When you head to the range, what do you carry in your range bag?

Ammo? Eye pro? Ear pro? Cleaning kit? More ammo? Shooting gloves? Tool kit? Spare parts? More ammo? Targets? Target dots or tape? Staple gun? Staples? Sandbags or other rests? Spotting scope? Tripod for spotting scope? Sunscreen?

Ballcap? Magazine loader? Multi-tool? Lead wipes for your hands? Target stands?

Wow, it’s like my ex-wife’s purse—minus the credit cards, of course.

Think about all the stuff you take to the range with you every time you head out. Some guys are making gun buggies out of old golf pull carts or push carts or whatever they’re called. We carry lots of stuff to the range.

But did you notice a couple things I didn’t list? Water bottles. Snacks. I’m getting kind of crazy about lead contamination in my old age. The truth of the matter is I should have been more concerned about it when I was younger. Lead has a greater impact on young people. I’m also finding out that you can’t simply wash lead away. Even if you scrub your hands really well, you will still have lead contamination. At a recent writer’s event, I learned about a product call LeadOff and, during the sales pitch…er… information session, this soap salesman got so excited about the benefits of the product and was so totally into the science of how it works that I couldn’t help but take a closer look. He knew more about soap than I know about guns. I was nearly compelled to listen.

Turns out the stuff was developed by the Army and this guy bought the license to sell it commercially. Now he is on a mission to get it in every range in the country. Using this product is especially important if you are taking young kids shooting. Lead can mess with their little brains. Look into it. Decide for yourself.

The other thing I did not include on my list was a First-Aid kit. The old IFAK (Individual First-Aid Kit) is something every range bag should have. And when I say first-aid kit I do not mean 1-inch Band-Aids, an Ace Bandage, and Mole Skin for blisters. Your First-Aid kit needs to contain items that can be used to treat a gunshot wound.

The kit does not need to be big, because I assume that if one person gets shot while you are at the range, you will stop shooting and take care of that person. We are not expecting a firefight with multiple casualties.

Here are a few important items: A tourniquet. An Israeli bandage. A couple rolls of cling. Several 4-inch by 4-inch gauze pads. At least one tampon. (Yep, you will have to go buy some.) Good quality medical tape. Some plastic to cover a sucking chest wound. If you are really prepared, you could laminate a couple 3×5 cards so you can clean away blood and tape them over a chest wound.

A trauma kit is the one thing you should keep in your range bag at all times. Just like your gun, it is better to have it and not need it…you know the rest.

On a side note, Anthony Lambert from ACT Training outside Chicago will be at the Concealed Carry Expo April 29, 30 and May 1 in Atlanta teaching a class on field expedient trauma care. That’s reason enough to head to the Expo.

Learn more at www.concealedcarryexpo.com.