“I had two guys that I was 90% sure were seconds away from pulling a weapon or just jumping me and at a minimum beating the fluids out of me. I pulled my weapon, and told them to leave. They did.”
Precisely my point, and the most common form of self defense with a firearm. I have had a couple of people in my classes that actually had to shoot someone, but 10 times as many who had people run from them because they had a gun.
Most assailants do not have a gun, they have a club, or knife, or bare hands, or are multiple assailants.
I have been lucky enough to just show my HOLSTERED weapon and difuse the situation. Push the situation, forcing me draw it, then the odds are someone is going to get shot. The last thing I want is to have my revolver in my hand and for it NOT to be pointed at some, about to recoil. If I allow the threat to get that close and haven’t killed him, that would indicate someone else has done it for me.