Blazer, my first handgun was a stainless Ruger GP100 with 6" barrel in .357. I shot mild .38 wadcutters and got comfortable with the revolver, and then shot .357 Mag ammo until I was proficient with it. A quality made gun like that will last forever, has the weight and barrel length to be accurate and a kitten to shoot with .38 ammo, and once you've gotten comfortable with shooting .38s, you can practice with .357 ammo that can take deer. The best part for someone on a budget is you're buying one reasonably priced revolver that babies the newbie and can later serve as a hunting gun.