zrexpilot is right. the h&r single shot is a nice gun. i have a couple of them. one is a ultra light- handi rifle the other is a ultra varmint and boy they both shoot real well. i have remingtons 700's, winchesters,rugers, and savages. the h&r usually shoots the pants of the others. it is nothing to fancy but they are deadly. when you only have one shot you tend to make a better shot. no garbage shots like a lot of guys take. 243, 30-30 or 308 are more than enough for a deer. even the 30-30 is good for a couple hundreds yards. anything bigger than those and you are just wasting your money. i have shot many deer with an old caplock muzzel loader that i have and it does not have a scope. alot depends on where you are going to hunt open fields or wood areas and how much you shoot. most guys that do not shoot much like the scopes. open field you may want a scope but in the woods the scopes are not needed. now varmints and predator are a differant story we are talking about deer here. just my thoughts