Just keeping it simple, a one-rifle purchase, for a neophyte, I'd suggest a Ruger Hawkeye in whatever a new-ish shooter thinks is good enough, probably the 6.5 Creedmoor or 7mm/08, not much recoil, plenty enough for deer, good for coyote, dead simple to operate, and probably not needing a doggoned thing except mounting and zero-ing a decent scope.
Seems like everyone is overthinking this.
