You posted the equivalent of a Ford vs. Chevy or Winchester vs. Marlin argument. If you are talking self defense as in a carry gun, neither fits the bill as far as I'm concerned. Both are too large to tuck away. Living in FL myself, my rule of thumb is to carry the largest caliber the clothing allows. Most times it's smaller than what I'd want to carry. Fanny packs scream,"I'm toting a bullet launcher with me." If you mean house protection I'd take the auto loader hands down, but a shotgun is much better. A pump shotgun has an auditory advantage when you consider the sound of a shell being cycled. It should momentarily sober up even the most derranged intruder. As far as hunting, the 41 has the advantage. A little faster, but that in itself is not so significant if within pistol range, but the advantage goes with a longer sight radius and the inherent accuracy advantage of a revolver over an autoloader. Sorry, to confuse the issue, but in consideration of your question, either would work in both situations you mentioned, but neither is optimum for both situations.