The FTO/instructor in me is kicking in again. There is a lot of very good advice and information in this thread - think long and hard about all of it. Get to a library and/or borrow - buy some books too. Ayoob is excellent and has several good books out. Get some stuff by Applegate and read up on stuff by Col. Dave Grossman too.

The handgun is one part and the "all that goes with it" is another. Getting, using and having one is about 10 - 20% physical and equipment the rest is 80-90% mental. If you don't have the "correct" head set it can all be for nothing or will make a bad situation worse. That's why any basic firearms training spends most of the time in the classroom and only a small part on the actual range firing. Be sure you really want to do this and are willing to deal with the "all" included with it then go get the best stuff and training you can find. Best of luck.

Paul -