coopershooter,
I am a big fan of the dual carbine/pistol combo idea. I have had a winchester .357 carbine since 1994 (centenial model) and have had no problems with it. I have shot deer, coyote, groundhogs,rabbits, rampaging dogs and feral cats with it. It has been very dependable and as long as I keep the range at about 100 yards or less it allways does the job. unfortunately winchester doesnt make these any longer but marlin makes the 1894c in .357 and it is a excellent weapon. the only other company that I know of that makes a .357 levergun is rossi I think they call it the Puma. I have seen and shot 2 of these and they seemed o.k., but thay were of a little rougher quality finish wise than the marlin or winchester. Along with my carbine, I have carried several handguns, all rugers. a 43/4 blackhawk, a 3 1/16 sp101, and a gp 100. all 3 did a fine job, though I prefer the blackhawk for hunting, I no longer have the gp100 as I had to get rid of one of them and the sp101 was my concealed carry gun.
I have been very happy with this combo, but... if I had it all to do over again... and could stand the .44 mags recoil out of a handgun and higher ammo prices, I would probably go with the .44 mag. But as I said this combo has done everything I have asked it to do. Good luck.