According to some info I saw a long time ago, the "best" handgun for home defense was determined to be a .357 revolver with a 4" barrel. This was some police study.
You'll always hear revolvers being recommended because they will not have a failure to feed/eject. They also do not need to be cocked or cycled before fireing (obviously not talking about SAO here).
.357 was figured to be the most lethal combination of power and (weight? recoil?) can't remember. Remember this is a recommendation for Joe Blow home owner.
The 4" barrel was supposed to be all you need to be accurate at the range you'll be shooting at, and ensures easy pointing.
Only thing is, you still have the over-penetration problem. I like the idea of Glasers or Mag-Safes. These are frangible bullets that are made to disintegrate when they hit. This keeps them from going thru walls, or ricocheting all over the place. Turns out this also gaurantees 100% energy transfer to the target, with no chance of the bullet exiting out the back ie. maximum lethality for the round.
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