No investment you will make in the arena of firearms, gear, etc will be as important as the investment you make in training. Proficiency doesn’t automatically come with the purchase of a firearm or first aid kit.
I could hand you a well-stocked medbag, but if you didn’t know how to use the most basic of its components, it would be worthless to you.
I could hand you a precision bolt rifle, but if you learned how to shoot from a video game or action movie, you might not be able to hit a pie plate at 50 yards with it.
If you look at some of the more expensive training on the market, you might be turned off by it – “I can’t afford that”, you say.
Well, Red Cross first aid/CPR training is a great place to start on the medical side, and the classes are normally $50-60. It’s also solid training from a known entity. Trauma courses offered by some tactical schools will teach you a lot, but the majority of injuries you will encounter as an average person will be covered by the Red Cross first aid course.
Firearms training can be very costly – some courses run into the thousands of dollars. In reality, though, the most basic training is also the most important training. Paying $2,000 to run through a shoot house is fun, but trigger control and weapons manipulation are more important. A good one or two day handgun/carbine course will be very beneficial, and many one day courses are only around $150.
Be sure to research the instructor, though. You don’t want to take firearms courses from someone with an inflated (or imaginary) resume. Unfortunately, there are such folks in the industry.
I actually took 87GN’s advice many months ago and have completed 2 classes; they’re worth every penny.