What the heck, I'll throw in my two cents. I'm fairly new to hunting myself, and my first deer rifle was the Remington 700 ADL synthetic in .30-06. If you've been shooting for a while and don't mind the recoil (assuming you like the .30-30, it shouldn't be a problem), the .30-06 a great caliber. You can take deer, elk, black bear, and even caribou, moose, and grizzlies with the heavier loads.

You can certainly get the job done with smaller calibers (.243, .25-06, .270, etc.), but the power and versatility of the .30-06 is there when you need it. Ammo's easy to find in various loads, and you can hit hard out past 300 yards with good shot placement.

By the way, I paid just over $450 for my 700, but it came with a Skyline Excel camo stock and Leupold mounts and rings. I've seen synthetics with open sights for around $400, so you should be able to meet your budget.

For young kids starting out, I usually recommend one of the single shot rifles like NEF in .243. It teaches them safety, taking their one and only BEST shot, etc.

For older 1st timers, I usually recommend a bolt action like the Howa with a decent scope on it. Calibers depends on what they think they can handle, and their physical size. I never recommend anything in the 30 caliber range (except the 30-30) due to the recoil. The fastest way to turn off a new hunter is to pound them with recoil.

Set up with low to medium recoil, and an accurate combination and they'll be hooked for life and can upgrade later.