Draw, Partner....

"Mousegun calibers notwithstanding, isn't it simply wiser to shoot the gun you shoot the fastest for self-defense?"

A Doctoral thesis could easily be written on this subject, but here's the skinny in a nutshell. And I'm just the nut to offer it. And we'll stick with fast and leave accurate for another day.

A 12 year-old, all things being equal, cannot be expected to handle and fire the same caliber of weapon a 22 year-old is comfortable with. Back in the old days, bodybuilders and weight lifters came up with a system called "progressive resistance" training. Begin with a certain weight, then gradually add more poundage as time goes by. This is 100% guaranteed to make one stronger, and in many cases, larger as well.

The 12 year-old uses the ensuing 10 years to stretch out what progressive resistance can do in 12 months. If all you shoot is a .32, chances are good that suddenly stepping up to a stoutly loaded .357 magnum will be an eye-opener and some of us are quite happy squinting, thank you very much..

Using another sporting comparison, one doesn't improve one's skill level without playing against those who are bigger, stronger, and/or faster. Call it, on-the-job progressive resistance.

Keeping this in mind, it is quite possible to step-up from one caliber to another, but it takes time and a lot of dedicated energy. Within reason, but of course. You'll eventually crank off your .40 as fast as you did your 9, but never as fast as you can your .22. Diminishing returns and all that.

In summary, many shooters are incapable of braving the anguish necessary to progressively attain swiftness of shot with a larger caliber, so in truth they ARE much faster with a smaller weapon and will always be so. If it gets down to world experts and milliseconds between discharge then all bets are off.

Until the next guy comes along who so resembles Miculek it isn't funny. Jerry, by the way, unloads his double-action .357 far faster than 99.999% of all shooters using a .32. Yes, he's the exception. But you'll never know how quick and accurate you can be until you try. Conversely, shooting should be fun so if and when it becomes a drudge then go back to toting the peashooter.