Having my choice of a large collection of guns, I chose to carry a Ruger LCR with Crimson Trace Laser Grips. The publisher of American Rifleman carries the equivalent S&W stubby. Only 5 rounds of .38 Special +P. If you need more than that, I question whether you are qualified to carry a gun. There is a difference between being in a gun fight and defending oneself - the odds against the former are rather high in that patrolling the streets as a police officer for many years and being involved in situations every working day of my life, I was never in a gun fight. BTW, the beauty of a laser is that one can fire from odd body attitudes without sighting through a set of iron sights.
Back to the police officer thing. I carried a revolver then with 6 sounds of .38 Special - we were not allowed to carry anything more powerful - I think they were afraid we might hurt someone if we shot them. One of our officers shot a fleeing felon in the back with his .38 and the guy didn't even slow down.
When I do carry a semi-auto, it is usually something like my Kahr PM-9, or perhaps on certain occasions, a Ruger LCP also with CT laser grips. The slide on my PM9 is so stiff, even after hundreds of rounds, I question the ability of someone to "tap and rack" to clear a malfunction with that gun. The beauty of the little revolver is that it will fire anytime, and in 60 years of shooting, I have never had a revolver malfunction. If one does, however, one simply needs to just pull the trigger again rather that go through the acrobatics of malfunction clearing under a stressful life and death situation which most reading this probably have little or no experience.
Yes, I am totally confident carrying 5 rounds and I know when I pull the trigger, the gun is not only going to go bang, but the bullet (all 135 grains of it) is going to go exactly where that red dot is shining. I sometimes carry a strip speed loader with an extra 5 rounds in that it is conveniently carried in my pocket, but usually I do not.
