"East Texas" is larger than alot of states. I am also in "East Texas", and if you will PM me what town you are in, I would be willing to help you get started.

As far as scopes, I am in agreement that 3-9x40 is a good "all around" magnification, but in my opinion, the best scope "for the money" is a Zeiss Conquest. There have been a couple on Accurate Reloading for $349.