Springfield XD9 for a first 9mm?

YES. Springfield XD's are awesome guns. Awesome. You get 2 mags, a loader, a hard plastic gun holster, a nylon cleaning brush, a hard plastic dual mag holster, and nice factory transport case (especially nice if you decide to purchase the XDM ("M" for modified) and of course a nice owners book. My girlfriend and I both own a Springfield. She has a sub compact 9mm with Trijicon tritium night sights, all black gun. I own a full size (tactical) SF XD .45, all black with factory sights. I would recommend any SF XD to you, the 9mm is an excellent gun. Since your primary use will be the range, consider the full size gun instead of the 4 inch. Have fun, shoot safe!