The best way to do it is to start hanging around your local gun clubs and start asking questions. Usually there will be someone there to help you and show you up close what guns should be like.
Jimmy:
Thanks for the suggestion about local gun club members being a good resource. Do you mean a gun club that is shotgun oriented (i.e. sporting clays, trap, skeet, etc) or a local chapter of SCI? I live in the metro Phoenix area and I am not aware of any shotgun oriented clubs; however, I've never really looked for one. I'll try to find and plug into such a resource.
Take care;
