re: Deer Rifle

.30-06 has loads available off the shelf from something like 90 grains to 220 grains and is suitable for anything in North America that won’t try to eat you if you miss. IMO, it’s on the cusps of “overkill” for deer, but it’s immensly popular for a reason. It works.

.308 has a little less arse than the 06 and thus doesn’t go quite as heavy with loads, but many people still use it on moose with great success and it’s popular for elk. They also recoil a bit less, have a short action which will theoretically be more accurate, the guns are a bit smaller, and reduced recoil loads are available for it if you have a kid/small wife who doesn’t like any recoil. It’s arguably more versatile than the 06, and maybe a hair better suited for white tails.

.270 is pretty much perfect for white tails, works for elk, and light for moose but it’ll work. 130 and 150gr loads are what you usually see and both are great for deer.

Point being, any of those 3 are fantastic for white tails. All are very common, at least one is available in whatever rifle you want, and they are all flexible.

ETA: id like to add that for a Louisiana/Mississippi hunter who will only have one rifle, nothing is more logical than a single shot .35 whelen that is legal for primitive Arms season. It’ll extend your season 2 weeks and you’re in no way handicapping yourself with that vs any regular ol bolt gun. It’s got plenty for deer out as far as you can hit them.

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Caliber: .270, .30-06, or .308

All are readily available from all rifle manufacturers and have huge ammo selections at any store that sells ammo. All are great deer killers.

Rifle: just pick one that has the features you like. They all shoot well these days. I like Tikka rifles in the $700 price range.

Scope: This is where you get exactly what you pay for. $200 is generally considered the minimum for a “good” scope although you can get something that will work for less. For me, $500 is where the “premium” stuff starts (leupold VX3, Meopta Meopro, Low end Ziess). The top end is limitless and you can easily blow your whole budget on a scope.

My setup: Tikka T3 lite stainless in .30-06, leupold VX3i 2.5-8x36 with weaver rings.

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This covers it...

I just bought a Browning Xbolt 7mag, Hells Canyon edition. Put a Zeiss Terra 4x12x50mm for about $1800. Love it, haven't shot a deer with it yet but I'm sure it will take care of business.

BLM,
Congratulations to deer hunting. I bet you'll enjoy it. Lots of good advice so far, but I'll make some suggestions as well.
Caliber: 30-06 and 7 Rem Mag are both fine rounds. I don't think you'll need a 7 Mag (or any other mags) for the hunting you described. Yeah, it'll work, but you'll be dealing w/ more recoil, muzzle blast and usually a 2" longer barrel. Lots of deer have been killed by the 30-06. There's lots of good in favor of the '06. Other caliber suggestions:
25-06, 260 Rem**, 6.5X55 Swede, 6.5 Creedmoor**, 270 Win, 7-08**, 280 Rem and 308**. ** denotes the gun should be available in a short action; compared to a long action gun, the short action will be a little lighter, little shorter and, all other things being equal (bullet wt and wt of gun), will have a little lighter recoil.
Gun: LOTS of good options here. Go to a store and see which ones handle best to you and what features you like (2 position safety vs 3 position safety; hinged floor plate vs internal blind magazine vs detachable box magazine, etc. You get the idea). I'd look at Browning X-Bolt, Winchester M70, Rem M700, Savage, Ruger M77 and Tikka. If you want to spend a little less money, Savage Axis, Mossberg, Ruger American are good ones.
Scope: Lots of good options here as well. Nikon, Leupold, Vortex, Burris, Redfield are good ones for <$300. Natchez Shooters Supply also sells factory refurbished scopes at a good discount. 3-9X or 3-10X is plenty magnification.
Rings/mount: I've used a bunch of different set ups through the years, but now only use one piece Weaver base w/ Burris Signature rings (the ones w/ the plastic insert).

So what do I use? I deer hunt w/ specialty handguns now but when I started deer hunting I bought a Winchester M70 in 270 Win w/ a Leupold 3-9X scope (I later changed it to a 2-7X Leupold). When my son started hunting at 10 y/o I bought him a Savage bolt action in 308 Win that came w/ a 3-9X Simmons; I later changed to scope to a 3-9X Leupold Rifleman. A few months ago I bought a T/C Compass in 7-08 as a grand kids' gun. I've not shot it enough yet to endorse it.

Keep us updated.

I use a Remington M700 .270 to compliment my Winchester 94 30wcf. The action on a M700 is rock solid. I switched out the stock trigger with a Timney and have a 3x9 Leopold scope on it.