What do you think is the best starter handgun? What other great would you recommend? And do you have any practice recommendations?
Discussion
Gosh. Good questions.
Modern striker-fired Composite handguns are hard to beat. I'm sure you've heard of Glock, but Canik has a much better trigger mechanism than the glock, which means more accurate shooting (and they're cheaper). Smith&Wesson, Springfield are a couple other makes that have similar offerings.
9mm is a good starter caliber. Light recoil.
I have lots of fun shooting 22s of any kind. I have a couple pistols - Ruger Mark V is fun - and a couple of rifles - a cheap one is the Winchester Wildcat 22. 22 ammo is the cheapest there is. You can shoot all day for $20. Not so with almost anything else.
Most important thing is safety. Take a firearms safety course. After that, take a shooting course at a local gun range. Will be worth it to help with shooting fundamentals and learning the right way.
I carry this Canik TP9SF Elite.
It's a keeper!
I'll also say that guns are about personal taste and feel, too.
You want to hold it in your hands if you can before purchase.
See how it fits your hand, how it feels, how it looks.
There are all sorts of guns for all sorts of people and tastes.