Just a general question. Particularly for someone who is not a shooting enthusiast but needs a carry gat - probably a revolver - would it be nuts to consider for example 148 grain wadcutters in a .38 Special? For someone who might well be shooting inside their own house, and who is not particularly hardened to recoil (I am thinking about my little sister, to be specific). I have heard that the wadcutters "punch well above their weight" - but on the other hand if somebody comes into the house uninvited with bad intent, there certainly is a school of thought to hit them as hard as you can.
Related question- just picked up a S&W lightweight M39 with 3" barrel, 5-shot .44 Special. In the same vein would I be nuts to load it for carry or to put on the night stand with something like Black Hills "Cowboy" ammo - a cast flat point 210 grain at nominal 700 fps - idea being again ranges will be short, the gun is light and short barreled, have not shot it yet but imagine it recoils pretty vigorously, and with that 3" barrel the flash and blast are expected to be pretty impressive. But there are considerably more powerful loads like just for example Winchester Silvertips available.
I already have my ideas that neither above scenario is nuts, but, if I am inclined to take a bad road here, so to speak, maybe you guys can talk me out of it.