Have her shoot it for the first time with 38 wad cutters, The load is mild and it wont turn her off to the recoil.
You can have her pack whatever you wish for self defance, But when she first fires it I recommend the wad cutters.
I personally carry an old model 37 and keep the wadcutters in it at all times because I find that I can empty the cylinder very rapidly into a 4" circle at 45' really fast, Way faster than regular power 38 specials.
I know that some will say I am running too little power with the WC loads, But when I can keep all 5 on target just about as fast as I can pull the trigger I am confident that if needed, My shots will go where I want them,,,,
I have seen some woman turned off to the J frame from shooting higher power loads first time... So WCs is also what I use to introduce new shooters to the wonders of the J frame!!!
Peter

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