This is a nice link on what to consider for carrying concealed: http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-the-Right-Pistol-%28Handgun%29
(I don't edit my links).
While it is informative, I think the info at the bottom should be at the top instead of at the bottom and then repeated:
- The correct pistol is the one that works perfectly for you. Even if other people may not like it, the best pistol you can use, is your pistol.
- Rapid fire isn't everything. Controlled speed-firing is the correct term. Unless you are within an arm's reach of your target, you must be able to balance speed and accuracy.
- The more you practice the better you will get.
I usually carry either a .45 1911 (what I carried in the service) or a Super 38 1911 or a Bersa .380. The 1911's are very large and very heavy but I'm so familiar with them from carrying them in the service that I don't have to re-train on them. The Bersa is small and has a nice double action and is easier to carry, but again, I'm wayyyyyy more proficient with the 1911's for "coming up on target" in close-quarters whereas the Bersa is still a little light for me.
On caliber, despite its size a .22 can kill you. However, it must be remembered for the novice/inexperienced/afraid-of-guns individual, while there's all the science in the very nice article cited by the FBI, you can hit someone with a .22 and it kills them, and hit someone with a .45 and they keep coming depending on how things go. You're shooting into bad guys' bones, rapists stomachs, child molesters' lungs, robbers' hearts, intruders' intestines, perpetrators' face. Size really isn't everything.....very often just drawing a gun will solve your issue for you.
