If I'm buying a pistol for self defense, I want something that can knock an attacker down. At least a 9mm or .38 Special. A .22 round can be shrugged off by a strong attacker unless the victim gets lucky. It is the type of round fired by a tiny Derringer a woman can keep in her purse.
Exactly. My father was a cop for 30 some odd years. Used to say "don't shoot someone with a .22. They might notice and get mad."