As I told one of my girlfriends a while back, that sort of scenario is when you pull out your firearm and visibly check the load. She had to work in a bad part of town where similar things happened, and it helped her at least four times that we knew of. The goblins usually remember a pressing engagement somewhere else and leave.
Technically, it might be brandishing, but no jury in the world outside of a blue state will convict.
Dasher lives in a Blue State - the Bluest of Blue.
You may be right that a jury would not convict, but consider two things:
The general rule is you don't draw your firearm unless you are justified in using it; and
In California, unless you are a Democratic US Senator or something, if you are packing, you are packing illegally.
On balance, I would recommend against brandishing.