A .45 won’t penetrate body armor: 7.62x25mm will.
True. But you also have to hit what you are shooting at, meaning THAT pistol firing that round will recoil like a son of a gun, making it tough to maintain an aim point. It is a serious short range pistol however.
The same is true for a long barrel .357 magnum. Heck of a punch, but put two rounds in a 12 inch circle.
... of course you may not need more than one round ;-)
I’ll stick with my .45