First off the caliber debate will rage on for ever as to which one is the best "man stopper" basicaly it like hunting guns 99% of the stopping power boils down to the correct BULLET choice. A 380 auto will stop a man very fast if the proper bullet is used , a 44 mag won't if the improper bullet is used. The 9mm got a bad rap strait out of the gait due to crappy bullets being fired , yes you can shoot a man 13 times with a 9mm and he won't fall if your shooting ball ammo , shoot him once in the chest with a 115gr Cor-Bon and its "slow walking and soft music" from their on out , he is gonna die very fast and probably drop in just a couple seconds. No practical self defense rounds produce enough energy to knock a man off his feet generaly about 500 foot pounds in the top of the scale and 400-450 is average , a typical 15 yr old boy can ppunch that hard !! so the whole "Knocked him off his feet" thing is BS I have seen a few guys shot and killed with hand gun rounds 1 9mm , 2 40s&w and one 45 acp all men sucked up several rounds before they fell , all stopped what they were doing instantly. In each case good ammo was used.
As for the gun choice thats gonna biol down more to what FITS you properly rather than whats the best , my personal carry gun is a Glock 21 its a big fat frame and I added a slip on Houge grip because I got a big paw , had the 40 cal or 9mm fit my had better I would have chosen one of them instead !! I have shot the New Springfield XD and its a great shooting reliable gun but I don't care for it just don't feel right , I have seen to many Sigs and Rugers malfunction to often and I refuse to cary one as a defense gun , same goes for the dozens of 1911's I've shot and I own 3 they are great shooting guns but they will malfunction as they have dozens of time so they won't be riding with me either. I have over 40,000 rounds through my Glock 21 and it has only malfunctioned 2 times and this was with one box of Blaser ammo where th cases actualy split and when we cronoed them they were shooting a 230gr bullet at over 1000 fps !!! I carry 200gr Cor-Bon's in it in the winter and 185gr Cor-Bon's in the summer these are both +P rounds , this particular gun now wears a new Wilson Combat barrel and the spring and guide rod were changed years ago with a kit from Wolff.
When I got my wifes gun I got it used (Glock 23) I swapped the barrel out to the 357 Sig , she shot both and liked the recoil of the Sig better so thats what she carries also loaded with Corbon ammo.
So in my oppinion , go to a GOOD gun shop and see if they will let you fire a few guns and see what fits your hands best , if none are available talk to a few of your local LE guys and see if they will let you shoot their guns.
after being through a couple small CQB shcools and tons of range sessions I protect mine and my families life with a Glock.
(and a Rem 870 taced out and a custom M4) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
