KISS

I'm well past the first gun/one gun stage of life and I'm not immune to the charms of the big bore and 1911-- i own several and plan on owning more in the future. But for home defense and general field use I've come to rely exclusively on DA revolvers in 38 SPL/357 Mag.

I don't have to make one handgun serve for all purposes-- a shrouded-hammer snubbie where it is the best choice (see here), four inch carry gun with adjustable sights where i am more interested in groundhogs at 50 years than goblins at 12 feet.

But the great thing is-- they all work alike no matter who makes them. If they are loaded they are ready to go; there is no safety to worry about operating. The DA trigger pull is smooth but heavy so there is little chance of a accidental discharge.

To choose an auto for some self-defense purposes introduces non-trivial risks if i should have to use it. Under stress, would i remember the safety or would i try to shoot it like a revolver? since stress impact fine motor control , a light single action trigger pull could go off accidentally and i don't want that. Practice can minimize these risks, but i don't know if it can eliminate them. As it is, my current practice with any revolver carries over to any of my self-defense pieces.

At the small end, no auto can fill the niche of the shrouded hammer snubbie, For field use, the 357 shoots flatter than any of the common service autos. So i'm going to use and practice with revolvers anyway. Using them as my primary self-defense choice just keeps things simple.