Protection from mountain lions is real. There are many places in the west that you don't want to go without a gun big enough to stop a lion. Attacks on humans are on the increase.
Yeah, and protection from two legged predators is definitely a consideration as well: "Wilmshurst said he keeps guns at his car dealership because, in the 1980s, a man with a gun tried to enter the dealership's body shop. He also noted that, in the 1970s, a man kidnapped and raped his office manager's wife."