which personal defense CCW pistol?

I would forget the holster until you are ready to carry.

As far as caliber-any of the 3 you mention are fine. The 40 will have the most recoil, 45 next, then the 9mm will have the least. As far as stopping ability- the 40 and 45 are the same, and the 9mm is just barely less. I recommend the 9mm.

I would consider the low cost Bersa 9mm...about $280.

Taurus makes several excellent metal alloy frame auto pistols- 909, 911, 92, 99, 940, 945.....but they are all service size, but weigh 27-32 oz. Cost- about $430.

Taurus also makes several poly frame pistols. The PT-111 Pro is a fine economy gun. I carry that pistol every day. It weighs about 19 oz empty and 29 oz fully loaded with 13 rounds of 9mm. -about $340.

Sig makes a good poly frame pistol- the sp-2022. It comes in 9mm, 40 cal, and 357sig. It sells for about $499 at Academy.

Stoeger Cougar is an excellent pistol- a little heavy- in 9mm and 40 cal- $399 at Academy. A very good buy. You will not buy a better made gun even for 2x the money.

I do not recommend the Glock or XD in a sub-compact. They are just too clunky. Their service pistols are fine. The XD will be heavy.

Although I do not like them---S&W Sigma is a cheapo pistol for about $320. If you think about one of them--make sure its NEW!!! The older ones were plagued with problems. They are "nicknamed" Swok, because they are a Glock copy. Just cheaper.

If you are not afraid of a 380 (lower power), look at the sig 232. A fine gun. Then there is the Beretta Cheetah ( I carried one as a ccw for about 10 years), and Browning BDA--but these are all over your budget.

You should be able to get a good conditon used glock 17, 19 or 26 for under $500. The 26 is a 9mm subcompact 10 rounds. New they are about $520.

Some of the Taurus models are Ok for that price. Ive owned a few and not had issues, but many 'gun-snobs' dont like them. They carry a lifetime warranty and for the money arent bad guns. They come with 2 mags.

I just bought a Glock 27 for 500. All the Glocks I saw were around 500 with the XD a little cheaper...ALL NEW. I would go with the Glock 26 (9mm) or 27 (.40). Same size and easy to carry

Good grief. No, NOT .22 caliber.

You need to get a weapon that will be light enough and comfortable enough to carry for hours at a time. The worst thing you can do is get some huge thing that you might not want to bother with beacuse of the weight-that's when you'll need it and not have it.

Get something that has reasonable stopping power, but is also light enough that you won't even realize you are carrying it. Maybe a lightweight 38 or 9mm (with the proper rounds, of course).

How offen do you buy a pistol? So in this case I would spend the money needed to get just what you want. Glock is good I like the XD better. Then you have extra's clips, holsters, ammo,

I would spend the extra money.

You can get a 9mm Bersa Thunder Ultra Compact with 2 mags in that price range and have money left over for some accessories.

The Charles Daly Model EFS Full Size Field Model in 45acp.*

I just bought a Ruger KP345PR .45ACP pistol yesterday, did you know VA has a new law with a 30day waiting period for renewed (black and white are the newest ones) drivers licensees? I'm a long time resedent too!

The Ruger SR9 is an excellent weapon in your price range and comes with two high capacity magazines.

What state are you in and what is the legislation need passed to allow you to carry? Just curious.