If it’s your first time, I recommend you get yourself a 12-gauge pump gun - preferably, Remington 870. For home defense it’s awesome. The very sound it makes when racking a shell into the chamber will scare off most bad guys.
Thanks! My plan is to get a shotgun and a handgun. I definitely will check out the Remington.
I have fired all kinds of guns, target shooting and such, but not in many years.