Now if we're talking about the Rodney King Riots in LA, then I choose the shotgun while I'm holed up with my wife and kids. That scenario, however, is not as likely as most self-defense uses of a firearm where it's more sudden and close-range.
So i'm goin' with pistol, which I gravitated to first as a youngster and learned to shoot pretty darn well.
I doubt that I will ever be required to hunt with a long gun for absolute survival. If I have to shoot someone/something to survive, I will most likely be protecting myself from an attacker. And that means using a handgun while I'm away from home, or using one to delay a home invader until I can get to the shotgun.
I prefer to be a better-than-average shot with the firearm that I am most likely to have on (or near) me.
If I'm in the supermarket near the pharmacy when some crack-head starts yelling and shooting, it's my wits and pistol that will help protect me, not the long guns at home or in my vehicle. Same as being in the parking lot of the movie theater or restaurant late in the evening, and having some thugs circling me.
When's the last time you read about a citizen "defending' himself from a determined attacker out there at 300-500 meters?