What To Do If Someone Gets Shot At The Shooting Range

Nobody expects to be at the range when someone negligent shoots themselves, but it happens and as responsible gun owners we should know what to do in the event that this happens. In this blog we will do our best to cover what you can do in the event someone gets shot at the range.

 

Step 1: Preparation 

Before we talk about what to do if something happens we need to ask ourselves. “Am I prepared if someone shoots themselves?” To prepare we suggest the following:

 

• Gear checks and research: Check your medical gear to make sure everything is in check and to familiarize yourself with where everything is, so what if you know where everything is 1 minute to familiarize yourself won’t hurt you. Do research on the range find out where the nearest hospital is, where is the medical gear, where is the defibrillator, and so on. You can download our Range Research pdf that you can fill out in order to have everything written down in the event you need the information.
• Recollection: If you have been through medical training, CPR class, or some other form of training before going to the range is a great time to look over your notes or watch a refresher video (we don’t recommend learning medical from Youtube and we recommend you take a quality TCCC class).
• Visualization: Take 5 minutes and visualize a couple scenarios and how you would react in those scenarios. Visualization is not meant to fuel the hero complex many people have, visualization is a powerful tool used by athletes and famous performers to perform on demand.

 

Step 2: Action

We have created a flowchart of an action sequence if someone gets shot at the range. This is NOT an end-all be-all action sequence and some ranges or classes will have their own range safety plan and we recommend you follow their safety plan so long as it is not incompetent. The most important thing is to remain calm under stress.

Flowchart

 

Must-Know Information

• Holster up or go to safe: Before you run around providing medical care or calling 911 make sure you re-holster or switch to safe, this is so another ND doesn’t happen to cause more confusion and stress in an already stressful situation. Take that extra second to make sure your weapon is holstered or on safe in order to prevent complications.
• Are you an asset? If you arent helping out then move out the way as you will get in the way of those helping out. As people who want to protect and preserve life, it’s hard to just stand on the side and watch as others help, sometimes doing nothing is the best option.
• If you aren’t providing medical care go outside to wait for an ambulance: Paramedics should be able to find the location on their own, but ranges have a lot of bays or places someone can be and if you are outside waiting for the paramedics you can guide them to where they need to be. 
• Helping others re-holster/safety their weapons: If permitted and you feel comfortable, help others make sure their weapons are safe. In many indoor ranges, you will have people with little to no experience if you can help them out what’s the harm in that?
• Calling 911: Before you call take a deep breathe and recall the information you will be giving over, having the address available will help as 911 dispatch doesn’t know where you are. When speaking to 911 stay calm, give clear answers, and follow directions.

 

All in all, this isn’t a very complicated process and the goal is to help where you can and not get in anyone’s way, remember the goal is to help out, not that you must be the hero of the story.

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