Since there are a lot of NRA logos next to our screen names, I'm assuming most of us have read the stories of actual self defense in American Rifleman.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that very few of the good guys in those stories practice every month. The key is: they have an accessible, loaded gun. Inside the home ranges don't require tagging the 10X ring at 25 yards. Safety is important but, at the moment of decisive action, having a weapon and being willing to use it to protect oneself and friends/family is really the only thing that matters.