Hi. You'll have to join a club. You'll meet some great people and belonging to a club opens doors. Invitations to hunt, et al. Most club members will go out of their way to help a new shooter. Including letting you shoot their firearms. Shooters are just like that.
You don't have to spend a huge pile of money on a pistol to shoot competitively. That has more to do with your budget. Think .22LR semi-auto with adjustable sights(a bull barreled Ruger will do, but the triggers are poor. Prices go up from there. To well over $1,000.). Best thing to learn on. Principals are the same with any handgun. Sight picture, breathing and trigger control. Mind you, that applies to rifles too.
As with any .22, you'll have to try a box of as many brands of ammo as you can to find the ammo your pistol both shoots well and cycles the action. The price of said ammo means nothing. Nor does the price of the pistol.
Any handgun must fit your hand to be able to shoot it well. Go to your local gun shop and try a few on for size. Too small can be fixed with a change of grips. Too big, not so much. You have to be able to reach the trigger with the middle of the first pad of your finger with no stress.
Competitive shooting is great fun, even when you're new. The most important thing is not to worry about how well you shoot when your new and get some upper body toning exercise. Holding a 42 oz pistol(Ruger Mk III) out on the end of your arm requires it.
