Smallish caliber pistol

Sig just put out a .380 P365. Might be one to look at if you want smaller than 9mm.

I agree with staying away from revolver. My wife would not listen to me and kept hearing her idiot dad say use a revolver. She finally went to shoot one and the recoil, size etc. scared the shite out of her. Start her with something in a larger frame for sure.

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Get revolvers out of your head, a small revolver shoots nothing like a cowboy action revolver. A modern .380/9mm semi auto pistol plus training is the way to go. I would personally not let YOU or the salesman give her any leaning to what pistol to get. Let her hold a bunch and pick out what she likes. When you get it narrowed down let her go shoot them.

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Message received from all of you and I do appreciate it. Lol. We will start square one tomorrow, no urging or nudging.

Smallish caliber. No. Revolver, 38 short barrel is easy but Glock 43 9mm is better.

Most confrontations will occur at very close range. Look at a Ladysmith .38special or Ladysmith .357 mag. There is nothing wrong with a revolver.

I'm wondering if her school is going to allow her to possess it.

I am not up to date on teacher possession.

I probably went thru the last revolver academy in 91/92 LSP. If you have a
3.5" or longer barrel, you should be able to hit.

You have to know revolvers, know how to stage da, and just be trained.

Loaded with 38spl it’d be fine

I am a firearms instructor and teach a lot of ladies. I bring out several pistols for them to try out and invaribly the most popular is the S&W Shield EZ 380. Easy to load the mag, easy to rack the slide, easy to work the controls, very ergonomic, relatively light, mid sized, low recoil in an effective caliber. Another similar pistol is the Walther CCP M2 in 380.

I heartily second the suggestion to have her try several before you buy. I also agree to stay away from revolvers. Beside the recoil, the big issue most miss is heavy trigger pull in double action mode, which is how they were designed to be used in a defensive mode. More than half of the ladies I have trained cannot pull the trigger at all in DA mode and the other half could not come close to hitting the target while pulling the DA trigger. Some would say "well just cock the hammer". While that does work, it makes the trigger a very light almost hair trigger where under stress someone could shoot someone that is backing off and does not "need" to be shot.

Last suggestion is get her some good training. And remember that a man should never try to train his wife with a firearm. It will turn out much better if someone else does.

Did this a few years back with my wife, also a school teacher. The Smith and Wesson 380 M&P Shield EZ is something she can operate, has the handle grip safety, as well. Very accurate shooting at the range. comfortable in her hand, easy to rack ammo, and large enough capacity magazine to handle misses if nervous having to protect herself.

It sucks that she is so clumsy and lost it while boating.