Just my $0.02 worth
What do bad guys carry? What ever they can acquire illegally. They do not care what they carry as long as they can get it. Bad guys 90-99% of the time carry what they can get their hands on. Nothing more.
There is too much TV influence on the apparent criminal opinion of the guns they carry. People watch "Sons of Anarchy" and other shows thinking bad guys have access to anything they want. Guns on the street are the most sought after items. Bar none. But they are, at a lot of times, hard to come by. They are sought after because they are not as available as you would think. They are out there, but not as easily accessible as one would think. Most criminal guns are simply stolen. The criminal gun is what ever is stolen. What ever is available. Most bad guys ditch their guns if they have any belief the police are looking into them and then seek another gun later.
And regarding what bad guys carry..? They usually carry what is popular for the general public. Because they steal what is popular with the general, law abiding public.
The law abiding public will generally follow police carry standards. Think about that. When did .40 S&W become popular? After the police adopted it, right? Just like 9 millimeter in the 80's and 90's. Prior to that it was the .38 Special. Cops carried .38 Special for decades. And yet it was the very popular while police carried it.
Remember, a self defense handgun is just that, as self defense handgun. The modern self defense handgun was NEVER designed to be a first shot kill weapon. It was simply designed for defense, not offense. Offense is for AK's and M4's on up... Yes, the modern magnum wheel gun like the .44 Magnum and up will produce first shot kills like an AK or M4. How many officers carry .44 Magnum or .454 Casull as a defensive sidearm? Dirty Harry was fiction.
So what is stolen today, will more than likely be used by the criminals.. So what you are carrying is what the bad guys will steal and carry.
Buy a good, strong safe. In home burglaries, firearms are the most sought after item. Secure your firearms..! We do NOT need to give more "ammo" to the left wing media to attack our second amendment rights.....