One of the things you need to check out thoroughly is whether the gun will handle hollow points without jamming. Which is why a small revolver might be a good idea. Revolvers don’t care what kind of bullet goes into the gun, they just fire. Many semi-autos do care and they will jam with Hydro-Shocks or other hollow points.
Another issue that is generally not dealt with is that a semi-auto can be disabled if the top of the magazines are dented or bent. That denting or bending can happen if you store your mags in a field bag and they bang around around for a while. I have had this happen and it has put me off semis for a while. I am going to be changing over to a non-semi in the next year or so.
Revolvers can be quickly loaded using moon clips and that shouldn’t be a real consideration. Most encounters (95%?)with perps end after your gun is shown. Of the rest, most perps will voluntariy exit at high speed after you fire the first shot.
The remaining few will require puttin’ steel on target quickly and you are not going to be able to afford to have a jammed gun.
EAA in .357 loaded with 38 Spcl +P HydraShoks. Only better for the money is an eight shot revolver, IIRC, from Taurus in .357 loaded with the same rounds. Gives you the luxury of relying on center mass hits.
How would I tell prior to purchase if a hollowpoint or hydroshock is likely to jam a semi-auto? My understanding is that HK USPs (the current favorite for me to choose) rarely jam ... but I wouldn’t know whether they jam on occasion due to particular ammunition. Given how highly regarded they seem to be, I wouldn’t bet that a hollowpoint would flummox an HK ... but I’m not sure of that.
SnakeDoc