A 243 is an awesome size for deer

.223 remington is the lowest

.243 would be you best bet for starting out

if your new to deer hunting,.forget about a semi auto.go with a bolt action. With a semi auto you will rush the perfect shot placement because you know you have instant 2nd and 3rd shots.If you hunt thick woods or brush,go with a 30/30.If you hunt open fields,good calibers are 243,270,if you want distance without the kick.But if you can handle it go with a 300 win mag(reminton).This gun with a 200 grain bullet can drop any large game in the world.Semies are less accurate and jam in cold weather. 243smallestboltactioneasiest

You can get it right the first time by investing in the 30-06 caliber because it has a large variety of bullet weights to choose from & you will never need to buy another Rifle when you have the 30-06.*

I would never give a beginner a semi auto rifle.
The first thing you want to accomplish is making sure you take good quality shots. A single shot or bolt action rifle forces the beginner to take the time and concentrate on the shot. I have seen too many beginners with a semi auto and all you hear is bang bang bang bang bang, no deer, or worse yet a wounded deer. And personnally I prefer the 30/30 lever action.

Go with a lever action 30-30, Marlin or Winchester. Winchester ammunition.

I’d agree with old fuzz, but throw in the .308 as well. The .308 is usuallyt lighter and shorter than the six.

You can get a 243 on an AR platform as long as you promise not to be in the same woods with me.
Choosing the smallest caliber and choosing a semi-auto are both, to my way of thinking, just completely wrong-headed for hunting, and I don’t know any decent hunters who’d disagree with me. I’ll trust somebody with a trapdoor Springfield most any day, but I have a gut reaction to duck for cover when I see some tyro armed the way you’re suggesting. Hunting and military situations are totally different propositions.

As an avid Hunter with many years of experience, I too recommend the 243 caliber as the best of the Whitetail Deer cartridges, with the 270 caliber as the second place winner. I also agree that the best rifle and most efficient would be a bolt action rifle over a semi-automatic rifle, any day of the week. The 243 caliber has many bullet weights to choose from and a wide variety of factory ammunition you can buy most anywhere. A 243 caliber Bolt Action Rifle like the Remington 700 is literally the short,medium and long range rifle of choice for Whitetails. Semi automatic rifles have a tendency to make hunters to take longer shots,and higher risk shots but in a hurry with less concentration and accuracy. A Bolt Action Rifle forces you to take just enough additional time to insure you make a more accurate and better placed shot. This will also force you to make the first shot count, knowing it will take a few seconds more to chamber another round.