Current carry guns of choice:
Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in .44 Special. Stainless, five shot, double action, 3 inch barrel. I milled off the fixed front sight and dovetailed it, then installed a taller front that I could file down for elevation and drift for windage. Shoots sub-2 inch groups at 25 yards with a Lyman Keith type 240 grain bullet over W-W 231; they clock about 840 fps out of this gun.
Next is a third generation Peacemaker in .45 Colt. Standard load is the RCBS .45-255K Keith style semi-wadcutter at about 260 grains cast from wheelweights. 16.5 grains of 2400 is good for over 900 fps. I've killed a couple of large mulies and a pronghorn with this gun/load combo. Never have recovered a bullet; it makes it through big deer even breaking both shoulders. Who needs a .44 mag?
Last, but certainly not least, is what most of you would consider the "best". Standard mil-spec Springfield 1911A1 .45 auto. Lowered ejection port, polished ramp, throated, long trigger, and full length guide rod with a 22lb spring. Standard load is the old standby of 230 grain hardball of Hornady XTP hollow point over 7 grains of Unique for the standard 830 fps.
And yes I do really carry the old hogleg. Most of the time, in fact. I have more confidence in it and handle it better than any other handgun. For the things I like to do, it really does suit me best. With "five beans in the wheel" it is the safest on a motorcycle, where I spend a lot of time travelling. A 1911 in condition one or two makes me nervous on a bike, and in condition three is just too slow to get into action. The little Bulldog is great, but offers no more rounds than the Colt. It does fit in a jacket pocket, which is an advantage. The 1911 is "formal attire", as it does not print from under a suit or sport jacket. Both it and the Peacemaker are just carried in my waistband, border-style. No holsters. Anyway, this selection works for me just about everywhere. I might have to pick up a compact 1911 someday though.