Welcome to the sport of deer hunting. I've been hunting for over 30 years and every year I seem to learn something new. I guess that's one of the things I love about the sport. I have to agree with txhunter about the good boots and clothing. I see you are from NY. I to hunt NY every year and some years the weather can be very miserable. So don't skimp on buying quality apparel. You may pay a little more for it now but I have found that it will generaly last longer and make your experience afield more enjoyable.

Another very important piece of advise I would like to give you is, get a copy of your game laws, and study them from cover to cover. While its ok to ask a buddy or hunting partner for advise or tips, when it comes to the laws, make darn sure. Over the years I have seen many times when one hunter would interpret or "think" a game law meant one thing when it in fact meant something altogether different. As you study these laws, if there is something you are not sure of, call your game commission and ask them to clarify what it is you may be confused on. They are more than willing to help.

As far as a rifle choice. First of all make sure that rifles are legal in the area that you are planning to hunt. In NY. you have areas that are open only to shotgun or archery. The last thing you want to do is get caught in a shotgun area hunting with a rifle. This would not be a good way to start off your hunting carreer. As far as what caliber rifle to use, I would have to agree with huntinginga and say that anything .243 or larger would be fine. If whitetail deer in NY. is going to be all that you hunt with the rifle, I would stay away from the magnum calibers. In my opinion, of course this my opinion and it is not meant to offend anyone, for deer they are over kill. Not to mention the abuse they can give the person shooting them. My preference is the 30.06. This is a good all around caliber with many different cartridges available. In the event that you would one day like to hunt bear, mule deer, elk, or just about any North American big game, you could do so with the 30.06. If you are going to hunt an area that is shotgun. Then I would recommend a 12 ga., however there are many deer killed each year with 20 and 16 ga. shtguns as well. It's a matter of personel preference.

I hope this helps, and if there are any other questions or concerns that you may have, I'm sure that anyone of us vetern hunters would be glad to help you out.

God Bless & Good Hunting
LM/NAHC
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