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I will throw my 2 cents in there but take it for what it's worth.
I would not get too caught up the a .380, 9mm, .40, or .45 debate. The bottom line is that there is not enough data to prove any casing is better than the other in real world situations. There is not a magic one shot stop bullet. It's all about shot placement, wound tract, and permanent cavity. In fact one could argue that handgun calibers in general are not the "best" in defensive situations. Handguns are used because they are easy to carry and can be readily available on your person. If given the time to prepare, most would choose a long gun for self defense. The closest thing I can find as far as reliable ballistics testing comes from the feds. After some horrible results during a real fire fight, the feds realized that their standard issue handguns were not suitable for their needs. They defined some requirements, for example, the need to penetrate layered winter clothing, and from there they performed their tests. They decided that the 10mm had enough penetration through winter clothing and created a large enough permanent wound tract.
The point is, find something that is 100% reliable, something you can carry every day, something you can handle with ease, and something you can get back on target, quickly, for follow up shots....given your life style. What is suitable for one person is not necessarily suitable for everyone. I personally carry a KAHR PM40. It's reliable, easy to conceal (i carry in my front pocket), I can get back on target quickly and it meets my personal requirement of no manual safeties. My daughter carries a LCP 380 because she just can't get back on target quickly enough with my KAHR. That being said, If I had to choose a new CC today, I would go with a KAHR PM9 because 9mm ammo is cheaper which means it is more affordable to go to the range for practice.
The best advice I could give is, shoot as many guns as you can get your hands on....most ranges will let you rent different guns...then make a decision.
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