sukiyakii,

Actually, the thought to do more than just sternly admonish her DID cross my mind for a split-second, but the "better angels of my nature" stayed my hand.  Had I done so, it would've been in retrospect, almost as bad as striking a child or someone mentally challenged.

Among common pistols, the .45 is considered a big bore, but I'll confess to you, the moment I heard that hammer snap (luckily on an empty chamber) that .45 muzzle looked as big as a 12-gauge shotgun's.  (Where was the store clerk at the time?  Why, helping another customer wouldn't you know.) 

Depending upon what era I happen to be studying at the time, a 1940s Colt Government Model .45 (to all intents and purposes a stock M1911A1) is apt to reside as a bedside companion should something go bump in the night.  In the best Koko Head tradition, the magazine in the butt is loaded with only five rounds of 200-grain jacketed hollow points.  It's never scared me, but then, I was shooting .45 hardball since age 12.