Bond has stepped up in caliber. In the books and the early movies, he had a PPK in 7.65mm (.32ACP). (After, "Dr. No", published in 1958. Prior to that, he used a Beretta M-318 .25 and a Colt DS)
I once asked the real Geoffrey Boothroyd (the Maj. Boothroyd in "Dr. No" was based on him) about the caliber issue, thinking that .380 might have an edge. He thought that neither was very different in real world results, and that with either, exact placement was crucial. I suspect that he was right, but 7.65mm case rims vary some with manufacturer and some feed better in Walthers than others.
I read an article by a German writer who revealed that in German police service, the PP and PPK failed to function on an average of once in 50 shots fired. That may have been almost as great an issue as needing more power when they transitioned to 9mm's in the 1970's, after terrorist activity saw a rise in the need to use handguns more often.
Boothroyd agreed with me that J-frame S&W .38's were much more reliable, but Fleming preferred small autos, probably because he was very concerned with concealibility.
He carried a Baby Browning .25 while a Royal Navy Intelliigence officer. He personally owned larger guns, and had Bond use a "long-barrelled Colt .45" that he kept in a hiding place in his car. He never said if it was a .45 auto or one like his own New Service revolver. He displayed the latter in an article about him in, "Life".
Ian Fleming is sometimes criticized for not being terribly gun-knowledgeable, which is why he conferred with Boothroyd, a gun writer and one of the best all-round authorities on fireams, ever. But Fleming was one of the very few authors who actually owned and shot handguns. He had carried one in harm's way. Compared to most writers, he did indeed know more than average. The only ones who seemed to know more were Donald Hamilton and Robt. B. Parker (in his later books.) I think Parker had a concealed carry license in Massachusetts.
Peter O'Donnell did very well with guns in his Modesty Blaise series, which I loved. But I think he may have just researched guns, not owning any. He was once a British Army intelligence NCO, so would have known the arms used in WW II and soon after. He got the idea for Blaise from a refugee girl he met in the Middle East. He certainly knew how to speed-fire an SMLE, which he had Modesty do on occasion. But he had her shoot one thug at just 20 yards with an S&W .41 Magnum, and seemed to think that was long range for a revolver!
Maybe the publisher dropped a digit. He may have meant 200 yards.
