There is a common belief that small people should shoot small guns. On another thread the following was mentioned by yours truly and it sort of puts things in a different perspective, when compared to the usual "gun/caliber war"
mierda normally flung about:
According to real LE shooting reports, most criminals within 20 feet, or 2 car lengths, even when shot, still have enough steam to come get your ass. If they are carrying a knife, for example, you'll likely be stabbed, maybe fatally. Especially if they are sufficiently adrenalized or drug induced at the time. Under stress, can you hit them where it counts enough times, to keep them from crossing that 20 foot "Drop Zone?"
Remember, we know this because this is data from genuine, righteous cop shootings with 9MM, .357's, and one presumes, the newer midbores. I remember Mas Ayoob made much of this back in the 80's when he was a columnist with Combat Handguns. These incidents involve cops who at least train, practice and qualify on a periodic basis. And to be fair, these are also LE encounters, which by their very nature, are "pumped up" to start with.
But it is a sobering thought, all told. It puts all our planning, "caliber wars" and other regurgitations into the realm of a crapshoot, any way you slice it.
However, it's been my experience that in any crapshoot, you can't possibly come out a winner if you dont bring enough stake to stay in the game.
The First Rule of Gunfighting is: "Bring a Gun."
The second should be: "Know That You Can Confidently Hit a Human Target With It, If You Must."
One might consider the third as being: "Ensure That It Delivers Sufficient Power(Energy) On Target."
I like to call this my
"Tripart Wisdom of Gunfighting" - mostly 'cause I like to use big words.
Does this mean that a .500 S&W should be your carry weapon? No. But the .380 ACP is accepted from real shooting data as being the minimum. I would consider the right .32 MAG load in the same group, although there is little data to support this.
The .22 Mag has a 40-42% effectiveness rating - sorry, not good enough. The .25, worse. Ditto the .32ACP. Personally, I consider the .38 snub the minimum, with a 70-75% rating with the right loads. If you are recoil or blast shy, there are a number of good standard pressure "wonder loads" these days, for most of the common carry calibers. The CorBon and Federal Hydra Shock comes to mind.
But, mostly, all of this means you need to become acclimated to your gun via practice and work to toughen yourself to the thing - there is no "Magic Pill.". We're talking armed response here, not cap guns or paintball wars. This is serious S*%T. One must follow suit and get serious.
Whatever gun you DO use, follow the Tripart Wisdom of Gunfighting
