I’m interested in taking up deer hunting. Little experience with guns other than the .22 rifle I used for target practice growing up. Recommendations?
Where are you? Your choice will depend on that.
In some areas, you are limited to shotguns. In others, you may be better off with a bow.
A couple other questions.
What sort of terrain will you be hunting in? Will you be shooting long distances in open country? Walking around in brush filled forest? Farm land? Shooting from a tree stand?
Tell us a little more about your planned hunting area.
How about going old school?
How much money do you have to spend.
And following up on Dallas Jones’s question: keep in mind the weight when determining what method you want to use.
If you’re east of the Mississippi River, you’ll want either a shotgun or a compound bow. General case is the lands are too highly populated for high powered rifles.
Your first task is to find out what is allowed wherever you live. Then go shoot a lot of guns and/or bows and figure out what you like and can handle. Start at a reputable outfitter or gun shop for recommendation.
I like a 12 gauge pump action shotgun, so I have a Winchester Model 70 with an extra rifled barrel and a full set of chokes for the ventilated rib barrel. Any shotgun gauge from 410 on up will do.
I would recommend against black powder and handguns until you have some shooting experience under your belt.
No recommendation for bows; I don’t bow hunt. Hell, I don’t hunt anymore for that matter, because I can’t eat game for medical reasons.
Your mileage will vary.
I don’t have a lot of experience with different deer hunting rifles. I can tell you that I happen to own a Savage Model 110 .30-06, which is known for 2 things. (1) It’s cheap. (2), despite #1, it’s actually surprisingly accurate. My only real complaint about it is that it’s too light, which makes it kick like a freakin’ mule. You can probably pick one up used for a couple hundred bucks with a scope. It won’t break your bank if you decide deer hunting isn’t really your thing. You can also probably trade it in fairly easily for something better if you really get into the sport.
Heavy rifles kick less, because they have more mass to absorb the recoil forces. Heavy rifles are also much less pleasant to carry for miles through the woods.
Lighter rounds are easier to control, but you definitely do not want to go too light. You want something that will reliably take down a deer. You don’t want to make the deer suffer. Some places have restrictions on the minimum size round you can use. It is possible to kill a deer with a .22 but many states don’t allow a round that small to be used because it won’t reliably kill the deer unless you get off a darn near perfect shot.
Trying to determine whether or not you hit the deer afterwards might be a bit difficult. Either way, the deer is just going to be gone. 
Rifles are allowed in the county that I live in. The area is rural upstate NY, so I would be hunting in fields and woodlands. A versatile gun that could also be used for smaller game would be good.
Are you a good shot with the .22 at a variety of ranges? Have you ever shot an animal before? If so, do you get nervous, tremble, get ‘buck fever’ at all?
Get a bolt-action rifle. Don’t get too hung up on caliber; just about any medium to high caliber round will suffice, but I would recommend something *common *if you plan on using commercial ammo. Good choices would include .223, .243, .270, .308, and 30-06.
Excellent advice on the common ammo. There are some perfectly fine performing chamberings for which ammo is extremely difficult to come by. I recently had to mail-order 7.65 Argentine for example, and there were only about 5 online sources that listed it, and only one that actually had it in stock.
I will note that the OP didn’t mention what breed of deer. Western Mule deer will usually be taken at longer range, and are much larger critters than whitetails. A .30-30 is fine for whitetails, but a little iffy for Mule deer. Not sure I would use .223 for either.
One thing that has not been mentioned: Ask around about borrowing a rifle. The owner will most likely have it all sighted in and have a good handle on what loadings it shoots well. If you are youngish, then it might come from the dad or uncle of a friend. Hunting is hard work and takes up a lot of time, so many men stop hunting when they hit their 40s or so…and the cherished memories associated with a rifle are hard to part with, so mostly they don’t get sold off while the owner can still fog a mirror. Sure some men would rather let you borrow their wife than their rifle, but many others will be glad to see it get used for it’s intended purpose than just gathering dust.
