Why "Be A Bighorn"?

In the arena of self-defense and personal protection, there is a thought-process which holds that people fall into three categories: The Sheep, The Wolf and The Sheepdog.


The Sheep are by far what the majority of people are classified as.  They do not take their personal safety and security seriously.  In fact, their own safety and security rarely, if ever, comes to mind.  If and when it does, it is likely due to to them finding themselves in a threatening encounter where they are at imminent risk of injury or death.  It is normally too late for The Sheep at this point and they simply become helpless victims.  They are "like sheep being led to the slaughter."


The Wolf are those that prey upon The Sheep.  They are those that do harm to others for profit or pleasure.  They are the violent criminals, the sociopaths and similar miscreants and vermin.  They do not belong to society and do not abide by society's laws and rules.  It is estimated that about 3% of people are The Wolf.


The Sheepdog are those that hunt the Wolf and protect The Sheep.  They include combat soldiers and law-enforcement officers.  Some also include in this group, ordinary citizens who train to combat the Wolf.  The Sheepdog are similar to The Wolf in that they are predators.  However, the difference is that The Sheepdog do not prey upon The Sheep...at least they are not supposed to.  Unfortunately from time to time, a Wolf ends up putting on the outward appearance of The Sheepdog and violates the trust of The Sheep.  This is a very rare occurrence but when it happens, due to it's abhorrence to The Sheep, it is often sensationalized.


I have a problem with this three-group categorization of people.  In the years that I have been a Personal Protection and Firearms Instructor, I have observed that there is a large and growing segment of people who do not fall into any of these three groups.

These people are not The Wolf, in that they do not prey upon or enact violence upon others for profit or pleasure.  They are not The Sheepdog, in that they do not hunt The Wolf and they don't necessarily actively seek to protect The Sheep.  Finally, these people are not definitely not Sheep, in that they most assuredly think about and take action to increase the personal safety and security of themselves and of those they love.  They are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, neighbors and people from all walks of life.  They are average, law-abiding citizens that arm themselves with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and tools of self-defense.

So then, if this group of people are not The Wolf and are not The Sheep and are not The Sheepdog...what are they?

We are The Bighorn!

Although technically we may be called "sheep", The Bighorn are by no means defenseless.  The Wolf and The Sheepdog who look at us as The Sheep are mistaken.  We do not fear The Wolf and we do not look to The Sheepdog for protection.  We will protect ourselves and our loved one against The Wolf without regard to the presence of The Sheepdog.

The Wolf is wary of us because we are not a soft-target.  Even our appearance tells The Wolf they would do well to look elsewhere for their prey.  If The Wolf intends to do harm to The Flock, The Bighorn will move with determination to do violence against The Wolf.

The Sheepdog often does not understand that we are not The Sheep.  Some of The Sheepdog may even feel threatened by the existence of The Bighorn.  Likewise, some of The Bighorn may look warily at The Sheepdog as being too similar to The Wolf.  However, in general The Bighorn and The Sheepdog get along with each other very well, as long as neither The Sheepdog nor The Bighorn violate the trust of the other.


In the coming entries to this blog, I will expand on what it means to be The Bighorn.  I will give commentary, opinion and advice that some other members of The Bighorn may find interesting and useful.

My hope is to encourage my fellow members of The Bighorn group to continue to develop themselves and their Bighorn Flock in their Knowledge, Skill and Attitude to better combat the ever changing appearance and tactics of The Wolf and to also perhaps increase the understanding and appreciation between The Bighorn and The Sheepdog and thereby become better allies against The Wolf.

This is my hope and my desire for this blog.