You might also consider buying a shotgun. It can be used for hunting nearly all types of small game and if your hunting interests broaden it can be used for birds and even big game depending on the shot size you use. Shotguns come in various bore sizes; .410 caliber(smallest) 28, 20, 16, 12 and 10 guage. Counterintuitively, the smaller the guage, the larger the bore size. The 12 guage is probably the most popular but the 20 guagealso has many adherents. Like guage,with shot size the smaller the shot # , the larger the pellets, i.e. #2 shot contains larger pellets than #6. For large game you can get rifled slugs that are effective on deer sized animals at ranges out to 100 yards.