One rapidly growing trend in the firearms and self-defense industry is an increased focus on first aid and medical care, to the point that the IFAK nightstand pocket dump photo is becoming as ubiquitous as the EDC pocket dump. Alongside John Q. Instagram Influencer’s photo of his personal gat and knife, is usually a micro trauma kit and a tourniquet.And ...

Today opened the 2019 NRA Annual Meeting. Estimates at attendance this year put the head count at somewhere around 70,000, which is a bit down from recent years. It has been rainy and dreary in Indianapolis, which may have thinned the crowd this morning. We’ve seen the usual contingent of protestors, as usually outnumbered by the press interviewing them. They ...

The 2019 NRA Annual meeting begins tomorrow in Indianapolis. This morning I’ll be picking up my media credentials, and tomorrow opens the exhibit hall where I’ll be prowling for article fodder and guns and gear to T&E. Given the recent strife and financial woes of the NRA reported in the media, covering this year’s meeting promises to be… interesting.Expect the ...

…there’s a new episode of the Inside EMS podcast.           We’re interviewing Dr. James Woodson, CEO of Pulsara, about how to streamline and integrate communication and documentation between EMS, the ED and beyond.  

“If there’s a place you want to go, I can get you there I know, I’m the map. If there’s a place you need to get, I can get you there I bet, I’m the map. I’m the map, I’m the map, I’m the MAP!” ~ Dora the Explorer   Read, enjoy, opine.

It’s no secret that I am not a fan of the fire department EMS model. I’ve written about it a number of times: Marriage Counseling Part I: The Dysfunctional Fire-EMS Relationship Marriage Counseling Part II: The Dysfunctional Fire-EMS Relationship Marriage Counseling Part III: Detente in the Fire-EMS Relationship A few weeks back, I posted an EMS1 column about the recent ...

When does “what happens on the truck, stays on the truck” end, and reporting misconduct begin? That’s the topic we tackle on this week’s edition of Inside EMS. Read, share, comment, opine.

No, I’m not talking about shooting in general, I’m talking about triggers. I’ve never been a particularly discerning judge about how good a particular firearm’s trigger is. I’m a wingshooter, and pulling a shotgun trigger is more an exercise of “See the bird, BANG!” than in exercising a smooth, consistent trigger pull, or appreciating how well the gun facilitates that. ...

I just returned from the EMS Council of New Jersey Symposium in Parsippany, NJ. The folks that put on the conference are the EMS Council of New Jersey, formerly known as the New Jersey State First Aid Council. Now, according to many of my colleagues in EMS advocacy, the EMS Council of New Jersey is the poster child for everything ...

… there’s a new column on EMS1. IAFC’s Human Dignity Statement is a Good Start, But Not Enough Read, share, opine. And above all, be nicer to each other.

Is this the beginning of the end for routine administration of epinephrine in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?   That’s what co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss in this week’s episode of Inside EMS.  

… there’s a new column on EMS1. Epinephrine and the Paramedic-2 Trial: Is It Time to Pull Our Starting Pitcher?   Read, discuss, opine.

… there’s a new episode of the Inside EMS podcast on EMS1. How old is too old to start a career in EMS? Listen and share, and give us your thoughts.

I learned to wingshoot with a Winchester Model 37A chambered in 3″ magnum 20 gauge, my first real shotgun. My friends all had HR Toppers chambered in .410, and I remember feeling smugly superior to them because my Winchester was an objectively nicer shotgun. But that HR Topper was a ubiquitous firearm in the south; seems like every kid had ...

One of the more intriguing rifles I encountered at #NRAAM2018 was the switch-barrel rifle from Omega Custom Rifles. Omega is a veteran-owned company based in Meridien, TX, and features a product line of bolt-action rifles built on custom Stiller actions glass-bedded into carbon fiber stocks, but the really part is the option to switch barrels in the field in a ...