“When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol will be a dead man.”
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That depends on who shoots most accurately and (usually) first.
Anyone with training in both will tell you that the only reason to have a pistol in a firefight is to fight your way back to the rifle you should have never let yourself get away from.
Given the choice of one verses the other, rifle always wins. Vests can stop many pistol rounds, not many rifle rounds. A rifle, handled properly, can clear small spaces and shoot at ranges beyond pistol accuracy.
Nothing against pistols. I use them to. But no contest between the two, given proper training.
The only downside to a rifle I can see is use in urban environment where you have to worry about where the round goes after it has blown open the perp in your house. The bullet will be going through several walls before coming to rest. Not necessarily good for your neighbors. In those cases a shotgun or pistol is probably better suited.