I'm a revolver fan, and carry a .357 Magnum. This includes a lot of time in the woods camping, hiking, backpacking, etc, so I'm protecting against both 2 and 4 legged predators, as well as those without any legs at all. So it goes without saying that there is one in all 7 chambers in the cylinder, and there is no safety. It's also got an external hammer, so it can be fired either SA/DA.
If I were to carry a semi-auto for personal protection, it would be my 9MM Beretta Px4 w/ decocking safety.. But I don't carry it as my conceal weapon because I generally feel, if I need to shoot somebody (or something), I am going to do it with sufficient force to ensure they're stopped, so see that part above about .357 Magnum again.