As LE marksmanship instructor for the Oregon BPST and an officer survival trainer I studied lots of officer related shooting of both officers and bad guys. I also studied lots of civial shootings. Most gunfights are with and ended by cartridges most of us "kowledgeable" gunfighters consider as inappropriate and ineffective minor calibers or ammuntion. Most knowledgeable and trained persons who carry major caliber handguns for defence learn the first rule; stay out of a gunfight to begin with.
I learned one thing in particular; any gun is better than no gun regardless of the ammuntion in it. Most often the miscreants depart at the sight of their opponants handgun. Yes there are a few cases where a miscreant continued to cause problems after being shot with or at by anything but that is very, very rare. Taking Fackler's reports into context he was only looking for the instances of one shot stops with solid hits. His report does not note those cases of stops with 2-3 or more hits or even with misses that caused the miscreant to about face and depart.
Where is it written you have to stop shooting after just one shot anyway? The general concenses is to keep shooting until aggression stops and I concur with that. When an OSP Trooper I carried an issue Colt Trooper .357 Magnum with a M94 30-30 or M500 12 ga in the patrol car. When with a city angency I carried a M15 S&W .38 Special for 8 years with 125 gr +P JHPs or the 150 gr lead HP +P and a .380 AMT as a back up loaded with Winchester Silvertips. I felt comfortable with that but would have prefered my .45 Colt Commander that I carried with Speer 200 gr FATs off duty. When I went to a SO I carried a Series 70 Colt M1911 with just that ammo and my M1A in my patrol Blazer. I still carried the AMT Backup in a belly band inside my shirt around my Second Chance vest. I never really felt "undergunned" with any of them.
Back in the day when the 147 gr 9mms were the rage I tried them and found the better ones were almost identical to the 150 gr .38 lead HP +P loads in velocity and terminal performance out of a Browning HP and a M59. Not all that bad if the bullet is put in the right place but nothing to write home about either. I still have an unopened box of the Black Talon 147s. However, my CZ 75 9mm is currently loaded with 115 gr XTPs at +P+ velocity for home protection duty.
Like Charger I have numerous loaded guns stashed around the house. Some years back my wife complained about it and I put most of them in the gun safe. However shortly after there were a couple burglaries and car prowls in the neighborhood so she told me to stash them around the house again and made sure I trained her in the use of each. My Pare Ordnance P14 loaded with FAT rounds is my primary protection handgun these days but it is supplemented by the CZ75, Colt Cobat Commander, Series 70 M1911 and the M19 around the hose along with 1 shotgun, an AR, the M1 Carbine and the M1A. Some might say I'm paranoid but I've investigated to many crimes against persons so I just consider it all "insurance"
I still most often carry the AMY Backup with me in my back pocket or in a fanny pack when making a quick trip to the store. But when I go "out" or on a trip to certain parts of town or areas the Colt Combat Commander goes along loaded with Speer 200 gr FATs over 7.5 gr Unique as a carry gun. Sometimes the M1 Carbine goes along too as it is a lot less obnoxious in the public view than an "assault" rifle. Loaded with good soft points it is very effective as a personal defense carbine. On longer trips from home the M1A always goes along many times acompanied by an AR as "extra" and the M1 Carbine for the wife (she packs a 2 1/2" M19 with 125 gr Winchestern magnum JHPs in it). The Combat Commander goes along as a carry gun and the P14 resides in the 5th wheel next to the bed as "in house" protection, many times with the M1 Carbine next to it.
However, when out hunting for a handgun I many times just have a .32 (S&WL or H&R Mag), sometime a .44 Magnum, a .357 Magnum, a .41 magnum or a .45 AR or Colt with me. Frankly I feel comfortable with all of them, some more than others but I'm not going to quiver in my boots in front of some miscreant just because I have the lowly .32 S&WL with me. The miscreant will eat 6 rounds very quickly in the 10X if necessary if I gotten stupid and set the rifle down I always carry. More than likely I'll use the rifle to deal with trouble. That will be the miscreants problem, not mine.
Larry Gibson