IMO it pays to train at all ranges, from zero to 50+ with a handgun. In reality, the most important thing with handgun training is usually the one LEAST covered by most schools, and that's the AWP - access withdraw and present to target. Getting your hand on hit, getting it out, and getting it up on target - at the varying ranges you'll be engaging a target at with your pistol, hitting it shouldn't be as big a concern as getting yourself and your weapon into the position to hit it.
I also caught a few bits of people discussing weapon mounted lights in this thread - I took a few courses from surefire, and got my instructors certs for low light level shooting from their school of thought, but even then I like DAGO have my own personal opinions, which include that the light should never be mounted on a short(pistol) as it takes away SO many options you have for your light when in a space that requires a pistol to be used. Example: how can you use the best trick in the book, which is shinning your light on the roof indoors in a room, which A: lights up the entire room from the light reflecting of the light colored roof/walls instead of just a small focused spot and b: move the light source off axis out of plane from your body and weapon. This flies in the face of all the big "light" companies training courses, somewhat due to the fact that they want to SELL weapon mounted lights/lasers like the M3x M6x etc, but I think my way is best for me and the people I TRAIN, so that's it. It's like Dago is saying his way is what he thinks is best, and it's how he'll train. It may be different than currently accepted systems from all the big companies, it may not, but he'll train that way and improve continually till he stops.
Also, even though I don't completely agree with what Dago has said regarding longer range training, I will say that the years I spent shooting PPC revolver at 50 yard targets long before I ever got into "tactical" shooting and training, and then working with those skills operationally, that having shot SO MUCH at longer ranges than currently taught and focused on that I had a huge advantage at closer range as I was trained and familiar with shooting at longer more difficult ranges for the most part. So in some sort of degree, what he is saying is probably correct; at least it is for me.
As a side note, I personally feel that a lot more would be gained on shooting courses by learning to shoot through live barriers like out of vehicles through the windows open AND closed, and from non standard positions (again, fighting while seated in a vehicle or from supine positions etc) than from training to shoot at 5-7 yards. The very first drill I do for every day of pistol shooting is dry fire at 0 yards at a spot on a wall, then some quick object drills vs targets at 5-7, and THEN begin training with the most realistic tools to hand, like old vehicles and built up corners.
A spin on what Dago was saying for me is that I ALWAYS see guys, at home and in Afghanistan working on their speed drills, whether it's accessing their pistol, failure to fire drills/reloads/transitions what have you. The problem is they are ALWAYS doing it at targets that are 5-7 yards away. The day I see somebody do a failure drill then shoot a target at 50 yards once his pistol is back up I think I'll faint.
In closing, I'll say that the absolute BEST way to solve arguments and differences about what works best is to break out the simmuntion and fight it out. Having some guy who can only punch nice neat holes at 25m go up against me at 7 meters when I can draw and fire in under the time it gets him to even get his hand on his weapon will shut his bellybutton up forever, and the opposite is true, going up against billy the kid reborn at 30 meters can be great for some laughs as you shoot him in the face consistently as he misses you with wild too-rapid-for-accuracy draws and shots.
