The Shockwave is difficult to reload well. That's what I've noticed. Giving a novice a short barreled gun that's difficult to reload is a recipe for failure. I teach that the gun goes empty and is dropped right there. Then we move to our secondary and continue holding our own. With the opsol mod...
Buckshot for people and animals that cause problems. Buckshot. If it's causing trouble it gets buckshot. Doesn't matter. It gets buckshot.
Have you tried a Glock 19? Or M&P 9c? They are both manageable and inherently accurate while retaining the ability to take on their larger siblings larger...