Fully agree.

.380 or 9mm would be worth testing.

I don’t want a .22 sized hole in me but someone amped up on some kind of upper in some kind of roid rage state is probably gonna eat a few rounds of .22 before they stop being a threat.

.380 or 9mm would be on the low end of the recoil spectrum. If you don’t mind adding weight to the pistol, heavy tungsten recoil spring guide rods are a thing to help reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip between shots.

That seems like a cruel and potentially dangerous prank to hand a gun rookie a desert eagle after they just fired a .22.