Guns used for self-defense are rarely reported.
Around here they are -- hundreds in the last year alone.
That's EXACTLY RIGHT.
One of my friends owns a gas station here in town. Two of the customers were about to get into a physical altercation over something silly.
Once he saw something was up, B tucked his 1911 Colt .45 into his trousers where it was prominently visible, walked over to the two idiots, and calmly asked them, "Is there a problem here, gentlemen?"
Seeing that big gun at the ready took the fight right out of both of those jacka$$es.
And everyone went about their business - no fight, no cops, no charges filed. Like you said, the incident simply wasn't reported because a gun was near by to keep the peace.