Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun or a mossberg 500 (even cheaper). This is all you will need for turkey, deer, hog's. the big thing is you won't be able to take long shots for deer but again as stated, you probably won't be doing that right away anyways. Get a rifle later on when you get a few years under your belt.

I started out hunting with a 12 ga myself and it worked very well for a woods gun. the only time i felt undergunned so to speak was in a tree stand overlooking a field. But truth be told, i have gotten more deer in the woods where a shotgun shines then over fields.

A different approach might be buying a Rossi/BrazTech, I believe they sell Rifle shotgun combos, i think they have a 12 gauge that you can get with additional rifle barrels chambered in the popular hunting callibers, a 12 gauge barrel with an interchangeable.308 barrel under $300, that doesnt sound like to bad a dealto me, again you are stuck with that one shot one kill deal, but i personally love the idea of only one shot, might bot be the best route but at least thought id suggest it,

Um, Not necessarily

HEY ROBq....FIRST.....hunters safety course.....then....listen to these guyz