Am I the only one that noticed she didn't specify she wanted the gun for self defense? Personally, just knowing how to operate any given firearm, safely and responsibly is enough reason to learn how to shoot. In addition to the fact that plinking along with a .22 is a great way to excercise some coordination, and waste a sunday afternoon.
That said, for beginers, .22 is no doubt the way to go. Small, easy, cheap, and fun.
Where I'm from to own a handgun you need a permit anyway, so starting with the rifle would be the most logical.
From a self-defense (home) perspective, a 12 gauge with 00 buck is obviously going to put down any threat at a reasonable distance every time. (However, a 12 with 00 probably will knock you on your ass as a petite woman, lol)
None the less, my mother regularly goes shooting clay's with us. She is faily petite herself, and never has any real problem. In addition to that, of the three bird guns we own (Browning 12 guage... wish I could recall the model, because it was my grandfathers gun, and I absolutly love it, 16 gauge Rem, and a 20 Remington 870 youth model) they rank in order of heaviest kick to least, 16, 20, 12. Has a lot to do with the size of the bullet, but also the mass of the gun.
Its a physics problem, and me going to school for engineering...
Being 20 however, in NY I'm not allowed to own a handgun, so there I can give no advice.
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