Massad Ayoob on smal pistols

While I never used that particular .32 for anything serious, the day came when I was with some NYPD officers who responded to an armed robbery in progress by multiple suspects armed with sawed-off shotguns. I was not carrying. The backup gun I was graciously handed by one of the uniformed guys was a Walther PPK loaded with .380 FMJ.

Now, quite apart from that gun being totally against NYPD regs then and now, being issued a .380 is something Jeff Cooper probably has nightmares about. However, going from nothing at all to a .380 makes the little gun feel like the thunderbolt of Zeus. The perps were gone when we got there, but the little gun was comforting.

From Guns magazine.

As they say, the first rule of gunfighting is to have a gun.

Although i don't think a lot of .32s or .25s, i have to wonder-- how many civilian defensive guns uses result in failure due to inadequate caliber? By that i mean the victiim is injured or killed after she/he shoots the goblin with a small caliber round in the high torso?