Tom...I do need to correct one point here...the lever action rifle is an efficient self-defense tool in and of itself, not simply because it's more PC in certain jurisdictions. The tool works, and works well. You may not like the looks of the Mossberg product, but that's your opinion. But looks have nothing to do with the gun's efficiency as a self-defense tool. In fact, adjustable stocks actually are pretty useful accessories if you have students. Because you don't like the look, color, ergonomics, tail fins, brand name of ANYTHING doesn't mean that thing is "bad," only that you don't like it.
The Boberg @ 5000 rounds working life? I believe when te military adopted the Beretta 92, 5000 rounds was the specified working life for a military pistol. I'd rather know what the manufacturer was thinking when the gun was designed. Also, I seriously doubt an ultralight small framed .357 revolver would survive 5000 rounds of 125-gr JHPs. Another one of my touchstones is that ALL tools have both specific uses and specific limitations. If I wanted to shoot hot .357s every day of my life, I would choose the appropriate tool to let me accomplish that goal...and it wouldn't be an aluminum/scandium/polymer frame snub.
And BTW, why do you suppose Kel-Tec didn't sue Ruger, Taurus, et omnes for patent violations? Hmmmmmmm...maybe because there weren't any patents, because the Kel-Tec .32s and .380s were nothing more than the logical extension of a pocket pistol line that goes all the way back to John Browning? Exactly the same reason everybody and his dog Fred makes 1911s...guns are old, old technology, and there's very little "stunning innovation" involved. To use a music analogy, it's more a question of how well your orchestra interprets Beethoven than the ability to write brand new forms of symphonies.
The Ruger LCP is one of the best-selling handguns of modern times; the Kel-Tec is a footnote. Why might that be? The free market is indeed heartless, but it remains the very best way for large groups of people to relate to each other on an economic landscape. I believe in the market.
Michael B