The NRA course covers safety well, but probably won't spend as much time as you like on hands on practice, however, it is a good place to start. Most NRA instructors should be able to provide guns to learn with.
After you have ingrained the 4 laws of firearm safety, get yourself a .22. You can buy brand new Ruger 10/22 rifles for >$200 or MkII pistols for >$350, buy lots of .22 ammo and shoot, shoot, shoot.
or as John Ross says (
http://www.john-ross.net/newbies.htm)
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THOSE STILL READING
If you have little or no shooting experience but have decided gun skills are a requirement for your disaster/contingency prep, or for your general peace of mind in life, do the following:
If you haven’t already, read my book Unintended Consequences. If this offends you as a money-making gambit on my part, get it from your library, on interlibrary loan if need be. This book gives some insight into the required mindset, as well as providing a lot of gun info in the guise of an entertaining thriller.
Go to a real gunshop.
Buy a Ruger 10/22 rifle with twenty spare magazines (they’ll have to order them) and a Smith & Wesson .22 revolver. There are several models of S&W .22s; go to a gun shop and handle them all. Get the one that feels best in your hand. If you have large or small hands, ask the salesman about aftermarket grips (I like the wooden Hogue Monogrip) and try them out.
Buy one full case (Five THOUSAND rounds) of .22 long rifle ammo. Make sure you get ammo with 40 grain PLATED bullets--some of the cheapest promo ammo is unplated and will lead-foul your barrel.
Get hearing and eye protection, and some good gun lube, like Break-Free CLP.
All the above stuff should cost you about $1000.
Find an outdoor spot with a hillside where you can safely and legally shoot.
Find someone who is known as a competent and safe shooter to help you get started and keep you from learning bad habits, like putting your finger in the triggerguard when you pick up the gun. Call the local NRA office for a list of certified instructors.
Get an array of ecologically-sound targets that will move or break when hit. I like Ritz crackers because they’re cheap, biodegradable, and break when hit. Acorns and pinecones are good, too. So are scrap chunks of pine 2x2s and 2x4s.
On a weeknight, while watching television, load all 20 of the Ruger rifle magazines. They hold ten rounds each. On Saturday or Sunday, shoot one carton (500 rounds) through the rifle and another carton through the pistol, always at targets that do something (like break or hop) when you hit them. Switch between the guns every 20-50 rounds. If you start in the morning, you will finish by late afternoon. If you prefer, shoot 250 rounds through each gun on Saturday and then again on Sunday. If you can’t go through 500 rounds before lunch, you’re not trying.
Place your targets no farther than fifteen feet away for the rifle, eight feet for the revolver. When you get so you never miss a fist-sized target at this range, don’t change the distance, change the speed. See how quickly you can hit ten or six targets. If you start missing, slow down a little. After you’ve shot half your quota, take some more deliberate shots at 30-50 feet. Notice how the bullet hits in a different spot at different distances. Go back to closer targets. NOTE: DO NOT always cock the revolver to shoot it; pull the trigger double action at least half the time. It is definitely harder to shoot accurately this way, but this is how you will be shooting a revolver in a defensive situation with a close-in assailant, so this is the way you want to do a lot of your practice.
Repeat the above exercise on the next four weekends.
In one month you will almost certainly be several orders of magnitude more proficient than you were before you walked into the gunshop, and a better shot than a sizable fraction of the police officers in this country.
If, after the first week or two, you find this effort a chore, take your guns, spare magazines, and remaining ammo back to the gunshop. You will lose about $250.
If you finish the month excited about your newly earned skills, looking forward to your next shooting outing, and needing more ammo, congratulations. You are now a member of the gun culture. Revise your budget to include $20-$400 per month for ammunition, depending on how much of it is low-cost .22s and how much is more expensive calibers. You are now ready to include more powerful centerfire arms appropriate for defense in your shooting education.