Personally, I keep a fleet of pistols for teaching, including some varied options for younger shooters, or any shooter with smaller hands.
The Beretta Neos U22 fits smaller hands better than most, and is quite light overall. It’s a little harder to cock/cycle than some models, but it’s generally manageable with some coaching. They do tend to need a little tweaking to run properly, and be mindful - some older production eras were subject to a recall - takes a few weeks, and comes back groovy.
The Mark Series Rugers are always a favorite, but the Mark II/III/IV’s are heavy. The 22/45 Lites are light, of course, but the grip tends to be bulky for small hands. The S&W Victory largely suffers the same. Personally, I spent enough on my 41’s, I have no interest of putting them into the hands of youngsters, when they can deliver the same performance with a Mark IV which cost less than half as much.
The compact combat style pistols like the Sig Mosquito, M&P22, or SR22 typically aren’t as newbie friendly, in terms of gratifying precision, easy trigger control, and friendly sight radius. Qualifying courses of fire which newbies easily clear with a Ruger Mark II can be a challenge with an SR22. Not because the SR22 isn’t accurate, but because it’s much more difficult to convince to be accurate.
Many of these companies offer substantial discounts to clubs and instructors, so I highly recommend exploring those avenues as you stock up on loaner pistols.
