I've never thought about my carry gun as an intimidation tool to scare of an attacker. If you ever need to pull your gun in self-defense you are in stage #4 of the violent crime. At that point your just trying to survive. Point your gun at someone that's mean-mugging you and the DA will ask you how did you know you were in immediate danger? You had better have a better answer than "he looked at me mean."

The Five Stages of Violent Crime:
1) Intent
2) Interview
3) Positioning
4) Attack
5) Reaction