The hot topic these days is the bugout bag. You know, a bag of important stuff you think you will need when the excrement hits the oscillating blades. What do you need really depends on what you expect. I have one kit made just in case I have an active shooter situation in my jurisdiction. It is a Level III plate carrier with extra soft armor, four magazines for the AR-15, a Tops Pry Knife to help open doors and a trauma kit on the back. I can put the plate carrier right over my uniform, thus giving me added ballistic protection and the tools I need to stop the threat and render aid.
I also have various other kits in various locations that will provide me things like extra ammo for my duty sidearm, a multi-tool, first-aid gear, flex cuffs. There is another kit in which I keep a spare sidearm, ammo, a trauma pack (are you noticing a trend on the trauma kit theme here?) flashlight, knife, multi-tool and more. And I have one of the Mossberg JIC shotguns in a tube, loaded up with extra ammo, first-aid gear, a knife or three, a water filter and sheet of heavy plastic for a basic tent. I think I'm ready.
For me, the bug-out kit requires some sort of firearm or spare ammo. When things are very bad, people might want to fight. They might want to take what is yours. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. So… Rule #1: Have a gun. Be trained in its use. Be familiar with its operation. Know its capabilities and, perhaps most importantly, be mentally ready to use it.
Rule #2: Have a trauma kit. An exchange of gunfire usually means someone is going to need medical help. If that someone is someone you want to save you will likely need, at the bare minimum a tourniquet, a compress dressing, first aid tape or wrap, bandage material or surgical sponges and gloves.
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Most of the above plus… Portable water filter; tampons, fem. napkins, and Quikclot for gunshot wounds; pain-block and anti-biotic meds; stethoscope and BP cuff; field surgery kit.
Dump the quickclot. I have used it in combat and it is worthless. The amount of irrigation needed to get it out of the wound to clean afterwards usually opens the clots back up. Pressure points and tourniquets are a much better bet. If you need to stop bleeding quickly, you can apply a tourniquet for a short time (less than two hours) and then release it slowly using direct pressure, pressure points and elevation. Once bleeding is stopped, or controlled, you can use electrocautery tools to further control bleeding lidociane with and without epinephrine can also help, but DO NOT USE lido with epi on smaller body parts, i.e. fingers, nose, toes, ears as you can cause death of tissue below the injection site. If a person is shot in the core of the body and doesn’t get to a hospital quickly, no amount of quickclot is going to help anyway.
Don’t have a picture at the moment. But my kit has my back up ccw…a med kit, fishing line and hooks,change of clothes, waterproof matches, poncho, space blanket, iodine tabs, 550 paracord ,flashlight, knife,spare ammo and magazines and a few other “goodies”!