First thing you need to do is get rid of the "deer hunting" is hunting a "real" animal compared to bird hunting or other small game, hunting nonsense in your mind. While some folks "still hunt" for deer, moving very slowly, a step or two at a time, stopping and looking before taking another step, actually hunting, and there is still some deer driving, a group of people pushing deer to others on stand so they can shoot one. However mostly deer"hunting" is more deer "waiting" in a stand that actually hunting. Climb into a tree stand or a ground blind or simply stand against a tree and wait for a deer to maybe walk by. The trick is to learn deer habitat and seer sign and learn where the best spots are to ambush one. Bird hunting and other small game hunting is actually hunting where you go the the habitat they live in and actually hunt by walking them up, with with or without dogs. Using dogs is much more fun and more effective. Starting out hunting small game in my opinion is the best way to go, a right of passage so to speak before you move to big game. Additionally, hitting a moving small target with a shotgun takes more skill than shooting a large animal with a rifle. There are people who started with big game but I think I can safely say most started with small game and learned things there that helped them when they started big game hunting, at least a few decades ago. Today, everyone seems to want the instant gratification of starting at the top. I know you didn't ask for a lecture and my post wasn't meant to be one. I suggest if you know any hunters talk to them, including small game hunters and find a sportsman's club and join, you will meet lots of hunters and maybe find a mentor, as well as having a rifle range a clays fields to practice your marksmanship rather than ask what kind of gun to buy and strike out on your own. You will also need to take and pass a hunter education class in the US in order to be able to buy a license to hunt. I just now noticed you said you are moving to Scotland, I am assuming you are talking about the country not a city or town in the US. Europe has laws for gun ownership and hunting that are a lot more strict that in the US so if it is off to Great Britain for you you need to do your homework on what is required before you go. Hunting is a lot more than buying a gun and going out and killing something.