West Caldwell is in North Jersey, Old Bridge is in Central Jersey. People in my area of NJ say OB is in North Jersey, Caldwell would be considered New York! Yeah, they don't get it, but I understand them.
OP, find someone with different types of guns that belongs to a range, or heck, you are very close to the range in Randolph on RT10, find someone to guest you in and try their guns. DON'T BUY ANYTHING YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those pesky permits take too long to get to waste them on something you may not like.
I don't like MOST plastic guns, but a friend let me shoot two of his one day at OBRPC and I was shocked how well I did with one of them. It fit me perfect, I almost thought my friend was pulling the trigger, not me! He is a far better shooter than me yet I did excellent with his gun. I don't remember what brand or model, I would have to ask him, but it was a .40 Short and Weak (As Rosie loves to call that round!)
If you could meet-up with Rosie (David Rosenthel) I would HIGHLY recommend it! He has a good assortment of guns and is an AWESOME teacher! You will be hard-pressed to find a better person to work with!