Mounted search and rescue

[Julie Hammond <hammond4h@yahoo.com>]

None of our SAR members  (Mounted or not) carry guns on any SAR mission. 

However, our unit is not asssociated with a Sheriff's dept.

 

Best Regards,

Julie
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Today's Topics:

1. Guns in SAR (Una Smith)
2. Re: Guns in SAR (pennbo@bbv.net)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 08:28:54 -0600
From: Una Smith
Subject: [MSAR] Guns in SAR
To: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <20030708142854.GA3033@lanl.gov>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

An MSAR-riders subscriber asked me this:

>Some time ago you discussed the requirement that your team leader
>carry a pistol. Could you give me some more information, explanation
>of this - we are trying to convince our "group leader" that this is
>a good idea. Since we are an extension of the sheriff's dept, we
>have enough people that are weapons certified but only when actually
>in uniform. He is not in agreement that it is a good idea for
>someone to have a pistol/rifle on a SAR mission. Do you have any
>information about the legality, etc - pros cons

In my state, all SAR volunteers are civilians. Although some of us
may be certified and licensed to carry a gun in our "real jobs", it
is certainly not routine for SAR. Those who do carry a gun do so
as civilians. My unit has a requirement that each team leader carry
a gun. We're an old unit (incorporated 1941), and in the past have
had a requirement that all riders carry a rifle and a handgun. Now,
the only type of gun I would expect to see on a SAR mission would be
a revolver, in the hands of an MSAR volunteer who is an experienced,
trained, responsible gun owner.

Its purpose? To put down a horse, should one become so ill or badly
injured that it cannot be saved and a trip to the nearest extraction
point would be impossible or utterly cruel. Instead of a revolver,
a humane killer (a bolt) might be a safer option for this purpose.

>Anything you could help with (even your opinion based on experience)
>will be a big help.

My experience has been that in the field a gun is more trouble than
not; it requires careful management at all times. And I think that
someone who does not handle and use a gun on a routine basis has no
business carrying one on a SAR mission. FWIW, I have traveled alone
for a cumulative total of over a year, on three continents. I have
done field work alone for weeks at a time in wilderness areas of the
western US. I have often been concerned for my safety, and thought
very carefully about carrying a gun (many women and men who work in
such areas do carry). I decided that I would feel and perhaps also
be marginally safer without a gun. But that is a personal decision,
based on particulars of my history and inclination; YMMV.

I hope this helps,

Una Smith
Santa Fe County Sheriff's Posse, in New Mexico


------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Tue, 08 Jul 2003 07:49:24 -0700
From: pennbo@bbv.net
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Guns in SAR
To: Mounted search and rescue
Message-ID: <3F0AD9F4.3F63798A@bbv.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

We have several folks who are trained and licensed to carry. We do not
have a requirement. We do however have one faithful member who packs a
pistol and is on virtually every search so we feel well covered-
especially with radio contact. We have discussed the possibility of
having to put a horse down (its happened before in our group) and are
currently discussing different solutions.

I also have traveled all over the world and into many wilderness areas
as a single woman and have felt safer without a gun. However, the world
is changing and so are the people. My area is close to a metropolitan
area and we get very strange people hiding away here. I am enrolling in
classes to learn to use a weapon for home protection. My choice, based
on law enforcement recommendations, a double barrel shotgun. I still
won't carry a gun while riding. But I am pretty handy with a knife.

Chris Pennington
Commander, Big Bear Sheriff's Posse MSAR


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