Which will tell you what round will have less kick? Muzzle Energy or Muzzle Velocity?

[olstyn]

In my experience, it's not the recoil that scares them, but the noise. If you are taking her to an indoor range make very sure she is wearing good ear protection. Not cheap ear pro but very good ear pro. Maybe double up with foam plugs as well.

This is very good advice. Heck, *I* prefer to double up with foam plugs and muffs indoors, and I'm not particularly noise/blast sensitive; it's just more pleasant that way.

Edit: this brings up another idea for me - if the OP has access to a suppressor, that might be the nicest way to introduce his wife to shooting, since it'll really shut down the blast/noise.