“In his last few years, he switched from a .45 to a 9 mm and then a .22LR for self defense.”
I feel better hearing that, because I have just completed that same progression myself.
I first stepped down to the 9, and I thought, “Popgun. Inadequate.”
So I thought, if a 9 is inadequate, might as well go with the lightest possible weapon: 22lr loaded with hollow points.
The best thing is I can fire it accurately with either hand.
“...if a 9 is inadequate, might as well go with the lightest possible...” [dsc, post 59]
Gun enthusiasts insist on believing there is some discernible cutoff point, between 45 ACP and all smaller-caliber handgun rounds, in effectiveness.
There isn’t.
Comparisons of handgun-cartridge effectiveness are necessarily uncertain, mostly because targets that are alive vary too much. And collection of data from “real” events such as law enforcement or self-defense incidents will never fully dispel that uncertainty. There are too many variables, too many unknown conditions.
9mm NATO actually develops more kinetic energy than MIL STD 45 ACP.