Zombie, sorry if it sounded like I was implying that you were recommending a low quality gun. What you said just brought up some other points.
My comment on pain referred to some of the ultra light guns in larger calibers. IE, some of the lightweight .357 mags, or ~12oz 9mms, either of which could be considered painful by a new shooter. My point being that a new shooter should be started out on something that is extremely mild recoil wise. And an all steel framed .38 shooting light target loads certainly fits that. As does a .22 lr semi auto.
My comment on pain referred to some of the ultra light guns in larger calibers. IE, some of the lightweight .357 mags, or ~12oz 9mms, either of which could be considered painful by a new shooter. My point being that a new shooter should be started out on something that is extremely mild recoil wise. And an all steel framed .38 shooting light target loads certainly fits that. As does a .22 lr semi auto.