I suppose you might ask about situations where you did not have a gun and wished you did - where the absent gun would have been useful or critical. I was charged by a pig once (on Santa Rosa Island) and I would have shot, had I been carrying my 357 or equivalent. Instead, I kicked him in the snout when he got close enough. That caused Mr. Pig to break off the engagement. The gorgeous woman I was accompanying, now Mrs. Hikermor, was suitably impressed.

Firearms are useful tools, no doubt about it. But they are not so generally useful that they need be carried routinely. They are just too heavy, bulky, and specialized to make the ten essentials list. I do own several, and when deemed appropriate, they come along for the ride. I think the most generally useful weapon I possess is my short barreled Mossberg 500, although my 357 is a close second.