There are only two valid reasons I can come up with for carrying a firearm, be it open or concealed.
1) To protect myself,
2) To protect others.
That being said, what would be important criteria that such a weapon should meet.
1) Ammunition must have a much better than average chance of putting an assailant down with one well placed shot. That being said, I'd stay away from a .22. Not that a .22 bullet won't kill, as I'm aware of more than a few people who are with us in spirit only due to being on the receiving end of a 40 grain .22 bullet. But, most of the time, a single .22 wound is usually a nuisance. If not near perfectly placed, a .22 will do little to significantly slow down someone hell bent on pounding a mud-hole in one's arse. As a minimum, I'd opt for .38+P.
2) The weapon must be reliable. I don't want a cheaply made ill fitted stamped piece of junk if my life or the life of a loved one may depend on it one day. I'm baffled why someone consider buying a $200 piece of chit instead of well made reliable $500 handgun when their wife or child's life may one day depend on that gun properly firing.
3) It must be a firearm that I am proficient with. In order to be proficient, it must fit my in hands comfortably. What fits my hands may not fit yours. In addition, different guns within the same caliber handle recoil differently. In fact different generations of the same model do so as well such as the 3rd and 4th generation Glocks. Second only to trigger control in terms of accuracy would be relative sensitivity to recoil. Recoil affects everyone differently and has a significant effect on 2nd and subsequent shot placement.
YMMV
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Abrignac wrote:
