That’s interesting. It turns out I can get a lightly used .22 Magnum for a song. But (I’ve just started reading at a site called LuckyGunner.com), the best measure of stopping power / a quick kill is probably “Wound Cavity Volume”, and a typical 38 Special round (much less a 9mm or .357 Magnum) is 2-1/2 times better than the best .22 Magnum round.
It may be that the best bet is to go ahead and grab that .22 Magnum (even already has a scope on it) for the occasional coyote seen at the east end of our property - as that’s sometimes going to be an 80 - 100 yard shot. Dense woods and no humans close in that direction (also the source of the coyotes we hear often and see occasionally.)
That said, I should check on ammo cost and availability.
Then wait for a good sale on that HighPoint 9mm or MAYBE a .357. That’d be for the shorter range situations in other directions.
I’ve not ruled out a 20 g. shotgun, but, the noise and use-by-wife factors are not positive, there. I think wifey would fire a 20 ga. or even a 12 ga. in an imminent danger to US scenario, but otherwise... probably not.
Availability of .22 WMR ammo? Doesn’t seem to be good on 1st look.