Erich, you and I agree! Richard is right too! And I love Stephen's work!
Depending on which gunsite forum we read or believe, some "experts" say anything less than a 45 or 40 is stupid, or another, at least 380 is the minimum to even consider, or yet, penetration is all you need, or, expansion is a must, or, placement is all that matters and caliber is not important. I always love it on those forums after the "expert" tells us we are stupid, he closes by saying "there are no experts here"!
Really an interesting situation. If any of this was the absolute truth, then only one, or maybe two at most, calibers of selfdefense handguns would be made. All the rest would disappear for lack of sales. But the opposite is the case with all kinds of handguns in various calibers continue to be offered and are apparently selling. Folks like S&W, for instance, have dozens of models in the same caliber to offer.
So, what do I believe?? Reading records from years back show in the 90's even the .25acp was deadly. Europe favored (an still does in some places) the .32. Then came the 9mm era with all the cops carrying a Glock17 or 19. Now that ain't good enough. The military can't even make up it's mind. And some foreign countries don't permit anything bigger than .380. One guy's gelatin tests get different results than another. Wetpack tests are a big maybe. Another guy says waterjugs are the only way to go. And ammo mfgs. argue that waterjugs are too severe and not a fair test. And a famous wound expert vemenently disputes the "stopping power" publications and the "goat tests". Dozens of gunzine writers give glowing reports on stuff they've been paid to test. On and on we go. ??? ???
It's fun reading but can get confusing if we're not careful. My tentative conclusion from all of this is the handgun you choose has got to be totally reliable, accurate in your hands with lots of practice, a decent caliber that gets good penetration with the ammo you choose, and can be carried. If it weighs much over a pound, I can't carry it easily. Maybe you can, fine, I sure won't call you stupid like many of the "big guys" on forums call the rest of us if we don't carry their favorite cannon.
So what's my final answer. I ain't tellin'.
Your guess is as good as mine.
og