My friend Yuriy B. was at a USPSA match last Sunday when the worst case scenario happened. Someone got shot.
I was 4 stages in, just starting the 5th stage when something tragic happened today at a USPSA match. A guy on another squad caught a projectile in the chest. I’m not 100% sure what exactly happened, but it was bad. Lots of blood, went into shock and became unconscious. With a hundred panicked people with many who ran over to help, some with med kits, but only a couple knew what to actually do to try to keep the guy vital until paramedics arrived.
Now driving home it really got me to thinking…. how many carry proper med kits for gun shot wounds, and if so do you have any real training on how to use it when the crap hits the fan?
My answer is no, and I plan on changing that soon as this was a real eye opener that the sport/ hobby we do is in fact very dangerous and shit happens.
According to a fellow shooter at the same match:
Another shooter posted this
Now driving home it really got me to thinking…. how many carry proper med kits for gun shot wounds, and if so do you have any real training on how to use it when the crap hits the fan?
My answer is no, and I plan on changing that soon as this was a real eye opener that the sport/ hobby we do is in fact very dangerous and shit happens.
According to a fellow shooter at the same match:
Here is the setup. 5 bays with concrete barriers separating each bay. He was pasting targets in bay 3 while another shooter was running and gunning stage 4. A round managed to ricochet thru a crack in the concrete barrier striking him in the chest.
Another shooter posted this
From what was told is that it entered just below his nipple, possibly deflected off of a rib and exited near the clavicle (possibly breaking it.) All speculation as to the extent of his injuries, but they had a stethoscope on him, and said he sounded normal.
Back when I was shooting USPSA in NY, the range we used had similar bays just narrower. However one aspect to the concrete bays is that it LIMITED our ability to shoot left and right. We knew better than to set up targets at oblique angles with concrete directly behind them.
It seems the problem is the stage design. In Yuriy’s video there are some targets that are at the right angle that you are shooting directly into the concrete wall. Poor planning. Concrete walls are not supposed to be back stops.They are there in the odd case someone misses and a ricochet is caught by the wall. You are not supposed to deliberately shoot at the wall.
So far the reports say that the victim is fine. There are things to consider when shooting at a range with other shooters such as a USPSA match. Most matches are just a bunch of members of the club who organize and design stages. However some of them do not have complete safety briefings nor medical training for problems. I recall at a recent local match the match director making a point to call out a designated person for just an eventuality. They would be the person to get the first aid kit and authorities would contact them. However how many of us really know what to do? I see some shooters actually carrying tourniquets on their range belts. Nothing wrong with that but it does not help when you get shot in the chest. Quikclot is better than nothing but we should seek proper training. Do you know what to do if someone gets shot?
Back when I was shooting USPSA in NY, the range we used had similar bays just narrower. However one aspect to the concrete bays is that it LIMITED our ability to shoot left and right. We knew better than to set up targets at oblique angles with concrete directly behind them.
It seems the problem is the stage design. In Yuriy’s video there are some targets that are at the right angle that you are shooting directly into the concrete wall. Poor planning. Concrete walls are not supposed to be back stops.They are there in the odd case someone misses and a ricochet is caught by the wall. You are not supposed to deliberately shoot at the wall.
So far the reports say that the victim is fine. There are things to consider when shooting at a range with other shooters such as a USPSA match. Most matches are just a bunch of members of the club who organize and design stages. However some of them do not have complete safety briefings nor medical training for problems. I recall at a recent local match the match director making a point to call out a designated person for just an eventuality. They would be the person to get the first aid kit and authorities would contact them. However how many of us really know what to do? I see some shooters actually carrying tourniquets on their range belts. Nothing wrong with that but it does not help when you get shot in the chest. Quikclot is better than nothing but we should seek proper training. Do you know what to do if someone gets shot?
Comment