Oh, and I assume you have researched the hunting regulations where you live? In my state, deer permits are on a lottery system and you have to get your name in early spring…so mid summer is way too late to decide you want to go deer hunting this fall.
Even though the .30-30 is a common deer round, I purposely didn’t list it. I don’t consider it to be a “real” rifle round. Light recoil is the only thing going for it. Great for kids and small women. I was assuming the OP did not fall into one of those categories, hence the omission.
Being on the lookout for an inexpensive deer rifle myself, I would consider:
Savage 110 (as mentioned earlier); Mossberg 100ATR; Browning A-Bolt; Weatherby Vanguard; Remington 700 ADL (a bit more expensive than the Savage/Mossberg). These might run $250 - $400 depending on what stores/aftermarket resources you have around you.
From all my reading and number-crunching and experience, .270 is an excellent balance of power and recoil, and the round is very popular.
The Ruger model 77 Mark II is a fine little bolt action deer rifle. Comes in a wide variety of calibers and stock choices. Mount a good scope on it and you are ready to go.
It’s design is based on the reliable Mauser 98. I think there are about 20 different ammo options. The one I have shoots the same 7.62 x 39 ammo as an AK47.
It was a gift from my wife, but it turns out to be a great deer load and cheap to shoot.
Ten years ago I purchased a new Ruger 77 Mark II in .308. My purchase was based solely on a recommendation from a “trusted” source. I ended up absolutely *hating *the thing. The action of the bolt was way too tight. It didn’t have good balance. Fit between the receiver and stock was poor, and no effort was made to sand the wood inside the receiver well. I expected a lot more for $490. I ended up selling it for $250, which included a Nikon scope. Was just glad to get rid of it. I should have purchased a Savage. Or even a surplus/C&R rifle. I don’t miss the Ruger one bit.
I own a bolt action .270 and it has only been fired once out hunting, with one deer taken. Great round for moderate distance and stopping power.
One thing to think about that might get overlooked is a balance in cost. An expensive rifle with a cheap scope will be worthless at dusk and dawn, and a gun that you can’t get ammunition for enough to shoot and be comfortable with is near worthless. My advice is to buy a decent gun, a decent scope, and three boxes of shells. Then go to a range, spend a box sighting it in and another box on a later date practicing proper shooting technique.
Whatever you end up with, download a manual from the internet and take a little time to take it completely apart, clean it well, then put it back together. Make sure to clean it after shooting it, and any time you take it out in the field. It takes a little time, but is worth it not to rust or unnecessarily wear the components. Especially with cheap ammo, cleaning is vital.
If you have a .30-30 laying around, it might be worth it to try the new LEVERevolution ammunition. It has been getting good reviews.
This is interesting to me, since I had both a 94 and a Marlin 336 as hand-me-downs, before the boating accident.
Bummer.
I’ve got a Rem .308, also scoped. The bolt is smooth as hell, and it’s dead-bang accurate. Where I hunt it’s mostly forest, so if I can see it, I can kill it.
For deer if I could only have one rifle it would be a .270
I find this interesting because my experience with the M77 is completely to the contrary. I bought one probably 30 years ago in 22-250 and it’s been the standard against which I measure the accuracy and reliability of all my subsequent purchases. In short, it’s never been anything but perfect. I’ve had a dozen one shot kills on whitetail and antelope and have shot through the neck on a half dozen turks. At 150 yards 3 bullets will be within a dime and my hunting buds enviously curse the fact it’s me and not them that own the rifle. Bolt action is smooth and clean and this Ruger is why I also bought a Ruger #1 in 7mm mag. That’s strange that our experiences should be so disparate but I gotta throw a little love for it out there. It’s my most trusted and dependable rifle by a pretty fair margin.
As to the OP, I was tempted to recommend the 22-250 since it has performed so well and is actually designed for the smaller game you also mention, turks, coyotes, etc. However, it is that only if you’re an experienced, accurate shot. It’s a very fast bullet and shoots very flat but it’s undeniably light. If you miss, the animal’s gonna suffer. I too would then recommend starting with a heavier load, .270, .308, etc.