Your weapon would be perfectly adequate for this situation. The main question would be, “Do I have a clear shot?”
In any case, pistols are all about placement, placement, placement. “Knock down” is a myth.
Spend more time at the range. Don’t practice punching holes, but shoot like you might have to in real life. The are some some shooting groups, like IDPA, that can help you. But anything that mixes it up and makes you react to different situations and stimuli than just a pistol target is good.
Use JHP (jacketed hollow points) if you’re worried about how big a hole you’re making.
Little Ray, thank you for bringing a dose of reality to this thread. As you wrote,”pistols are all about placement, placement, placement.” That is why the clear shot is so important.
Qwackertoo, I carry a .380 LCP like you, because of difficulty concealing a larger firearm when I take my jacket off. So, I carry it in my front pant pocket with an extra magazine. My dad, and younger brother have patted me down to see if I was carrying a couple of times, and they have never found it. With the extra magazine I have 12+1 shots at bad guys. I also put on laser grips. The red dot assists in placement, and brings fear to the bad guy. With a small gun, any small rapid movement will alter the target acquisition. The red dot makes it unfair for the bad guys.
Also, my training is that the chest is not the best target area. Two to the soft abdomen (about the size of a hand) where the vital organs are covered.
Studies indicate that even law enforcement (who spend much more time at the range) lose about 50% of their effectiveness when adrenalin kicks in. That is why we must all be prepared, and trained, and proficient.
It is interesting to me that in Arizona, a concealed carry state, there was not one person that intervened before at least 19 shots could be fired by the wacko. One reason why I do not leave home without it/them anymore.
Gwjack