A .243 is a good starter gun IMO. I used one for many years(my younger years). The deer always seemed to run a little further than I cared for(hunting in heavy thick timber). I bought a .270 and the difference is huge. Most hits will drop the deer in their tracks, which the .243 seldom did and if a situation arises where you have to make a followup shot, the blood trails are huge. Yeah, a .243 will kill a deer but there are calibers that definately will out shine a .243 in almost all circumstances. If your gonna buy a gun specifically for deer I'd go with a higher caliber IMO.