I've never hunted.....

[shilala]

When I was a kid I like to use a single shot .22lr for squirrels. Later I added a scope, it made things a lot different and more fun, plus I brought home a lot more dinner.
For deer I use a .35 Remington, but that's cause I hunt in the brush on the edge of farm fields. If I was hunting in the wide open I'd shoot a .257 or .243 cause I'm a pretty flat shooter.

The laws dictate what you can use, gun-wise, to some extent. Here you can use most anything for anything you want to hunt.
The game dictates what you want to use.
A nice semi-auto or pump 12 guage is good for lots of game. You could actually use it for everything from squirrel to turkey to deer.

first off take a hunters saftey course, the guys or gals who put on the class can definatly answer any question you might have. Just be warned hunting is just as steep a slope as cigars...