>>332862
There's a guide in the sticky for babby's first gun.
Get a .22 rifle or a .223 rifle. They're both low-recoil, can be used for varmints, the ammo's fairly cheap, and so are the guns. Keep in mind that just because I suggested .223, you don't need an AR or similar item. A cheap bolt-action is fine. Also, if you get a .22, don't buy some "assault weapon" chambered in .22. It's a fucking gimmick and nothing else.
After you pick your rifle, buy a bulk order of ammo, and begin practicing with hard sights. While you're practicing, you should start saving money to invest in some optics. You don't have to go all out, but do some research and find something that's appropriately priced and not shit. Make sure you get everything to actually mount it to the gun (rings, rails, etc). If you think you're gonna be hardcore in this shit, you might want to kick up a little more cash and buy the nicer, more expensive scope that everyone is drooling over instead of the more economical but still good scope that everyone is drooling over. The only thing to keep an eye out for is MOA adjustment: anyone who advertises a +2MOA scope as a "sniper scope" is fishing for stupid or they're stupid themselves.
One of the most important things is to learn to take care of your gun. Buy a bottle of oil and a bag of patches ($10), clean your gun after every three shootings or a full month passes. Unless you buy a nugget, because usually the ammo's corrosive. If you bought a nugget, it's the first gun you clean when you get home, and you clean it even if you only put one round through it. Seriously, that corrosive shit will eat your gun like a "health at any size" activist eats the cake at the buffet.
After you can start hitting the target at 100 yards with a scoped rifle, start moving the targets further away. The US Marines shoot at not-moving targets with M4 carbines at 200, 300, and 500 yards. The 500 yard target's bullseye is a 20"x40" silhouette. Every rifle shooter's goal is to be able to make that shot reliably.
Of course, you can buy whatever you like, and people buy different niche guns. There are .22 takedowns that fit the action and barrel into the stock, and a few hikers I know love them because it's a way to get rabbit or squirrel for the pot. Henry still makes .45-70 lever-action carbines because people still enjoy putting on a big hat and cowboy boots, and that completes the set. For some reason beyond me, FN still manages to sell PS-90s in the US.
Side note: Anyone know another term for the guns described as assault weapons? I hate using that term.