Continuing the search

Having gotten some less-than-stellar customer service at the range in downtown Everett, I decided to give a range up in Arlington a try. Norpoint is undergoing MAJOR renovations, doesn't have their FFL in hand yet (and thus had no firearms for sale, and only a small inventory of accessories), and has a steel backstop instead of the piled rubber I'm used to for indoor ranges.
Yet, the experience was far superior to the downtown Everett range. The place was almost deserted, but the one employee was friendly, had a nice sense of humor, refunded me some of my range fee when he realized he had overcharged me (realized without any input from me, BTW; I felt the original rate was reasonable), and in general made me feel welcome.

I was feeling good enough about the place that I decided to splurge a little and try a few of their rentals (rental selection limited, but good quality brands at reasonable rates). Normally I shoot my own firearms and ammo; its cheaper in the long run. However, he let me shoot three different 9mm semi-autos for $15 (plus about $10 for a box of ammo); tried the Springfield XD, a Beretta, and a Sig Sauer (229, iirc). Sadly, my quest for a center-fire semi-auto pistol that I can hit the broadside of a barn with continues. I MUST be doing something wrong; I can shoot a .357 Magnum revolver with quite good accuracy, I'm even better with a .22LR semi-auto, and I can at least hit man-sized targets at reasonable ranges with a rifle. So why can't I handle a 9mm?

I went through about 60 rounds of .38 special, 50 of 9mm, and about a hundred of .22LR.

I definitely need to go again.

Edit: forgot to note, they also deserve a well-done for safety. Before he handed over the rentals, the guy asked if I'd ever fired each one, and walked me through the safety and operating features. He also cleared each weapon as soon as he picked it up. He did the overview in a manner that explained everything without seeming like he was talking down to me.