I find it interesting that some of the most famous gunfighters like Wild Bill used pistols like the .36 Navy shooting round ball.
Wyatt Earp was supposed to have said that it was the man who was cool enough to make his first shot count that was dangerous or something to that effect.
Some of the operators who are the real deal are just amazing how fast and accurate they are.
I lost a good friend years ago. He was shot at from distance with a .22 rifle. The bullet hit a piece of steel and shaved off a sliver that went between his ribs and into his heart.
When I worked with the EMS I helped pick up a young man who had been shot in the chest with a 12 gauge shotgun at a distance of less than ten feet. The shot was still in the cup when it hit him so it cut a hole about the size of a quarter. He was walking around when we got there and was not in hospital long.
I have seen several strange things. It seems to come down to whither your number is up.
So far Situational awareness and not being in places I shouldn't be has served me well.
I am going to do some penetration tests with different bullets and see what I come up with concerning faster velocity lighter bullets and slower heavies. From the multitude of testing available to look at there does not seem to be a great lot of difference in the two per some tests.
I have some old books I am going to use.I think it might be interesting but may not have much to do with real life.