[jyl]

At this point, you should focus almost entirely on safe gun handling, and almost not at all on shooting skills.

Every person I know who owns pistols has had at least one incident when they accidentally fired a round and/or when a friend accidentally fired a round in their vicinity. Every one.

A class would be a very good idea. Failing that, here are my personal rules:
- Every single time the gun is picked up, check if there is a round in the chamber, if there is a loaded magazine inserted, and if the gun is cocked. Even if you just set the gun down for a second, you check again when you pick it up.
- Forefinger is never inside the trigger guard unless you intend to fire the gun right now. At all other times, the gun is held with the forefinger alongside the guard.
- At the range, the gun only points in two directions - downrange towards the target, or straight down at the floor. It is never held in such a way as to point anywhere else, even if unloaded. Only exception is when it is being placed in the case or being removed from the case.
- At home, the gun is only pointed in a direction in which it could be safely fired. This usually means towards to floor or at least at a downward angle (such that the bullet would penetrate the floor rather than the wall).
- Anyone who owns a gun must be completely and instinctively familiar with how it works, meaning they can decock, unload, field-strip, clean, re-assemble, reload, cock - preferably with eyes closed. The point is not to be a gun mechanic, the point is to know the mechanism so well that you instinctively know when the gun is cocked and ready to fire.
- A first gun should not, in my opinion, be a semi-auto. People should start with revolvers, because there is less room for confusion on whether the hammer is cocked. If it has to be a semi-auto, then one with a visible hammer. Semi-autos with concealed hammers are deceptive - people often have no idea that a round is chambered and the firing pin is cocked. Also, some women don't have the hand strength to safely pull back the slide on a semi-auto. Some revolvers also let you practice with light loads and then work up to heavy loads. My first pistol, at 12 or something like that, was a single-action .22 revolver - an ideal starter gun IMO.
- Your gun has no safety lock. Doesn't matter whether it does have a safety, or whether you engaged the safety - you have to act as if it does not. People who rely on the safety are asking for it.
- Gun storage depends on who has access to your house. If kids visit even occasionally, the storage has to be as kid-proof as if kids lived there full-time.

When you get to shooting skills, I think starting with fewer variables is a good idea. If you start shooting from a rest (forearms supported), one shot at a time, aiming deliberately, there will be fewer variables. Then add shooting without a rest, shooting faster, etc. Make sure to grip the pistol the same way every time - if you reposition your grip with each shot, it is hard to be consistent. Finally, a compact .380 isn't an easy gun to shoot accurately anyway.

Edit: I forgot another rule. At first, avoid wearing shirts that are wide open at the collar. Every now and then some newbie at a range will have a hot, just-ejected brass bounce off the divider and fall down his Miami Vice-style open shirt. Then he jumps around, pawing down his cleavage, squeaking "ow ow" and waving his loaded and cocked gun in the air. Everyone (who has a clue) gets scared.