A miss by either .45 or 9 mm is still a miss, and neither one carries much authority.
The heart, Ramon. Don’t forget the heart. Aim for the heart, or you’ll never stop me.
Pistols are for fighting your way to the long gun.
Clint had so many great quotes over his career that some get overlooked/forgotten.
"Pistols are for fighting your way to the long gun."
Or to your 12 gauge loaded with .68 cal Steel Ball Bearings.
The army did a study around WW1 of all different pistol cartridges, even explosive ones, and they found that shot placement was more important than caliber. According to them the only way to put down an opponent and have him stay down was to shoot him in the brain, the spine or the long bones of the legs. That doesn’t mean your opponent won’t die if you shoot him somewhere else it just means they can retaliate before they do. Just as a miss with a .45 is the same as a miss with a 9mm a .22 in the brain is going to stop them as well as a .45. They also agreed with your long gun strategy with the shock created by a rifle bullet’s velocity having amazing stopping power.