My girlfriend took me out shooting not long ago in an old quarry. Boy do shotguns kick, but they are a lot of fun and my shoulder was only slightly sore for about a day. Apparently I'm a damn good shot with a Mosin-Nagant and a 6x scope or thereabouts. Was utter crap with the AR-15 with just a reflex sight, no scope; couldn't hit a thing.
I'm trying to figure out what kind of pistol to get. :/ I mean, there's the obvious ".22 caliber is super cheap" advantage, so for target practice that's pretty nice, but I'm sure you guys could argue all day about stopping power. Pretty much everything I've used lately pistolwise has been a Glock, including .22, .40 and .45... The .40 felt the most comfortable actually, it felt nice and solid, but the .45 left my hands stinging after a couple clips. .40 was not as bad. I hear the painful recoil isn't nearly as bad with a heavier gun (ie non-plastic, ie non-Glock), so there's that, but still.
What's the price difference like between .22 and .40 ammo? Or anything else around that range? Would be nice to shoot non-lead ammo so that's a consideration if it matters. Any recommendations on a gun that's mostly for cheap target shooting, but also worthwhile for...I dunno, hiking in bear/wildcat country? That's a lot more likely for me than home defense (home defense = shotgun). Not looking for a revolver. Something with an actual safety switch is ideal, I'm always a little bothered by that whole "safety is part of the trigger" thing.