My .38+P AirWeight hammerless S&W has served me flawlessly. I carry it full of MagSafe's. But since I got mine several years ago they have released the AirLite. Its several hundred $$$ more, but man its a only a few ounces in weight (Scandium and Titanium) and even handles THE ultimate defense round... the .357Mag!!!
I had the opportunity to shoot a S&W AirLite in .357Mag, and after shooting it I wouldn't carry it for self defense. Yes it is VERY light and compact, which is a good and BAD thing for this gun. Shooting full house .357Mag's the recoil was BRUTAL. The grip is small and fairly solid, and the gun is so light that the full tilt 357's felt WORSE than my Super Redhawk with max loaded 300 grain XTP-Mag. So if you carry that baby for personal defense, you'd better hit the dude on the first shot, cause the recoil will make a quick follow up difficult at best, and forget rapid fire. With 38Spc it probably would be a lot better, but at the S&W sponsored shoot I went too they only had 357 ammo.
I'm moving to Colorado this summer, and when I get there I plan on buying 2 Springfield XD Compact 9mm's, one for me and one for my wife as carry guns. I don't have a CCW in Iowa because our silly "may issue" law gives my liberal sheriff final say over who can or cannot carry in this county.
Mike