What is the test for using excessive force in self-defense?

In People v. Aguirre (1938) 11 Cal.2d 248, the defendant challenged one of the jury instructions on self-defense, which stated: " 'In the effort to save his own [life], or to avoid the infliction of great bodily injury upon him, the person in danger, real or apparently real, may use so much force as is necessary to meet such danger and no more. If he goes beyond this limit, he transcends the law of self-defense, and becomes himself a wrongdoer.' " (Id. at p. 253.) The court stated: "It is claimed that such language requires the defendant at his peril to determine the amount of force necessary to meet the

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