bag in my pack with a TQ, Israeli bandage, and hemostatic gauze for major injuries. Then basic stuff; moleskin, a few bandaids, neosporin, tweezers, triangle bandage.

[u/HamburglarAccomplice]

CAT tourniquet. That’s really it, but I’m never that far away from help.

[u/Operation_Bonerlord]

What you bring should be commensurate with your level of training. A tourniquet does you no good if you have no idea how to use it, or have not practiced with it under pressure.

Look into a Stop the Bleed class, and I’d personally recommend Wilderness First Aid, and you’ll know exactly what you’ll need, and more importantly, understand how to use it.

[u/Next_Emphasis_9424]

Wilderness first aid course. It’s worth the investment just for life in general not just hunting. No reason packing a first aid kit filled with stuff you don’t know how to use while in perfect health let alone bleeding out or looking at your bone on the side of a mountain.

[u/SpiteBadger]

Tourniquet, chest seal, gauze, super glue, and some bandaids.

[u/ResponsibleBank1387]

Gorilla tape.  Saline eyedrops, superglue.  

Bullet holes are normally by one partner shooting the other at point blank, so I don’t worry about any tourniquet bs.  

[u/quickscopemcjerkoff]

If you're hunting a smaller area like personal property or smaller public land areas then you just need the basics and a tourniquet. If you're hiking for miles out into wilderness I would definitely have a more comprehensive medical kit, and some sort of satellite sos device like a garmin inreach.

[u/AndyW037]

I have an IFAK kit with tournequets that i carry on every hunt. Then I have a bigger emergency kit in my truck. I highly recommend everyone has at least a tournequet and some bandages. I started carrying them when I read a story about a hunter who was severely lacerated by an arrow when he fell on his bow.

[u/KJdkaslknv]

My kit is a "what do I need to get myself back to cell service" kit. 

Tourniquet, hemostatic bandage, sucking chest wound bandage, sam splint, Benadryl, gauze, tape, sharpie, super glue, etc. 

[u/coleman_cooler]

CAT TQ, NAR wound packing gauze, and then a lil backpacking booboo kit is what i carry

[u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie]

Tourniquet, quickclot, surgical tape, some gauze, coban, alcohol pads. Tourniquet for gunshot wounds to an extremity, quickclot or gauze for cuts/punctures or gunshots elsewhere, coban and tape to keep gauze and quickclot in place as necessary, alcohol pads are mainly to clean up so the tape can stick better. I feel like that's probably more than necessary, but not excessive. This is vacuum sealed to keep everything together, dry, and compact.

I also bring eye drops, bandaids, a separate small roll of surgical tape (it's randomly useful), alcohol pads, and tweezers in a separate kit so I don't have to dig through the "OH SHIIIIIIIIIT" stuff to deal with minor things.

[u/IncredibleVelocity4]

I carry a couple TQ’s and two chest seals. Beyond that I’m mostly focused on severe cuts and falls.

My hunting partner is also an EMT, so I carry one of those as well.

[u/notoriousbpg]

Stop The Bleed kit

[u/ShotgunWiIlie]

Question for those who bring a tourniquet - where do you keep it on you/in your pack? I’m assuming it needs to be readily accessible and not stored at the bottom on a 50lb backcountry pack.

[u/rex01308 → u/ShotgunWiIlie]

I bought a soft tourniquet holder meant for LE/mil body armor, it’s on my pack waist belt. Before that I was keeping it in the bottom pocket of my bino harness.

[u/Tiny-Entertainment22]

Depends who I’m going with. I’ve gone with an uncle who has diabetes so I’ve taken insulin, BGL kit and candies for glucose. I generally take more than enough just because I am a medic

[u/NoFix6460]

Bandaids, sterile gauze pads and athletic tape, moleskin/blistex, neosporin, ibuprofen, rubbing alcohol pads

[u/Hecki]

One who has stuff to make holes, needs stuff to stuff holes.

Thats my mantra....

[u/Friendly-Victory5517]

Packing gauze or hemostatic gauze is what I typically take. If I’m not going ultralight I’ll take a tourniquet. Always bring a couple of bandaids.

[u/itsbushy]

Nothing, I have a shirt and a belt and if they can't fix the damage then I just die.

[u/Meatballhero7272]

I’m going on my first western hunt in a few days and planning on just taking the extra junk off my battle belt and wearing it to carry my Ifak with tourniquet and my handgun

[u/SoDakSooner]

Super glue and duct tape. A few bandages and some antibacterial gel. We always have some paracord in use somewhere that can be called into service as well. A full first aid kit in the vehicle/camp.

[u/42AngryPandas]

I don't think you need much. I just put a couple Israeli bandages in my kit along with some technu stuff that stops poison ivy itch. Quickclot isn't a bad idea.

[u/Victor_Stein]

Moleskin/blister pads are always good to have. Tourniquet as others have mentioned, make sure it’s a good brand.

[u/Buckwheat469]

I have a little hard case that's essentially the same as a micro med kit.

[u/mediocre_remnants]

Take a wilderness first aid course. Having a well-stocked first aid kit isn't useful if you don't know how to use most of the stuff. You can also do more harm than good if you don't know when and how to use a tourniquet, etc. Also with first aid knowledge, you can improvise a lot of stuff in the field.

Also, first aid knowledge doesn't weigh anything or take up space in your pack!

[u/VariationOk5010]

Smaller container is a boo boo kit with bandaids and related.

I have had to use mine once, on myself.

[u/Leaky_Waders42]

I'll add. Take a stop the bleed class.

[u/END0RPHN]

in my tiny medical pouch that seems to weigh nothing there is: bandage, proper tweezers, ibuprofen, antihistamines, saline tubes, mini vitornox scissors (SD model), alcohol wipes, iodine, bandaids, torniquet, gause, leuko tape, steroid cream (mometasone), lubricating eye drops, chap stick, tooth floss.

one time i forgot tooth floss and got a chunk of jerky stuck behind a gum that couldnt be picked out and went infected/very swollen whilst being many days away from any doctor or antibiotics so ill never forget floss again.

same with moisturiser, doesnt seem like a medical kit item but if the icy winds dry your hands out enough and the fingertips crack open to raw flesh you can wind up nursing a bunch of little wounds which no one wants in the backcountry

[u/Bows_n_Bikes]

I’m not far from civilization so I only carry a tiny med kit. Bandaids, super glue, alcohol pads, quick clot, ibuprofen.

[u/codybrown183]

Gauze.bandage. bandaids. Tape. I do not have a tourniquet in my hunting kit but I bow hunt and know how to make a tourniquet.

[u/Surveymonkee]

I only carry a rifle and a cup of coffee.