Well... My experience in the military under some deploys, and as police officer for over 10 years showed me that handguns are very poor choices in self defense situations.
Because of my job, I've seen many situations where people were attacked in their house. Home invasion is not just on tv or just a concept....
So I agree that on the street self defense situation happen at close range, but in real life and not on tv, some people are attacked in their houses especially when they live out in the country because the police can not respond very fast.
So forthe kind of situation where my dog is yelling at night or if I hear strange noises in my backyard, I won't pull out a handgun...