I have done quite a bit of it and must say that a 410 is not the best to use. I almost always used a 28 ga though. Most of it was short range shooting at clay targets and can say that it worked almost perfectly. With the right instruction the 28 will do just fine for almost all upland shooting. As for the 12 ga for a new shooter...no way. even loaded down it isn't the one to use. After some experience maybe. In fact even the 20 ga has a bit more recoil than necessary. I found that for new shooters the less recoil felt is an absolute plus. So don't use a light 12 or 20. In handguns use a full size pistol or revolver in 9mm or 38 special. a rifle..of course use a 22 to start. Oh...and GOOD hearing protection. I found that most women flinch not from recoil...but from the sound of the gun going off. Most are scared of noise
Don't know why but noise scares 'em. I taught my wife to shoot. After all this time she still has a good 44 mag handgun that is her favorite. For a snake gun she carries a single action 45 with shot. Short bbled one but she surely isn't scared of it even if it do make a lot of noise. If she needs a shotgun thee is a 20 close to hand and as far as a rifle the Savage 340 in 30-30 is the one she has in the corner. Even it has a slip on recoil pad on it as does the 20. A couple of the ladies I instructed go to England and Europe. Shoot driven birds and one usually outshoots the male contingent. Proud of that lady for sure. Proud of 'em all. One is fully capable of outshooting most men...but chooses not to for purely personal reasons....y'all know what I mean.