And it was totally awesome! Though very challenging, I naively thought I'd be good right off the bat ...
I had a great instructor - ex firearms trainer for the police, very patient and really improved my technique. The hardest thing was to stop from flinching (you experienced handgun guys will know what I'm describing), I honestly had no idea I was doing it so bad until shooting the Glock 17. Couple of times I thought I'd stopped it but then caught myself once again dipping/flicking the muzzle down slightly in anticipation just before the discharge (hence the low, chaotic group). Very frustrating but of course all part of the fun in getting better.
The Northern Irish people were really friendly (NI is the only place in the UK where cartridge fed handguns are still legal), not just in the club but everywhere we went - to the point of really going out of their way to help us sometimes. I'm not at all well travelled but all I can say is that there were no problems for me, and I'm already planning return trips 2 or 3 times per year.
@10 yrds
The S&W .38 was comparatively very easy. No drama and easy to control in SA.
For the Glock I was surprised at how snappy the full load 9mms were. The range was underground and very confined, and you could feel the shock wave in your feet from other people shooting. Once I improved my grip, and really got my hands up and around it, it was a lot easier.
Couldn't take pics in the actual club/range for security reasons unfortunately.
NI was very pretty once you got away from Belfast. As someone who also loves to snorkel I found some great future locations for next summer.