There is nothing wrong with a SAA except fast reloading. I have often carried my Ruger Vaquero Sheriff's model, not the new Vaquero, and feel just fine. Mine is 45 Colt and I am working on getting a 45acp cylinder fitted, and yes I do have a couple of old 1911 mags with the springs lightened, to use as reloads once I get the acp cylinder. The Mernickle PS6-SA holster fits close to the body and works well.
+1. In his AH column, and most likely in his classes, Clint Smith uses the terminology of more or less manipulation. Reloading a DA revolver requires more manipulation than reloading an auto, and reloading an SA sixgun requires more manipulation than reloading it's DA counterpart. While less manipulation may be desirable in regard to operating a weapon, this does not mean that well-trained folks will necessarily choose the auto-loading weapon option.
I would not lose sleep over it, if for some strange reason, I had to patrol the streets of my patrol
districts with an SA sixgun on my hip every night, instead
of the currently-mandated double-stack DA .40 auto. I would still be carrying a
second handgun, as I do now, and would still take the shotgun for frequent
short walks, as I do now, when I anticipate facing weapons, being
outnumbered, or "just because." To be clear, I am not saying I would prefer to
tote an SA sixgun at work, just that I would not feel inadequately armed. A
semi-compact double-stack duty pistol is a much more efficient package,
especially for those of us who have not increased the amount of real estate at
belt level.
In private-citizen clothing, with no need to tote a Taser, radio, handcuffs, baton, and such burdens, a substantial sixgun is not a bothersome load to carry.
In 27+ years of police patrol, I have fired one shot. In situations where I nearly had to shoot, five rounds would have probably been plenty, had things gone bad. This is in a city which once vied for murder capital of the USA, about the time I started. (I actually chose to join this PD in 1983 instead of joining the then-peacetime military; I wanted to serve, and experience an adventure.)
I am not trying to persuade anyone that five shots is enough; just sayin' that five rounds has been more than enough for me, and my immediate associates, over time. (I will concede that my shotgun may have persuaded some to stand down rather than try something stupid, where they may have resisted against handguns.)