For deer, a quarter-bore is hard to beat. Either a .257 Roberts ora .25-06. They will both stabilize bullets up to 120 grains, they are flat shooting, and have very little recoil. I use a .25-06, and it needs at least a 24" barrel. For most shooters, this is probably a good place to start.

Really, anything from a 30-06 or .308 down should be more than manageable in terms of recoil.

And I'd suggest going to an actual gun store instead of Wal-Mart. They hire any Tom, Dick, and Harry they can find and pay them minumum wage to sit behind the counter. They may or may not have ever seen a gun in their lives, much less fired one.

Gun stores are a little bit more expensive, but usually the people running them are very knowledgeable and know what they are talking about. They also usually have a better selection of guns on hand, and better selection of the better guns on hand.

One last bit of advice: don't skimp on the scope. Putting a $75 scope on a $500 gun = a gun that shoots like you paid $75 for it.