Amen,
I'd just like to add that everyone seems to acknowledge that there is a psychological component to one-shot stops. Essentially, the bad guy, just gives up, so "street results" can be very skewed. That doesn't even begin to get into the problems of where in the thoracic cavity, the subject was hit, and which blood vessels were severed, organs destroyed, etc.
There are primarily two methods of stopping an attacker: Hemorraghic shock and damage/destruction of the Central Nervous System. CNS damage is usually an "instant" stop, while hemorraghic shock (shock induced by a loss of blood pressure/volume)is relatively unpredictable. How long does it take for someone to bleed out. If you cut off all the oxygen to your brain, like some of my stupid friends did in 9th grade, or like the carotid restraint (aka the sleeper hold), it still takes a few seconds to put the guy out, and that is with the blood flow being essentially stopped, not just weakened by a few holes in the chest.
A .32 is very little gun to bring to a fight. If it's all you have, then it's better than nothing, but in my opinion, you'd do better with a Glock 26 or 27. One of the problems with small weapons is the short sight radius, which can make an accurate shot difficult, even on the range. Under stress, it gets worse. If your defensive plan only includes gunfights at conversation distances then it would probably be ok. If you are limited in what you can carry, then of course, it's better than a head-butt.
Another thing, is that you may have problems with penetration if an arm or heavy clothing are in the way, which is one of the reasons for the International Wound Ballistics Association
www.iwba.org recommendation of 12-18 inches of penetration in 10% calibrated ordnance gelatin.
The best site I've found on wound ballistics is Shawn Dodson's
www.firearmstactical.com web site.
I was a true believer in the Marshall Sanow one shot stop statistics and the light and fast bullet crowd. While stationed at Fort Lewis, I carried 115gr. CorBon, because it rated highly and Mas Ayoob recommended it. When I read the information at Firearms Tactical that refuted their "statistics," I went through withdrawal symptoms as my mind was changed, and anyone who knows me and how opinionated I am, can attest to the difficulty of that task. I'd recommend you check out Shawn's site and make up your own mind.
As far as overpenetration goes, someone made the observation that it is really a non-issue, since most shots in gunfights tend to miss the target anyways. Not that such a thing is worthy of emulating. As the good Colonel mentioned earlier wisely preaches, "identify your target and know what is behind it!"
As a final note, I'd suggest you read as many stories of gunfights as you can. Chuck Taylor used to publish a series in one of the gun rags, and even Mas Ayoob had a decent book, which was a compilation of gunfights (although he may have gotten some of the details wrong). I'd highly recommend Jim Cirillo's book "Guns, Gunfights, and Bullets." My reason for suggesting such a morbid research project is it graphically illustrates how ineffective even larger calibre handgun cartridges are against a determined adversary. During the Calibrepress Street Survival seminar, we were shown a tape of a subject who was shot 5 times during an extended period with .40 ammunition. While being shot, he was still throwing large car parts from the back of a truck, and jumped down, ran around, and finally suffering from hemorraghic shock, just collapsed in mid-stride. If I remember, this occurred over a period of 10-20 seconds.
I think if you look into it, you'll want to carry the biggest gun (in the smallest package?) that you can handle.
Cheers,
Chuck
[This message has been edited by Chuck Ames (edited October 29, 1999).]