One other thing is her size , small framed and petite or .....

My wifes is 5' 0 and youth models fit her well. If she was slightly taller then she' d have her choice of anything on the shelf.

If I remeber right Christine B. ( one of the boards moderators) shoots .30-06

As far as recoil goes a semi-auto has a little less felt recoil than a bolt and then you have the muzzel brakes that could help too but they make it a lot louder.