Looking for advice on purchases
Hi and thanks for reading,
I'm a middle aged dad who hasn't owned a firearm ever, although I went hunting a few times as a kid and have been to the range 20-30 times. It's been a long time, and my knowledge of firearm is very low.
I currently live in a place that doesn't allow for firearms, for reasons I won't share but make sense if you knew, but I'm ok with this because the chance of violent crime at my house is close to zero. Two questions:
I'm looking to get into a local gun club and get back to range shooting, but I have two issues. One, I don't own a firearm, and two, I don't really know how to find a good space to shoot. When I was a kid (and young adult), I just went to the range my hunter buddy went to and it was great.
Any suggestions for finding a shooting range or some kind of community without just showing up to random spots? Quality control? I'm looking for a laid back environment of normal people practicing and I'd want to attend 1-2 times per month, regularly but not more than that due to time.
Second question: What's a good starter firearm for me? I'm a teacher and don't want anything flashy or complex or overly expensive, but I do value quality. I've used handguns, shotguns, and rifles before (hunting rifles), and would almost certainly be buying a handgun for the range. If this matters to your rec, I have mediocre eyesight with no option to improve it. Just good enough to drive, but I will never be a target shooter like I did a bit as a kid. My goal is practice using the firearm, relaxation (i always found shooting very relaxing personally), and consistency.
Final question: At some point in the next 3, there's a good chance I'll move back to a large city for work. At this point I'll want a firearm in the house in a gun safe. Any suggestions for a weapon for home defense? I value simplicity, reliability, easily stored, and quality. I do not want this to be a heavy weapon because I plan on training my wife to use it as well, and she simply isn't going to be interested in a larger weapon like a shotgun or heavy handgun. Two additional things that I think might be important for me in this category are some kind of sighting tool so I'm less likely to hit unintended targets - the more cheating the better for this- and a gun that will fire bullets that won't go through walls and hit my kids in their bedroom.
I appreciate any recs and people reading this. I'm sorry if I used any incorrect verbiage; my knowledge in this region is really quite low.