And one good 9mm in the right place beats 6 "Spray n' Pray" 357's any day, too. "Spray n' Pray" has more to do with training and the ability to control your panic than the weapon and its just as easy to waste 6 out of a revolver as 10+ out of an auto.
So? Most modern, quality autopistols will probably outlive their owner with routine care and maintenance.
Ignoring the mystique of "the most powerful handgun in the world" (which it isn't any more), most people find full-house .44 magnums to be suboptimal for self-defence. The recoil makes fast follow up shots impossible and they are probably more powerful than strictly needed for handgun rounds against human targets. If use downloaded rounds in a .44 mag gun, you might as well just go with a smaller round in a smaller, lighter gun. IMO, If you want to go wheelgun, the .357 is probably a much better choice, with superior properties for self-defence.
BTW, I'm one of those 50+ fellows, and I've got a couple autos in 9mm and .45acp, as well as a couple wheelguns in .357. While the .45 auto would probably be my
first choice, I would not feel particularly disadvantaged with any of them in my hand during a SD situation.