Your statement that "the consensus is wrong" is a bit presumptuous. I would say it is a question of context as to what recommendation is more appropriate for a given situation. I've experienced situations where having a shotgun to bear is far more desirable than any rifle. Likewise, some shotguns are capable of shooting ballistic projectiles far more accurately than many would-be shooters are capable of, certainly accurate to havest big game at nominal range. I would compare the effective result that shooting at a bevy of quail (or similar flock of birds most of us would be likely to encounter) perched in a tree with a 22 might accomplish compared to what can be done with a shotgun using an improved cylinder or cylinder bore choke at sufficient range would do. Likewise, hunting deer or even elk in what we call "Dog Hair" fir groves would be much more productive were we allowed to use shotguns with buckshot instead of centerfire rifles.

Having used the shotgun to harvest everything from rabbits and squirrels to bullfrogs to turkeys and geese and even deer, I have come to the firm conclusion that a shotgun is a far more effecitve tool in most cases for putting meat in the pot than any other firearm I have. Combine that with its inimitable self defense capabilities, and I can think of nothing that is more suitable as a multi purpose firearm. The only reasons I would consider having a 22 lr as well are simple economics and practicing marksmanship, and maybe detection avoidance with the right ammo. Your statement that shotguns have a very limited effective range is, in my experience, narrow-minded, ethics and sportsmanship notwithstanding. It is a versatile firearm with a far greater effective range than any 22 lr and certainly capable of far more than any centerfire rifle cartridge out there. That it is not specialized for any one sort of hunting/shooting situation should not be viewed so much as a compromise or debtriment, but that it is more suited as a multi-purpose firearm, capable of doing pretty much all but the most extreme tasks with the right ammunition comobination. It is the jack of all trades that is more likely to put meat on the table or repel an attack in more situations than any other commercially available configuration currently available to the majority of us.

If marksmanship and opportunity were the only criteria by which to measure the success rate of the use of a given firarm configuration, then perhaps, in that limited context, your suggestion may bear some validity. In most practical scenarios, I would say such is not the case.