Opinion supported by past useage - The better you are, even under stress, the less gun you need. The Beretta models 70 and 71 in .22 long, complete with silencer, was the choice of the Mossad's assasination teams for years. We used the "hushpuppy", a silenced Colt or High Standard for the same purpose; quick, quiet kills of humans, guard dogs and so on. The 22, properly used, is a lethal instument. It also is a common accidental killler because people don't respect it.
If you start waving around a .50 Desert Eagle, someone will take it away from you and beat your head in with it. Any handgun brandished at under five feet can be taken away IF the person threatened has the nerve and training.
You want a deterent at close range and are too lazy to train in the muscle memory required to use a firearm properly under stress? Get a sharp, nasty-looking knife. More people stop thinking coherently when confronted with a knife than with a gun. It's called aichmophobia and is more common than you might think.
Me, I ulike the PPK in .380. I've had it for twenty years, and I try to get in a session a week. How many times can you hit a paper plate at twelve feet in under four seconds?
Just point your weapon at the ground down range, have your friend standing behind you talking normally, then he suddenly yells "shoot", counts four, and yells cease-fire. It isn't complex, just time consuming. And always practice your draw with an empty gun.
Easy to say, hard to do
