I guess you could say I am old school. Many years ago I was talking to a friend of mine and told him I wanted an all-around weapon. One that I could use on deer, elk, moose and even bear if I wanted to try that. He put me on the 6.5x55 Swede. It has been used in Europe since the late 1800's...
There is a group at Palo Alto shooting range in Donaldsonville that has pistol competitions every month. There is web site for them. I don't know about practices.
I have a lifetime hunting and fishing license. You do not have to go to the store to get tags. You can get them from the LDWF website and print them on your printer at home using your computer.