My wife liked shooting my 1911s because she liked the “big boom”. I don’t prioritize sound level over other variables when choosing a carry gun (or range gun) but she’s a woman and I love her so I’ll accept her reasoning- this is the same woman who liked driving my prerunner-ish V8 truck because when she stepped on the gas it made an “angry sound”. God bless her. Anyway we got rid of a single stack Smith 9mm that she hated in order to get her a .45, and as expected she could shoot with it but the recoil was more than optimum for her slender arms, wrists, and hands. A few times out with it, I could tell she really wanted to like it, but I had her shoot my Gen 2 19 while I was reloading something else. Her eyes lit up and she said “this gun is more accurate than I expected”. No, you just shoot it better than a lightweight .45. I’d secretly predicted that.
I ended up getting her a Gen 3 19 And a holster for Christmas, and didn’t force the issue AT ALL. Pretty soon the G19 was what she was carrying and the .45 was up for sale.
She still has that gun, and still loves it. And I thank God that I didn’t send her out with my Browning HiPower at the range that day instead.