UMPIRE

For what it's worth, here's my opinion....You mentioned quite a few areas of hunting that you'd like to get involved with...deer, waterfowl, turkey, gun or bow. I suggest you get yourself a 12 gauge shotgun that takes both shot and slug. You can then use the same gun on small game (shot) as well as big game (deer). If you like the sport, purchase yourself a rifle in a couple of years. As for bow hunting, the best learning tool is experience but as a newbie to hunting you might get discouraged real quick. Bow hunting requires a more indepth knowledge of deer than gun hunting does. If you've got a deer hanging up out there at 60 yards, you can reach out and touch him with a gun. When you're hunting with a bow, you have to be able to "read" the deer in order to get him within bow range. Being new to the sport, you might get frustrated in bow hunting and give up hunting all-together. And we don't want that.