first aid kit for hunting

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Armored farmer

Armored farmer

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I've got a first aid kit, but I want to lighten my load a bit. I don't like have bulging pockets and extra weight.
I want to end up with an Altoids tin sized kit, for day trips and hunts. I will use it for both upland and big-game.
Any good ideas about homemade kit contents and containers?
What do you guys use?
 
I used to run bear and lion hounds, so I carry a good first aid kit. Sorry, I won't be much help, mine is the size of a small flat rate package from the post office. I carry enough stuff to perform surgery, literally. It has come in handy, when a dog gets bit or hurt. I've sewn up a few, I really don't need all that stuff anymore. This year, my zipper broke on my pack, I used a suture to sew it together so I wouldn't spew all my gear over the countryside deer hunting. I need to look at it, I could get by with less now.
 
Altoids tin is too small in my opinion. Go slightly larger in an otter box or similar waterproof case. You need tweezers for thorns and splinters, tape to make a splint with, bandaid for cuts, Neosporin, burn cream, matches or a lighter to sterilize your tweezers or knife, and a small variety of medicine to get you by. Think Tylenol for a sprained ankle, benadryl for bites/stings/allergies, and anything else that you may have a personal need for (GUM IF YOUR DIABETIC). Just don't be the guy who focuses too much either way. Don't focus on weight and not have what you need. Don't focus on preparedness and carry an entire operating room. Find something the size of a soda can so that there's room for what you need but not a bunch of wasted space.
 
good ideas guys.
I currently have mine in a drawstring bag that some med size binos came in.
Besides the usual band-aids, ibuprofen, tums, antiseptic wipes, I also have a small bottle of hand sanitizer(doubles as fire starter),zip-ties, lighter, small flashlight, coach's whistle(signal or spare whistle for use with my bird dog). The whistle also has a paracord lanyard.
After reading some of your thoughts, maybe my kit isn't too big.
 
A lot depends upon your location, that is, the time and distance you'll need to travel to get professional care. Most of the wounds I've field dressed on fellow hunters were lacerations, caused by barbed wire, thorns, and knife injuries sustained while gutting an animal (usually under low light conditions).

My first-aid kit is slightly larger than an Altoids tin. In addition to the items mentioned previously, you may consider:

A small vial of skin adhesive such as Dermabond; several Steri-Strips or similar "butterfly" bandages; and a few individually-wrapped alcohol prep wipes or Betadine wipes. Cleaning and closing the wound is paramount, and these three items take up very little room and add practically no weight.
 
What I do for my backpacking first aid kit....

Go to Bass Pro and pick up the inserts for the soft case fishing tackle. You can get rather small ones, but they are basically a very sturdy zip lock bag.
 
For the average day hunt, most of my first aid supplies are left in the truck in a kit that contains most everything one would likely need. My Leatherman, a few band-aids and a few individually packaged antiseptic wipes are generally all that is needed till I get back to the truck, this includes for dog injuries.(My dogs get hurt more than I do). One has shoelaces that can be used for cord, shirts/vest that can be cut for large bandages and used over the antiseptic wipes for a large wound that can't wait and cannot be covered with ban-aids. I'm not allergic to things and I can wait till I get back to the truck if my tummy is upset. The Leatherman can pull slivers and thorns, and Porcupine quills from the dog. Most little tweezers won't pull deeply imbedded quills, but in the box back at the truck there are Hemostats. I also have needles and mono line back at the truck for sewing up dogs when needed. With my arthritis, I generally take my dose of NSAIDs before I hit the woods, so I don't need anymore for the day. There is a myriad of things in the woods, and other things that you already have on you that can be used in an emergency situation that will work also. A empty shotgun shell or rifle cartridge can be used as a very loud emergency whistle. Your game vest can be used as a sling. You don't need to double up on simple things. Like antiseptic wipes and a bottle of hand sanitizer.
 
First aid is generally supposed to cover what you need to stabilize until getting back to a more equipped location. Keep a fairly well stocked kit in all vehicles including the horse trailer that can treat just about anything that doesn't require an emergency room for people and animals. For just day trips out trail riding, fishing or hunting where you aren't too far from vehicles or other people for help, small stuff like splinters or small cuts are pretty well covered with some bandaids and a pair of tweezers. The major concern is falling or being bucked off a horse and knife/broadhead/gunshot injuries. We ALWAYS have a quickclot pack in the first aid kit on your person to stop major bleeding if an accident happens and a whistle to call for help in case your cell phone is dead or no service.
 
Fortuantely I have used my first-aid kit and skills more times for others than I have for myself.
As a member of the small local fire dept, I have been involved in four missing person searches. Two of them didn't have happy endings, but the other two would have been much easier if the victims had used a $4.00 cheap whistle that weighs next to nothing and is so small. The sound carries so much better than yelling. (BTW, three of the four incidents were hunting related) The whistle is worth its' weight and a smart addition imho.
 
On my person - moleskin, a few bandaids, a signal mirror and dog training whistle in case I am hurt due to a fall, something to use as a tourniquet, super glue (or the medical version), and/or a flat roll of duct tape
 
I bought a small first aid kit that I carry on my quad, to which I've improvised quite a bit. I took a lot of the unnecessary items out, and restocked it with, what I feel is necessary items up in the high and low desert, snake bite kit, and splint, as well as a tourniquet, and sunscreen, left the tweezers, and the vast majority of bandages, and gauze, along with the antiseptic.

Anymore it is very unusual if I wander more than a mile from my quad. But, I usually carry antacids, and a canteen with me on a daily basis.
 
Anymore it is very unusual if I wander more than a mile from my quad. But, I usually carry antacids, and a canteen with me on a daily basis.
Click to expand...

I'm about like you LooseNoose, I always have a small bottle of water. Usually a small Gatoraide bottle 'cause they don't make that annoying crunching sound that most water bottles do. I still carry Rolaids, but rarely need 'em since I quit the Copenhagen.
 
I always have an unopened tube of super glue in the outside zipper pocket of my jacket. Keep a bit more in my day pack and anything I have ever needed in the truck.
 
I think an "Altoids" sized kit is too small. I take it you are thinking of treating some of the common stuff that happens in the woods. I carry something the size of a 20 round box of .308 cartridges. I got the plastic container at a dollar store.

Small Swiss Army knife (blade to open up clothing to get to a wound; scissors to cut a dressing pad to size and to cut tape, and tweezers for splinters and thorns)
Samll tube of triple anti-biotic ointment
Small bottle of New Skin ( For odd deep scratches and tiny cuts where bandaids don't work)
Small bottle of Campho Phenique (for bug bits, burns, and scrapes)
6 Butterfly closures ( for serious cuts)
a rubber band (use for a few minutes to stop blood flow to a cut finger, while I clean and dress the wound, then remove. )
First Aid Tape
3 Large bandaids
6 small bandaids
2 4x4 cotton pads
12 tablets ibuprofen
4 tablets antihistamine (of a type that won't raise blood pressure - good for colds AND if a bad reaction comes from alergy or bee sting)
4 tablets anti-diarrhea pills
6 tablets antacid
6 tablets baby aspirin (one tablet good for hunting dog with sore muscles and also good if a person in the hunting party starts having chest pains)

I have used this for myself and for others with ailments while camping, hunting, and doing historic reenactment, and so far not encountered something that I couldn't treat, or buy some time until the paramedics arrived. The ONLY thing I changed was to remove Benadryl and opt for antihistamine that won't raise blood pressure (found at Dollar Tree). Used the Benadryl for a bee sting bad reaction once, it worked for the allegic reaction to the sting and bought some time until the ambulance arrive, but spiked the patient's blood pressure...didn't cause a stroke by why take the risk when unnecessary?

If you're worried about the possiblity of a gunshot wound, add a package of Quickclot, a feminine pad (they're clean, and soak up blood well), and a roll of gauze (combined with the feminine pad you have a pressure bandage). This does expand the size of the kit though. Your OTC meds should be in small, ziplock bags, and that gives you plenty of plastic to help treat a sucking chest wound.

LD
 
However large or small you make it, just make sure it has a small roll of electrical tape included! I know it sounds strange, but it is one of the most versatile tapes you can have in your kit!
 
Guns, knives, lots of walking, distant from immediate rescue or treatment.
You need things to stop bleeding, fix blisters and maybe splint and patch things up enough so that you can at least make it to a clearing that a helicopter can land in. Fishing is much the same.
Some areas aren't that remote and help can be summoned faster but even a minor gunshot or serious cut out in the back 40 can be fatal if "first" aid is not available.
 
Ditto on chas' electrical tape... cut up a bandana and make any size adhesive bandage you need!
 
I always carry a military type CAT tourniquet. They're light weight and can be put on with only one hand.

I would also suggest some hand warmers or something else to make fire or heat.
 
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