Owning a pistol without a conceal carry license

[mr_Goodbomb]

I'm looking to purchase a firearm legally. I own a shotgun, no restrictions or permits required, but I'd like a handgun to keep in my home and take to the range/private residences that will allow me to shoot there.

I live in a college town, so the local police department are a little uncooperative with basically everything. I have read to contact your local police department for a conceal carry, but I suspect that they won't be very helpful, and I also suspect that such a permit will cost more than the firearms I can afford.

Without such a license, how can you keep and own a handgun? Between taking it from the store and your home, your home and the range, etc, how is this manageable? I suspect keeping a firearm on the seat, even if that's the legal way to do it, is a terrible idea. The police in the area are VERY well known for random traffic stops without reason, and for searches without warrants (they've been known to tell you "you can let us or you can wait til we get in contact with the magistrate and get a warrant, and if you make us do that, we WILL find something"), so carrying it in plain sight or hidden without a permit both seem like bad ideas.

So how can I manage this? I live in West Virginia.