What I want to carry is the smallest size gun in a service (9x19mm) caliber. I've never shot a man in my life and I'm 53 years old. If I can shoot 10 out of 10 rams at 200 yards with an open sighted pistol, I can hit center mass at 3 feet.
A bullet that's packin' 410 ft lbs ain't something I wanna get shot with, either, no matter how many hundredths of an inch it is.
If you wanna carry around a .44 mag desert eagle, fine, more power to you. Me, I'll be carryin' a compact nine, 14 ounces of +P fire power, thanks. It rates in the 90s in REAL gun fights for comparative purposes, similar to the .45ACP, as it should with over 400 ft lbs of energy and 1260 fps of velocity to open up that hollow point. It won't challenge the 4" service .357 magnum, king of the hill in handgun power. I guess that's because the bullet is .002" smaller than the .357...
But, the .357 is a flash/bang wimp out of a carryable sized gun, a snubby. The 9 has more energy with a similar size/weight bullet. It gets it done with a faster burning, denser powder out of short barrels and, thus, also has much less recoil and is easier to fire rapidly.
For CCW, a gun you will have with you is far better than the shotgun at home in the closet. You have to realize, NO handgun is a "stopper", period, not even the holy .45 ACP. The .357 out of a long enough barrel begins to approach rifle like power, but it ain't there out of anything all day carryable. You can't carry a Mossberg Persuader IWB or in a pocket, so just choose what you WILL have with you, something you CAN carry all day, every day, all year. The 9 offers the most power for the carryable size of any handgun caliber with the possible exception of some of the compact .40s. Between .40 and 9mm, I've chosen the 9. It's easier on those little frames and packs enough punch IMHO and it's easy to shoot accurately and fast. the .40 is a viable choice, though. I've yet to see the .45 ACP that's pocket sized. If we're talkin' service guns, I'd argue for the .357 magnum revolver as to caliber above all others save maybe a .41 magnum, but I'm not a cop or security guard. I carry concealed, usually pocket or IWB.
As was stated earlier, if a coroner is examining a body, it is probably a dead one no matter the caliber that put it there.