I live in northeastern MS and know from family members that there are some good hunting grounds here (particularly from an uncle, who dropped a 21 point about 4 years ago around here, among other mounts he's gotten over the years). Anyway, I'm collecting advice from as many sources as I can before jumping into it.

If these are already answered I'm sorry, I have dial up so it's pretty hard to just search though tons of pages.

My key questions are:

Advantages/disadvantages of shotguns and rifles? (I already own a Remington 870 12 gauge but have no rifle except a '76 model Ruger 22)
Is still hunting a good way to begin? (I'd rather not invest in a stand just yet)
What is the minimum caliber of rifle?
Can you hunt without dogs during dog season?

Thanks in advance guys! This is actually my first post here period...

Rifles are better for longer distances.
Still hunting as in stalking? Kind of a hard way to start out but go for it. You don't have to buy a stand, you can make a ground blind out of brush.
.243 is the minimum caliber in some states .223 in others.
You don't need dogs to hunt during dog season.

Have fun and good luck

I am not a veteran, but here's my thoughts anyway:

A rifle will have superior range and accuracy in comparison to a shotgun, but a rifle will cost you a lot, and so will a scope. A used rifle is probabally not a bad option if you can find one.

I don't know much about hunting with slugs (for your shotgun), but if you take this route, perhaps try hunting in a thicker, less open area. Since you won't have much range, you might as well try to get in there where the deer will run for cover to get away from the other hunters. Being up in a stand helps to keep your scent away from deer, so for ground hunting you may want to worry more about scent cover/remover. Don't blow money on a "scent-lock" jacket, but maybe spend $15 on one of those scent eliminator combo packs.

As for ground hunting, I would just find a spot near some tracks or in an area where you have a good line of sight (within the range of your gun). Maybe sit there for at least an hour or 2. Then, if you want, you can creep (very slowly and quitely) to a new location and sit there. If you find the perfect tree, you may be able to climb up some low branches and get a good 8'-10' off the ground, but be very careful not to climb a tree with dead branches, and remember to unload your gun while climbing into a tree or stand.

As far as stands go, I'm going to buy a $50 climber from walmart tomorrow, once I get a chance to check it out I'll come tell ya how it works. If it turns out to be decent, $50 is pretty damn cheap for a stand!

If baiting is allowed in your state, I would put out some bait to try bring in a deer. If you're on private land, you can begin baiting a few days before you hunt there, so that deer will get used to finding food there. I'm not sure if putting out bait in some random spot and then sitting 30-40 yards away is effective or not.

Hope some of this is helpful. And once again, this is just from my limited experience. You're best bet would be to find someone in your area who hunts and ask them when/where/ and how they hunt!

A rifle would be fine for you. Get a cheap, bolt-action manufactured by a company called Savage. You could get one brand newfor around $200.
You could get it in a .270 caliber, because .270 is a common deer hunting cartridge.You don't need to get all mixed up in the exotic calibers.
A simple scope manufactured by Bushnell would only cost you around $100.
Still hunting with a rifle would be fine to start out with.
If youneed moremoney than you can sparefor all that stuff you're going to buy, than I would suggest selling your Ruger .22.
If you're doing still hunting, than I would not suggest using dogs, they might spook the deer off.

Another thing, when you get your rifle, be sure to go to your local shooting range. If you can't find one in your area, than look online.
When you go to the shooting range, get some cheap ammo to shoot, because you'll need plenty of practice, and you won't want to go broke over that. All this effort will pay off, in the end, because you'll get some meat on the table.

Dependig on how thick the brush is where you plan to hunt. If it's thick, the shotgun or a .30-30 would be better. If it isn't thick, a .243, .260, 7mm-08, .308, 6.5mm Swede or .270 would be my choices.

For brush hunting, Ishoot aBRN A-5 12ga/w Hastings Paradox Barrel and Sabots or Marlin 336c .30-30.

For open area shooting, I shoot a Ruger M77 6.5mm Swede/w 156gr Norma"Alaska" ammo.

For Power Line shooting,same as above or .270/w 130gr NP ammo.

Thanks guys! I had already had a Savage recommended to me by a guy at a gun shop as well as another friend. I might look further into those.

And if I can find a climber for 50 bucks? Are you kidding me? I could handle that... Be sure and let me know what you think, please.

I was out squirrel hunting today and ironically enough saw a turkey AND a doe but not a single squirrel. Who would've thought? It'll probably be the exact opposite of that when deer or turkey season rolls around haha.

find a mentor.....i would go to your uncle[:-]
use a rifle you wont regret it trust me
savage is a great gun for the money
still hunting is a great way to begin
i wouldnt go below a 243
yea you can hunt w/o dogs during dog season i would reccommend not dog hunting alot to keep the deer relaxed

I would love for him to take me out a couple of times but he's all but crippled these days thanks to a bull dozer accident where he works. I guess a fireside chat would do some good, though.

I've been trying to get an old girlfriend's dad to take me out to colorado sometime in the next year. Luckily her family liked me and it was a smooth break up

Glad to see your getting into the woods its a great place to be

Well you know as for still hunting and stand hunting doesnt have to be expensive im sure you can find some dark colored milk crates like black would be fine park you Kester somewhere sit about 50-100 yards off a trail (or closer) find a good trail and just sit and wait be sure to watch the wind that what messes up new hunters the most and can screw up good hunting areas into garbage

GOOD LUCK MAN

PS if you ever want to ask any more question but dont feel like posting send me a PM im fine iwth it and would love to help you

Get all the good advise you can from the Uncle. When you mess up, tell him about it and he can tell you what you did wrong and what to do next time. You can build ground blinds out of a lot of different things. You can also get camo material at Wally World.