Originally Posted by Amui

That depends on what your budget is, and what type of hunting you want to go do.

For bird hunting or hunting larger game with dogs/in an open field, a Shotgun is the place to go, and typically a 12 gauge is universally accepted for both bird and larger game.

If you're going for a cheaper shotgun I'd maybe suggest a Remington 870 Express, higher end would be a Winchester SX3 or something similar.

With a rifle you're typically looking for a .308 or a .30-06 for hunting purposes, and you're probably going to be sitting in a stand either freezing your butt off or sweating a river depending on your location, can you stick a scout scope on a Mosin Nagant and kill nearly anything alive in North America with its 7.62x54r round? heck yes, does it cost about $100-200 less than a decent hunting rifle? yes, will you be accurate over 200-300 yards? maybe not.

If you're looking for a teeny tiny bit more high end rifle, you really can't do wrong with a Browning A-Bolt or a Remington 700, I believe both can come in .30-06 and .308 calibers, and both are tried and true hunting rifles made from quality parts, I'd top either off with a Leupold scope and call it a day.