I’m always making small adjustments to the items I consider Every Day Carry (EDC) in my bird vest based on the conditions and situations we run into in the field.

Of course there are always shells, there’s always water, generally a snack though it may be from a previous hunting season. Most of the EDC items focus on dealing with the foreseen yet unlikely. It only takes one bird dog encounter with a porcupine before hemostats make it into your vest.

Quikclot Gauze is the latest addition to my vest’s first aid capabilities. There’s a field full of stickers, slashers and scrapers targeting you or the dogs and depending how far from your full first aid kit, bleeding can become problem. In the past, I’d carry a couple sugar packs — sugar being a coagulant. But the Quikclot Gauze is a cleaner solution. Light, compact and cost effective, the gauze can be used if your bird dog suffers a cut or if you or a hunting partner take one for the team. It’s said to stop bleeding up to 5 times faster.

It’s one of the things in my vest I hope to never need. But in the one instance I do, it will be great to have. It’s an easy add to your EDC.