RE: what was your first deer?
My first deer was at age 12 with a single shot H&R 12 gauge that I bought for $35 and always had to stuff a towel against my shoulder to practice with. It was a huge buck that ran up on me after being spooked by other hunters. I saw it run down a ravine, and I took off in that direction thinking it would run down the ravine. When it popped up on my side about 30 yards in front of me and quartering towards me, it stopped. So I swung the gun up and cocked it in one motion, aimed, and shot. The deer dropped, and I can't recall any time I've ever been more excited. Funny thing was I can remember aiming at a spot on the shoulder, and then nothing until the deer was on the ground- amazing how a little adrenaline will get rid of recoil. Also, I had known the whole time that it was a buck because of how large bodied and thick it looked running at me, plus it had that light brownish patch on his head at the base of the antlers. However, it popped up on my side of the ravine so fast that I didn't notice the antlers being broken off near the base until after I'd already shot it. So my first deer was a buck, but still antlerless...
I've since moved to trad archery tackle, and the only thing I've felt like shooting and also had within 30 yards was a tasty looking doe that went 122 lbs. field dressed.