A Different Kind of Shot…
So I hurt myself at the range this morning. There’s so many injuries that we go out of our way to prevent. We religiously follow those gun safety commandments and I don’t know any shooters personally that can’t recite them at a moment’s notice. At the range, we focus so much on those gun safety rules that we can easily forget that there are many ways to hurt yourself that have nothing to do with guns.
Such is the nature of my injury.
I primarily shoot at an outdoor range. The target stands are these metal bases in which your put some wood posts and then you staple a cardboard backing to those. The wood in the target stand I had chosen was shot to hell and back so, while the range was cold, I went out to swap out the posts. It was then, while I was unfastening the base, I cut my finger pretty bad on it.
Let me be clear, this isn’t a little paper cut. It was a slice on an incredibly dirty and rusty metal base. My first thought was “ouch”, naturally. Then my second thought was “I haven’t had a tetanus shot since I was 8. Followed by, “ok, this is bleeding really bad, I’ve got to wash this off quick”. Loe and behold, no soap in the sink….and the water wasn’t working. Then it was off to my car where I have a first aid kit and some anti-bacterial hand sanitizer.
Tetanus, in case you’re not exactly aware, is caused by a nasty bit of bacteria (clostridium tetani, specifically) that loves to hang out in the same kinds of environments that would rust metal. Specifically, it’s lives in soil, dust and manure (ick). The “dust” part is particularly important because that means it could literally be anywhere. This bacteria, once it’s in the bloodstream, releases a neurotoxin that affects our muscles leading to severe muscle spasms. The average mortality rate is 11% with people over 60 and unvaccinated people having the highest risk. Another fun fact, clostridium tetani spores are very resistant to the anti-bacterial agents typically used in hand soap and hand sanitizers (oh, joy).
I am literally typing out this article as I’m in the waiting room to get a tetanus shot.
I mentioned earlier on social media (Facebook & Twitter) that I learned a lesson that had nothing to do with guns. In actuality, it was three lessons:
First off, Jenny McCarthy is an idiot and vaccinations are very important. I should have listened to Mrs. Noob because she’s been harassing me for about 8 years now to get my vaccinations up to date. Had I listened, the only worry I would have at the moment is keeping this slice from getting infected. Go get vaccinated. Not just tetanus but the whole gamut.
Secondly, a good first aid kit is important to have nearby at all times. I’m glad I had one in my car. Granted, I know for certain the range has a huge on in their office as well but I don’t want to depend on that. As I said, there are lots of ways to injure yourself at a range that have nothing to do with guns. Being prepared for any eventuality is incredibly important. You can get a good kit that doesn’t take up any more space in your range bag than a box of ammo. Also, a couple packets of quikclot are a good idea while we’re at it.
Finally, I will be getting a nice pair of Mechanix gloves to keep in my bag so that my hands will be protected any time I have to work with the targets and such. Outdoor ranges, while more fun than indoor ranges, just aren’t as clean as indoor ranges. There’s a lot of nasty stuff out there and I would prefer to keep it out of my bloodstream.
Just because you might shoot primarily at an indoor range, doesn’t mean that you’re inherently safer. As I said, beyond just having the proper vaccinations, keep a small first aid kit nearby. You can get tetanus from accidentally puncturing your finger with the staple gun or getting a paper cut from the target. Even if the clostridium tetani spores aren’t present, having a bandage to cover the cut will keep out other nasties. Do you really want the lead, carbon and chemical residue from all the shooting getting into an open wound? What about the surfaces at the range that hundreds of other people have touched, sweated and probably sneezed and coughed on? I’ll guarantee you that the majority of ranges don’t wipe the bays down with sanitizer on a daily basis (if ever). Being safe around guns is about far more than just the gun commandments.
Images used under Creative Commons License from James Bowe and the CDC Public Health Image Library respectively.
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