it would have pretty much all of the advantages you noted for the .380, be more powerful, and the ammo would cost far less in the bargain.
No, you missed the point. Actually, it would
not have all the advantages. It would miss the main advantage. My S&W 940 9mm revolver has a very sharp recoil, and the point of my post was to get a revolver with as much impact as possible while not going past the recoil point where the pain of arthritis makes it not possible to use the handgun.
.380 semi-autos for the people that I mentioned, either are so small they are very painful for arthritic hands to control, or they are so large that working the slide and a double action trigger, or cocking a hammer, is difficult. Coupled with that the weakness of some folks wrists when afflicted, thus possibly causing malfunctions....
So again, if the trigger pull on the revolver were light enough, this might fill a need. Perhaps not a "niche", but possibly a need. More punch than .32 ACP or .32 S&W Long, low chance of jam, manageable recoil, less painful recoil than the same platform using 9mm or .38 Special, or .32 H&R Magnum for that matter.
LD