Don't write SA off just as a knee-jerk reaction. When you consider that the vast majority of armed encounters involve less than 4 shots, the choice really should depend more upon which weapon the individual has the most familiarity and skill with. For close range, it would be hard to beat a Sheriff's model loaded with heavy slugs over a maximum charge of black powder. If you missed, you could still incinerate them with the muzzle blast.
You're right that familiarity with a weapon should be one of the top considerations in a carry weapon. That said, to fire more than one shot quickly a person must use both hands to operate a SA revolver. For me that does disqualify the SA revolver from CCW use. Plus, most SA revolvers cannot be carried safely cocked, and for most you can forget about trying to reload in a firefight if it does last longer than 5 or 6 shots. It doesn't take much training for someone to get used to the operation of a DA revolver, and the DA offers a whole lot of advantages over the SA.