I think someone new to rifles should stick to standard calibers like 270, 7mm-08, 308 or 30-06. For one they don't have a tremendous recoil and you can afford to shoot them a lot more an get used to the gun while gaining good shooting form. I think most people today would do better shooting more and really getting to know the rifle's fit to the shooter as well as learning the calibers exact drops in trajectory. For elk that's what I would recommend but for deer size game you can go a lot smaller like a 6mm or 243 win.