First rifle I killed a deer with at age 12 was a Rem 700 25-06 that my uncle had recently won at a block shoot. Otherwise would have had to use Dads single shot 16 gauge with punkin' balls. The 25-06 was subsequently stolen by a deadbeat boyfriend of my cousin. First gun I bought myself on day of 18th birthday was a Rem 7600 Synthetic 30-06 that has killed many deer and I still have it.
Do 99% of my deer hunting today with a 7-08 and 140 Fusions. Have many rifles in that caliber but my go to is a Tikka 595. Hornady 139grs have performed well in several of my 7-08 rifles as well.
Highly recommend a 7-08 as a beginner's rifle but ammo has been a bit tricky to find as of late.
