Ditto to pretty much all of the above. I've found that if you go into a store and just tell them you're new and ask some intelligent questions, they're extremely helpful. I'm in Durham Region, so I've been to Firearms Outlet Canada in Ajax, Williams Arms in Port Perry, Gagnon Sports in Oshawa, and Target Sports in Gormley. Everyone I've encountered was friendly and had some comments or tips about things I didn't think of. Stopped by BassPro in Vaughan, but they don't have any restricted firearms.

As for trying guns, I'm lucky: a friend has been shooting for years and has a pretty decent collection. Once I got my RPAL, we went to the range and tried out a few. The good news is that if you buy something you don't like, you can re-sell it and try something else so keep your eye on the websites for used.