Originally Posted by
gunnerblue
.22 Magnum out of a handgun has never impressed me much, a longer rifle barrel fits the cartridge better, IMO.
Stopping power really isn't a thing. What you want is a combination of expansion and penetration. The Speer Gold Dot .22 mag round (30 grain, as I recall) seems to meet the minimum requirements.
In general, a properly constructed bullet in 9mm or .38 Special is the most commonly recommended starting point. I have no experience with the .380 but there seems to be enough quality self defense rounds available that it may be GTG as well.
My .02