You may have an indoor shooting range near you where you can get some practice in for your handgun. Some indoor ranges are pistol only and some do allow rifles up to certain calibers. These are usually what comes to mind when your friend talks about going to the range. This is particularly true for those who live in a suburban or urban environment where you don't have access to land to shoot outdoors. I'm personally in this cateogry. I do wish I had land outside of city limits where I could shoot steel to my heart's content.
Outdoor ranges do exist and some require a membership to access and use the facilities. Depending on where you these outdoor ranges may come with a fairly hefty fee. This is especially true if you don't get out to the range much so your cost per trip to the range is high. While indoor ranges let you shoot regardless of weather conditions, there's something special and calming about shooting outdoors without the indoor concussion and a fresh breeze.
But what if I told you there was another way to shoot outdoors and do so cheaply? Many states have outdoor shooting ranges that you pay for with your tax dollars. Here in Missouri the Department of Conservation has a number of nice outdoor ranges that are inexpensive and surprisingly nice. On top of that the ranges will frequently hold training classes, some of which are free. These locations are great to bring a beginner to show them basic firearm safety and training.
You might also be asking yourself: "What about me? I know Missouri is a free state, but I live in an anti-gun state like Illinois?" Au contraire, bonjour! Simply check out your state's .GOV website and look for a 'Department of Conservation', 'Department of Natural Resources', etc. You will generally find the range information there, but if all else fails a search engine should pull up results to help you locate the specific page. Illinois' Department of Natural Resources lists a number of ranges. As you might suspect, states like Wisconsin have quite a few listed on their state website.
If you want to bring your own setup with target/starget stands you can even find information on the fedearl Bureau of Land Management website for locations where you can hunt and target shoot for free. They list Arizona, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon-Washington, and Utah. That's a lot of open land where you can enjoy the outdoors and your passion for firearms. It's worth checking out if you're in one of those states and would like to take a nice day trip.
In short, do a quick search to find what amenities your state or neighboring states have. You might be surprised what you never realized you had access to.