This:
No, not really. I am a more (within the bounds of reason) is better kind of guy. I have, however, carried 6(+1) guns and even 5 shot revolvers. Like many of us, my odds of being in a gun fight are probably extremely minute. I go out of my way to try to reduce them further by doing what I can to avoid trouble. As such, there are times I carry even a 6(+1) .380 due to balancing other real world considerations. I will be honest though, if I sit and contemplate being in a gun fight or situation where my life is under imminent threat and I have to use a handgun to defend my self the idea of that little .380 or snub nose 5 shot revolver is disconcerting. I'd much rather have something bigger and easier to shoot well and shoot well quickly. I'd also much rather have a 15-17 rounds on tap with another mag, or two, on my hip, whether I would have chance to use all those rounds or not.
Of course I'd rather have my AR and a plate carrier. Carrying a handgun is already a compromise one we make for the sake of concealment and convenience in our daily life. One we make balancing against the realistic threat level. How far down that spectrum we go with the handgun we choose to carry is a something that each person will work out and come to a different place where they feel comfortable. For some, like me, that may vary by day. That is sometimes concealment is at a premium, or having something small and light (like say if I'm out running) is and thus the balance changes. To each his own on this point, so long as it is a thoughtful, rationale, informed decision.
So, in my opinion, a semi-auto has to make up for that disparity in reliability (however small it may be) with capacity. Therefore, I don't see the point of a 5 or 6 shot semi-auto if I already have 5 and 6 shot snubnose revolvers. Even a 7 shot semi-auto pistol isn't of interest to me.
A 6(+1) semi still holds a distinct advantage in reloading speed versus your typical snub nosed revolver. Even my moon clipped gun is notably slower for me (and carrying moon clipped ammo in everyday attire in a practical way is much more difficult) A number of my 6(+1) guns have triggers that put even my tuned up revolvers to shame. Many people, myself included can simply shoot certain semi's better than most revolvers, particularly snubs. In a gun fight only hits count. My 6(+1) CM9 is a thinner smaller package than my 5 shot 9x19 revolver. It is, in my hands a better shooter too. In short, there could be much more to the decision of getting a semi over a snub nose.
As to reliability, my experience is probably an outlier but, revolvers have proven less reliable than a number of auto loaders I have. I had a pre lock S&W J frame lock up on me. If an auto chokes one can typically get it back in the fight. That J-Frame was DONE until it was diagnosed and repaired. If I was in a fight it would have been as useful as a stone. I had a Ruger that one day simply started failing to have the trigger reset. This one could have been still been made to fire in a fight (you could force the trigger back to reset) but once again the fix was a detail strip and part replacement type repair. I have experienced bullets jumping their crimps, this was with factory ammo each time. I haven't shot that many rounds out of those guns (relatively speaking at least) and experienced some troubling and dramatic failures. Like I say it is probably an anomaly, but that is my real world experience. I also have an LCR that I've seen a number of people I've let shoot it have issues with letting the trigger get all the way out to reset before they attempt to fire again. I'm not saying revolvers aren't reliable, but they are not the infallible guns some want to make them out to be.
On the other hand with the two semi autos I have used as primary carry guns I have experienced exactly one malfunction out of many thousands of rounds fired. Semi auto failures tend to very most often be mag related. Thus, if one gets some good mags reliability tests them and then uses those mags as carry mags (using other mags for training) and services them properly that eliminates probably the biggest source of problems. Some semi's are much more prone to failures when dirty/dry than others. For this reason, and others, it is a bit of a problem to talk about all semi autos as a class when it comes to reliability. Some are jam-o-matics and some are boringly reliable. Most all other problems are either bad/incompatible ammo (typically prevented by buying quality ammo for carry use and reliability testing) or user error.
In sum, I'm willing to accept that revolvers are in general more reliable as a class than semi autos (even if not the myth some people would have others believe). However, I don't believe revolvers have enough of a reliability edge over a number of particular semi autos for it to be much of a concern at all. There is not enough of an edge in reliability to outweigh what, to me at least, are the advantages of a semi auto. There is a reason few armed professionals use revolvers today. Many semi's are boringly reliable and offer a number of distinct advantages.
