noob rifle choice.

If you are seriuos about target shooting get a Savage bolt action in .223 The recoil is very light and it will outshoot most any semiauto if you do your part. Ammo is very cheap for a centerfire and it may be legal for deer in your state plus the Savage is very reasonably priced. I've got a semi-auto in .223 that will shoot groups I can cover with a quarter at a 100 yards but it was not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

Some states the .243 is as low as you can go for deeer as SleeperScamp mentioned. It's also a great cartridge with low recoil.

For a new shooter, the bolt action is really the safe way to go.