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The Miami FBI shootout exemplifies the need for a stronger cartridge loaded properly. One of the rounds fired by the FBI agent hit the perpetrator through his forearm, then hit is ribcage, but lodged there. Had the round had sufficient penetrating force it would have severed the perpetrator's aorta. However, the 9mm fired by the agent failed to do this and the perp subsequently killed the FBI agent.
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This. This is important. Equally important is the fact that Agt. Moreles, who eventually neutralized Platt and Matix, was left alive -only- because of P/M's choice of rounds. If Platt had been using a Garand or FAL, or any other full-power .30-cal, there would have been a minimum of 6, probably all 8 (not counting the two Sex Machines, that is) dead FBI Agents. If both Platt and Matix had been armed with full-power .30-cal rifles or .22-cal carbines loaded with AP ammo (SS109/M855, correct 5.45x39, etc) the deaths of all 8 Fan Belt Inspectors would have been all but inevitable.
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Pistols are notoriously poor manstoppers (and i'm quoting a Ph.D who studies ballistics here).
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Even more: THIS. Depending upon the info you consult and the authors you read (Chuck Taylor, Massad Ayoob, Jeff Cooper, FBI, whomever) somewhere between 75-85% of those who are shot with pistol-caliber rounds/projos survive. The issue is: can a given round -STOP- an aggressor, RIGHTNOW. That's what matters. -Stopping- the attack. A .22LR will kill a man: so will a BB gun. -Stop- him, OTOH? No. For that, you need massive tissue trauma and preferably equally horrid blood-loss, ideally combined with CNS damage and/or hydrostatic shock.
Look, I have customers who can -only- handle a .22. Fine. I tell them to load the weapon with high-velocity hollowpoints and empty the magazine if they ever have to fire in anger. 10rds of .22 at 1500+ FPS is about like a blast of #4 Buckshot: enough for the majority of situations. If that's all they can handle, I give them the tools/skills to handle it. The Walther P-22 is popular, likewise their PK-380 and Taurus's tilt-barrel .22. Both of the .22's are tuned for use with high-velocity HP rounds, and fired several times at close quarters could be a bit nasty. Nothing like an equal number of 9mm, .40, or .45 rounds, obviously, but quite capable if placed properly. The PK-380 is a masterpiece for those with arthritic hands or injured wrists with its' easy springs and low recoil. However, .380HP is now turning fairly ugly. 8-10rds of a short 9mm hollowpoint is a whole lot better than throwing rocks or .25's. A suitable .32 can be quite useful in enough numbers and with correct placement. But the point is that all of these rounds, weapons, and techniques are still trying to make up the difference between the small-caliber pocket-pistol rounds and full-sized, full-powered rounds such as 9x19mm, .40 S&W, .45ACP, 10mm, .38SLP, .357 Magnum, .44SPL, .45LC, etc.
88grLRN is better than nothing, let's put it that way. Practice headshots. It'll be somewhere below a .380 90grRN "plinking" round or a .38SPL "Original Recipe" 158gr LRN. Vastly more useful than the .25, with more tissue disruption than the .22. A good choice if she cannot handle or does not like heavier calibres, especially with HP.
Bottom like: go with what she can shoot effectively. Practice effective shooting. It'll all flow from there.