They are interesting. I tend toward heavier loadings for non-magnums and go light with the magnums, at least for 2 legged defensive purposes. But my wife's Shield is loaded up with 100gr Pow'r Ball ammo --- not because it's fast, which it is, but because it has a FMJ profile. Her immediate action skills aren't all that great. It needs to go bang every time until the slide locks back.
IMO, in order of importance with a handgun, it's:
Mindset (will you pull the trigger first or when needed)
Skill (can you score hits under stress)
Reliability of the weapon (with the chosen ammo)
Accuracy of the weapon (both mechanical and ergonomic)
Bullet construction
Some discount accuracy, but there have been a number of high profile defensive encounters at longer ranges in the last decade. Most modern handguns have very high mechanical accuracy, but some fall short in ergonomic accuracy (like snub revolvers or pocket autos).
Bullet construction came under a lot of scrutiny, especially in the 1980s (the Miami FBI shootout and others), and is still important, just subordinate to the other key elements, IMO.
I like the above story about the .30-30. There are so many like it in history. American Rifleman has several every month. Unless a CNS hit is made, the other shooter tends to keep shooting. There was a video of a police shooting in Spanaway, WA recently that's pretty instructive. Police kept lighting up the perp, who was hit, but he kept shooting. As he lost blood, his shots became slower and he slowly degraded, but it took time. Fortunately, the police had significant standoff and weren't hit, but they also couldn't put the guy down. The Hollywood "blow the guy off his feet" simply doesn't happen and doesn't make sense from a physics perspective. Most people who are shot tend to fall forward, if at all.
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Psalm 27:2
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