For as long as there have been forums, I have been seeing that same statement over and over again, I carry my gun, or my big gun, when I know I am going into a bad area. "Or something close to it". I really wish that we could put an end to that kind of thinking. If anyone who has been shot at, or in a violent confrontation, knew ahead of time that it was going to happen, they would have never left home that day.
You can't think like that. Bad things happen everyware, and being less or more prepared for them because of location, is foolish. Take the gun that you carry all the time with you all of the time. Then you don't need to be less prepared some days than others for the same incident. When it happens are you going to be angry at the guy for not being in the place that you expected him to rip you off.
When animals go hunting, they go where the game is. And usually they go where they have had success before. If I were a stickup guy, I would not go to the ghetto to ply my trade, but to the wealthy part of town where I could maximize my return in the shortest time.
What logic dictates carrying a 10 oz 380, one day and a 357 magnum in a 2 1/2+ lb, gun, the next?
Unless you have gone wheels up, and headed to your next deployment, there should be no reason to do that.
perhaps going someware in the middle, like a 9mm single stack, 'for all around carry", might make more sense.