I was discussing this subject on another forum, mostly regarding ATV riding way way out, but it applies to hunting too, so I thought I would see what you all thought.
Last week while ATV'ng, a buddy of mine went over backwards on his machine, and I thought he was a goner... He's a big boy at 300+ lbs, and had a 600lb machine land on him full out. We were a days' ride out, and at the bottom of a 800' ravine, so no cell phone signal. It could have been a bad situation but it turned out he was very very lucky, (no major injuries, but a lot of other stuff), and after a while getting him patched up and settled down, I got him home ok... but I started thinking after that.
One thing that came of the accident.... Being new to ATV's, I realized afterwards that the first aid kit I carried was not adequate for the kind of injuries that could possibly be sustained out there.
One of the first things I did was beef up my kit a couple orders of magnitude. I am certainly not a doctor, but I do have (or should say have had) a lot of f/aid training in the past, much of which I still remember and use. I'm thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a refresher or take additional training.
I ride with a couple or three guys usually, and we get "out there" a long ways sometimes. It's possible to need to stabilize a serious injury and still be a full day or even two to get to hospital, or get help on the scene.
That means that the "first aid" component has long since passed, and much more could be needed. There are some very good Wilderness survival medical training type courses out there that go beyond basic first aid. F/A is good, but depending on where you go and what you do, more is better.
Not that I'm paranoid of someone getting hurt, but I always like to be prepared. Be careful out there!
Last week while ATV'ng, a buddy of mine went over backwards on his machine, and I thought he was a goner... He's a big boy at 300+ lbs, and had a 600lb machine land on him full out. We were a days' ride out, and at the bottom of a 800' ravine, so no cell phone signal. It could have been a bad situation but it turned out he was very very lucky, (no major injuries, but a lot of other stuff), and after a while getting him patched up and settled down, I got him home ok... but I started thinking after that.
One thing that came of the accident.... Being new to ATV's, I realized afterwards that the first aid kit I carried was not adequate for the kind of injuries that could possibly be sustained out there.
One of the first things I did was beef up my kit a couple orders of magnitude. I am certainly not a doctor, but I do have (or should say have had) a lot of f/aid training in the past, much of which I still remember and use. I'm thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a refresher or take additional training.
I ride with a couple or three guys usually, and we get "out there" a long ways sometimes. It's possible to need to stabilize a serious injury and still be a full day or even two to get to hospital, or get help on the scene.
That means that the "first aid" component has long since passed, and much more could be needed. There are some very good Wilderness survival medical training type courses out there that go beyond basic first aid. F/A is good, but depending on where you go and what you do, more is better.
Not that I'm paranoid of someone getting hurt, but I always like to be prepared. Be careful out there!
