These are all interesting little guns from a purely academic point of view, but I'm just not all that sure I would ever want to have to defend myself with one. I believe there is a practical size limit under which we simply sacrifice too much performance in the name of enhanced concealability. I would rather dress in a way in which I can conceal something with a bit more stopping power, maybe giving up a bit in comfort or style, if I really feel the need to be armed. Yeah, it would be nice to be able to conceal a firearm in my Speedo, but there are limits to everything.
These two handguns represent what is to me my practical minimum. Granted, these are my preferences, maybe not suitable for everyone, but if I feel the need to be armed, I have never been unable to dress in such a way that I cannot conceal one or the other of these.
3" barreled Kimber Ultra Carry in .45 ACP and 2.5" barreled Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in .44 Special, 25 and 20 ounces (empty) respectively:
The short barrels are a bit of a problem with these, ballistically. With some experimentation, however, I'm able to break 850 fps with handloads firing their respective standard bullet weights of 230 and 250 grains. These load provide some real stopping power, and would actually prove useful in a fight.
I am reminded of one of the late Col. Cooper's observations regarding these sub caliber, snubby concealment guns. He observed that if one is ever unfortunate enough to have been forced to shoot another man with one of these, and that other man finds out about it, that one is shortly going to be in some pretty deep schitt, with no way to defend himself.