Bought my wife and daughter a S&W 22A Saturday. They both love it. 260.00 OTD was hard to beat. The only failures I had was with a few rounds of Winchester that failed to fire with solid rim strikes.
There is also a manufacturer called ISSC who I know little about. The gun looks like a Glock with a safety on the side. It is priced reasonably cheap and gets good reviews. It may be worth checking out.
I have a Ruger Mark II Bull Barrel in stainless and it damn well might be my favorite pistol I own! The bersa would be a good choice if she wants something lightweight.
These are the 5 most common .22 target pistols out there,,,
Any one of these 5 will give you years of excellent performance.
I've not listed them in any order of preference.
Browning Buckmark = Great pistol but I found the grip to be funky. Ruger 22/45 Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a 1911-ish grip Ruger Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a luger-ish grip. Beretta U22 NEOS = Great pistol with a very slender grip. S&W 22A = Great pistol with a very fat grip.
Any of these will serve your lady very well,,,
They are all reliable firearms that aren't ammo picky,,,
Rather than sweat over which one is better get the one that fits her hand.
If she wants a non-target DA/SA .22 pistol that is reliable at an affordable cost,,,
There are two pistols that consistently get great reviews:
Bersa Thunder 22 and Firestorm 22,,,
Both pistols are made by the same Argentine company,,,
They are virtually identical with the exception of the grips and trigger guard shape.
I own the Bersa Thunder 22 and it's a fantastic handgun,,,
Well over 1,000 rounds now with only one mis-feed,,,
For a medium size pistol this is hard to beat,,,
Perfect match to the Bersa Thunder 380,,,
I own that one as well.
Then there are the high-end (high dollar) models,,, CZ-75B Kadet - With the exception of the Kadet having adjustable rear sights, it is virtually identical to the CZ-75B in 9mm. Sig-Sauer Classic .22 - There are 3 models in different calibers. They start as a full frame .22 semi-auto that are convertible to their centerfire counterpart. Beretta 87 - The .22 counterpart to the Beretta 84/85 in .380 ACP.
I own a Beretta Model 87 Cheetah, Beretta NEOS, the Ruger 22/45, Bersa Thunder 22, and the CZ-75B Kadet,,,
All reliable shooters that aren't ammo picky (for me) at all.