I get the feeling this discussion is never going to end until the world invents a type of weapon that will truly offer instant immobilization. The truth is that a handgun is a poor choice of weapon to defend yourself with; but its carriable and concealable and much better than nothing. Any handgun has obvious limitations and to survive an encounter depends on good shot placement and a fair amount of luck. If I new ahead of time I'd much rather depend on my 12 gauge with 00 and slugs, and indeed that is my choice for a home defense weapon. ( I'd much prefer a 1928-A1 Thompson but you can't always get what you want as the song goes)