I'll probably catch some grief for this, but after my FIL passed away, and before my MIL moved in with us, she was on her own for a couple of years. I had taught her how to shoot but most firearms were too much for her and she had difficulty racking a slide. She didn't have an HQL of course and had no intention of getting one. Went through a bunch of scenarios and what I finally decided was I gifted her an antique .32 S&W long revolver that I made sure was in excellent working order. She could handle the limited recoil well and shot it well enough in single action (she could manage the double action pull, but she did much better in single action). So why give her a gun that was 30 years older than she was? I figured that it she could manage it, it had a bit more authority than a .22 plus it was center fire, and she could actually use it in an emergency. Not the most accurate gun in the world, but at bedroom distances (which is the only thing she would ever need it for) she could consistently hit center of mass. Plus, if God forbid, she ever needed to use it, as pre 1899, she was legally able to own it. Not a SHTF gun, but for a burglar breaking into her house, it might give her a fighting chance. Probably not the best scenario, but it is what we went with. Fortunately, she never needed it and she lives with her full time bodyguard now