If you have to pull your firearm on an attacker, it will change your life...period. I say buy one of the top 3 self defence loads for your caliber and hope you never need to use them. If you do, have a good attorney; and be damn sure you are justified when using lethal force. Awareness and avoidance are always the best tools as a civilian just going about your business. I put more stock in these skills than what kind of ammunition I use. A controlled pair of whatever I put in my firearm at close range in the thoracic cavity will likely be lethal...lethal or less lethal...doesn't matter; you are discharging your firearm on another human being, and there will be legal, liability, and emotional consequences for all involved.