Marlin XL7 in .25-06 or .270 or .30-06
Marlin XS7 in 7mm-08 or 308

If you think you will ever hunt game larger than deer and want one gun go with a .270/.308/.30-06 caliber range.

If not, then .25-06/.270 or 7mm-08 are the perfect whitetail calibers. The .270 is one versatile caliber.

At a minimum, I'd go with a Marlin XL7 or XS7 that's in the $300 range or so. Then I'd top it with a Nikon Pro Staff 3-9x40 scope, that you can buy on E-Bay for $100-$110 new. Good rings and bases will cost you $40-$50. That combo, in my opinion, will last you a lifetime and would be a great gun to start with.

Don't rush into things, and keep an eye out for a good used gun -- you'll get a lot more for you money. Like another poster said, don't go too cheap -- you'll regret it. If you must save your money a little longer for a good gun combo, shoot Federal Tru Ball Slugs through your shotgun this fall. I use them in my 870 and they are very accurate out to 50 yards with a vent rib barrel, which is adequate for the woods hunting I do in Michigan.

Since you are only looking for a deer rifle don't overlook the Marlin 336 in 30-30.

Let me throw another option in the mix. I have a Weatherby Vanguard in 7mmRemMag. A bit big for your needs but the Vanguard is affordable, accurate and durable. The nice thing about the .30-06 is you can buy rounds for it any where. Heck, the shake shop around the corner from my house has .30-06 rounds. If you decide you want to save up for an elk hunt you still have a suitable rifle.
I have a Burris Fullfield II in 3-9X40 with Ball Plex reticle. It handles all my needs just fine and doesn't cost a bunch of money.

removed by RD

You're looking for a deer gun on a budget. Might help if you specify rifle, shotgun, or ml.
Personally, I wouldn't buy the combo from cabellas. I have heard more bad than good about those rifles and you can get a decent used rifle for the same money that will out last those cheap things, esp. if you're lookin for 30-06 because lets face it, the 96 is more than likely the most popular hunting cartridge ever. So my first recommendation is to go for a used bolt action or semi auto.

My second recommendation would be to go for good used lever action in 30-30 or something bigger. again you'll have quick repeat round.

As for getting the good old NEF single shot rifles, I would recommend it. Here's why, although they're great rifles and I have had my 243 NEF single shot for years and have killed many deer with it, if you are looking for a single shot rifle for cheap then my recommendation would be to look at the inline muzzle loaders like the optimas and wolf combos. You can get one of these and hunt two seasons in most states. They're more than capable if tuned up right at taking deer at 200 yards. If you want a good deal then that would be my recommendation.

As for the 870 being highly inaccurate, your cousin is wrong. I slapped on a red dot scope on mine and its good out to 100 yards which is more than enough.

Those are my suggestions, I hope that helps.

From a 770 owner
 

Last winter I bough a 770 in the 30-06, knowing full well that I would probably be buying a better gun in a couple years. At the time, I had just retired from the military, moved to Montana, was ready to get back into hunting, but on a very tight budget. I found a rifle at Wally World that had some factory repairs & was marked down even more. The rifle performs well, getting average 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards with several loads. It seems to like the 150 gr BTSP Noslers best. The bolt feels sloppy & the plastic logo fell off the stock & is now somewhere in the woods. Although advertised as an out-of-the box ready, the trigger felt like it had 1/2 mile of pull at around 10 lbs. I fiddled with the screws on the trigger, even though everything I read said not to, & now have about 2 lbs & very little travel. The Bushnell scope is very clear, but was loose at first. I snugged it down before ever firing it and haven't had a problem yet. So to answer your question: Yes it works well, but it's not my first choice.

On a really tight budget my search would begin and end with either the Marlin 7 or the Stevens 200. Caliber wise Im pretty partial to the 270 and the 7-08. Scope wise... Nikon Pro Staff from ebay....and good ol Weaver mounts. Now you've got a budget rig that will perform much much better than anything resembling a budget rig.

Marlin XL7.. cheap price but a quality gun. IMO, DO NOT buy the 770.

what distances are you shooting?if you need to go real cheap just buy a box of federal tru ball slugs (less than 5$) and throw a fiber optic adjustable sight and open choke on the 870 (20-30$). im pretty sure your gonna kill deer out to 100 yards with that set up. if you need a rifle i would hit the used market or a package deal from the local big stores.