I bought a Ruger M-77 in .243 in 1980, it's the only centerfire rifle I have owned since then...I've killed at least 300 deer with it...
Caliber doesn't matter much as long as you are reasonable...
What matters it where you are able to put the bullet and that you know when to shoot and when not to shoot......
I probably would have been just as successful with any of the more common calibers mentioned but if starting today I'd stick with either the .243, .308, .270 or 30-06...
These seem to be what you can find in most any sporting goods store...
If a fellow reloads you can add the 25-06, 7mm-08 and .260 to that list...I wouldn't start with a 30-30 simply because any of the above calibers are easily capable of killing deer out to 300 yards, whereas the drop of a 30-30 would make that "challenging"...