I have a S&W 351 PD, which holds 7 rounds of .22 Mag and weighs under 11 ounces. Hornady Critical Defense FTX ammo delivers 1000 fps out of a 1.875” barrel and 11 inches penetration in gel. It uses low flash powder. It has no recoil to speak of.
Bill Jordan, in “No Second Place Winner” opined that a J-frame in .22 Mag would be a good backup gun.
The . 22 magnum is not a bad round for personal defense, it’s better than nothing and has decent ballistics numbers. When I graduated college and was on my own my only weapon was a Colt Frontier Scout my grandpa gave me before he passed. It had the .22LR & the .22 Mag cylinders. I had it loaded with the magnum cylinder and felt well armed as I was accurate with this particular pistol.