I've heard that revolvers are the most accurate so that appeals to me but at the same time I'd sacrifice a little bit of innacuracy for more rounds in a self defense situation. I understand that most situations occur within 5 feet so I don't think a pistol will sacrifice enough accuarcy to make a big difference in a situation like that.
A revolver is going to be no more accurate than an auto, at least as far as a life threatening shooting is concerned. The big advantage that an auto has over a revolver is capacity and the ability to reload quickly. However, there are some folks who can reload a revolver wickedly quick.
Most shootings occur within 5 yards of the shooter itself. Keep in mind that this figure is an average; some shoots will be closer some will be further. And 50% of the bad guys are out of the picture on the first shot because of the psychological trauma of being shot. it's the other 50% you need to worry about.
When it comes to the actual shooting itself shot placement is more paramount that caliber size. You want to get the biggest caliber that you can comfortably shoot. I run a Sig 229 in 9mm all the time as my carry piece. I shot a lot of nine and .45 in the navy and i'm comfortable with both. However, I run 9mm because that's what my wife can run and it makes sense to me to standardize our calibers. Otherwise i'd run my .45 all the time.
