Just passing along a little bit of info from Mas Ayoob. I owned a snubbie in the past.
This is in regard to the desirability of the single-action function in a defensive revolver.
Ayoob recommended against it. He had a couple reasons.
First, (and what I consider most important) is that if you thumb-cock a revolver during a defensive situation, if the situation ends without you firing that shot, now you've got to decock over a live cartridge--while your adrenalin is pumping, your fine-motor skills are reduced, and maybe your hands are shaking a little bit.
Plus, (my comments, not Ayoob's) this ain't the movies, you're not going to be thumb-cocking to reinforce your point or intimidate, and you may need that extra couple hundredths of second that would be spent thumb-cocking multiplied by the number of shots you need to make.
Second, some prosecutors and/or plaintiff attorneys occasionally have tried the argument that the defender cocked his gun and it went off with the "hair trigger" by accidently touching it. This dovetails into a manslaughter charge trial strategy or negligence suit. Self-defense, as far as I know, is considered a deliberate act under the law. It is easier for a prosecutor to go after a defender for manslaughter than murder. If the prosecutor can paint the defender as having cocked the hammer and then accidentally pulling the trigger, he can nullify the defendant's self-defense argument, and push a manslaughter angle.
Google the case of (Frank?) Maglioti. He thumb-cocked, and the attacker rushed him from just across the street with a bludgeon. He fired one shot killing his attacker. His attorney tried the accidental shot strategy, but combined it with an argument of legitimate self-defense. The trial judge shot down the self-defense angle because that required a deliberate act, not accident. The defendant was convicted and sentenced for manslaughter.
______
I believe reasonable defensive accuracy with double-action in a revolver is achievable for most. I was able to do it. It just takes practice to learn how to pull the trigger without joggling the barrel around. In a defensive snubbie, about the only use for single-action is initial sighting-in. Snubbies aren't really designed for varmint hunting or precision target competition.
The big advantage I can see for a snubbie over an LCP/KelTect P3AT is the grip size and maintaining control. I also owned a KelTec P3AT in the past. The Ruger LCP is almost identical, but has a slide lock that is missing on the KelTect design. That little KelTec would jump all around in my hand, the dadgum grip frame was so small. Even the addition of a rubber "glove" didin't give enough. The durned thing would jump around so much that by the third shot, I'd have to reposition it in my hand. Its not that they have heavy recoil--they don't. Its just that the gun is so light that even the mild .380 cartridge makes it jump around in your hand. The extended magazine helped a lot, but it dramatically reduced the gun's deep concealability.
A snubbie has enough gripping surface to reduce the control problem. Lots easier to hang onto unless you have large hands, in which case the LCP is going to be even trickier to hold onto while shooting.