Welcome, look forward to having you here.
I personally would look at avoiding anything north of Lacey for homes, etc. JBLM (large military installation) has home prices and rental rates up higher than they probably should be in the Pierce county area. There may be some homes/property in the Nisqually area (which is in the border zone between Pierce and Thurston counties) which wouldn't be too bad, but watch out for proximity to the flood plain (the river can/has flooded a few times in the last couple decades).
Also should warn you about Pierce county--Snowflakes who couldn't read voted an initiative in last year for King and Pierce counties to pay for a light rail system. Increased sales tax, property taxes, AND nearly tripled the car registration fees. Definitely something to keep in mind for now.
There is a shooting location on public land known as the "Triangle Pit" or sometimes nicknamed the "Suicide Pit." If I remember it "requires" a WA state Discovery Pass to be able to park there ($30 for one year, good with 2 vehicles). Not sure if I saw any passes on other vehicles when I was there last time. The Triangle pit is fairly close to the Lacey/Olympia/Tumwater area (Google actually has decent directions, images, and information). As with all public shooting areas, there are some definite downsides (no RSOs, no real lanes, communications, etc.) but for a close and free place to shoot, it is available.
Not a drinker, so can't help you there.
All in all, I do like Washington. My father retired from the base up here, and I keep coming back to this area. I have to block out a lot of the stupid from Olympia politicians and Seattle everything, but I really love this place for natural beauty and overall cool stuff. Good luck on the home search.