If you're going to go used, I'd strongly suggest looking for a Sig. They can get pricey, but well worth it. I would also encourage you to try to pick up a decent .22 handgun. They are much cheaper to put lead through. Also, you'll find that the rounds that you've shot at the shooting edge aren't nearly as hot as the ones you'll be shooting once you have your own gun and can choose you're own ammo. Once you've shot some real ammo, you'll realize how watered down the stuff they give you is (I'm not criticizing them, I love that place and realize they have to diminish the abuse on their weapons in whatever ways they can.).
A .22 will also be an excellent esteem builder. Being able to pick something up and properly group at 25 yards as a beginner is a lot of fun. A .22 is also the best way to get used to proper aiming technique and to train yourself not to anticipate the shot and flinch when the gun goes off.
If I were you, I'd try to save a little money on the 9mm by buying a used one (be sure it is inspected by a competent gunsmith) and invest the 250-350 dollars I saved into a decent .22
With that in mind, I'm by no means an expert.
Just my $0.02
Kris
P.S. If you're just looking for a cheap plincking gun, check out Marstar Canada. They're out of Ontario somewhere and they carry Norincos. I've heard that the Norinco is actually not as big a piece of crap as most other knock offs and can actually be a pretty decent gun after a trigger job and barrel work. Keep in mind that these will never be the most accurate/dependable guns, but they are supposed to be pretty good considering the price (new 9mm for about $200 CAD+shipping).
Founding member of the Leave-Me-Alone-atarian party of Canada.
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Maybe I'll do some shooting this weekend there. 
