Julio is right.

You should familiarize yourself with handguns BEFORE buying one. Just plinking with one is NOT familiarizing yourself with a gun. ANY gun you buy you should be proficient with. You should be able to clean it properly, load it properly, know what kind of ammo to use in it, and know how to handle it properly.

Julio is also right about research.

Go to that website and familiarize yourself with GA state laws. W/O a CCW permit you are limited to three main places: Home, car, and business. All three places still carry restrictions IF you don't have a CCW permit.

Gun shows are excellent places to shop for a gun because they offer a huge variety of guns both new and used, and also give you some good prices to boot.

You should go to a local gun range, RENT a bunch of DIFFERENT guns, and shoot them to decide what's best for you. Testosterone is NOT a good way to shop for a gun. If you can't hit what you're aiming at, might as well throw THE gun at them as you'll have just a good a chance with that vs bullets. A lot of novice gun owners want to be Dirty Harry or Rambo right out of the gate. Getting the biggest caliber weapon is not for everybody. The deadliest round in the world is actually the puny .22 cal. Does that mean I wanna carry a .22 for self defense? Probably not, but you also don't need a .50 Desert Eagle for that either.

Finally, there are a lot of good reliable weapons out there that are good for beginners.

Rugers are good and reliable.
Taurus are good and reliable.
S&W.....
Glock.....
Colt....
Bersa....
many more.....

Many can be had for a reasonable price, used, at gun shows.

Good luck and be a responsible gun owner or don't be one at all.