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All the laws about deadly force seem written from the perspective of someone who has perfect knowledge of all details and infinite time to think and deliberate -- not someone who's just realized he's about to die, sees something vaguely gun-shaped in the hands of someone acting threateningly, never wanted to hurt anyone but wants to get home to their kids again.
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That may be your subjective impression, but it is not the way the law is supposed to work. Refer to Brown v. United States, 256 US 335 (10921). Justice Holmes said
“Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife. Therefore, ... it is not a condition of immunity that one in that situation should pause to consider ..."
The case had to do with the duty to retreat (specifically, about the ability of the defendant to have ascertained, under the circumstances, whether retreat had been safely possible under the circumstances), but the principle certainly applies more broadly.