CarolinaKid was from around Greensboro area I believe - someone can correct me if I am wrong - but know he posted he was at Cone which is Greensboro (about an hour and a half from Charlotte).
Which reminds me - Childress Vineyards in Lexington (owned by Richard Childress - the race car owner) is nice - Lexington is about an hour from Charlotte. Neat little town - famous for their own version of BBQ - it’s ok, but to me BBQ is a
smoked brisket - not cubed pork.
Shooting a gun for the first time - they will likely have suggestions for you at the range and will typically recommend a few different - 9mm handgun is a good starting point - not serious recoil - but enough that you know your shooting a weapon and not an air gun. Shotgun wise - 20 gauge is less recoil than a 12 (remember lower the gauge bigger the shell) - a pump shotgun can be fun (shoot - pull the lever and it ejects the shell and is ready to fire again) - I’d advise against doing an automatic (fire continuously as long as your finger is on the trigger depressed) if offered - most guns are semi auto (have to pull trigger to fire each time) - but some places offer full auto for those wanting to play Rambo.
Been around guns most of my life - it’s weird for me when I started seeing ranges popping up in the city catering to tourist. Vegas was the first place I saw them and I’m like - ok I get it, it’s Vegas. But they have started to be a thing everywhere like laser tag, axe throwing and Top Golf.