I'm a newb as well....just bought my first gun. I pondered the same question for a while, and I concluded on .223 for my first. Some of the info that went into making my decision...
1) flinch. Many people pointed out that there is a risk of developing a flinch starting with a larger caliber. Some countered that .308 isn't really a terribly large caliber, so could be used by a starter.
2) pain. Having not shot a .308, I can't comment on the truth to this, but some pointed out that you can shoot more out of a smaller caliber before you start to feel sore and fatigued.
2) cost. .223 is a bit cheaper = more likely to shoot more.
3) use. I mainly want to shoot targets, so a larger caliber is unneccessary, but for hunting, there are minimum sizes you can use (dictated by each province i believe). If I recall correctly, .223 is too small for deer, but can be used on coyotes etc.
4) distance. .308 will shoot farther and have greater accuracy in the >600m range
5) name. My wife is scared of me getting a gun, and .223 sounds like a "twenty-two", which brings up associations of her brothers gopher hunting days as a teen.
6) number of guns. Have you ever thought of getting 2 guns? Ideally, I would have liked to get a .22lr for pure trigger time (cheap ammo, easy and not punishing to shoot etc.) AND a .308 for the occasional hunt and practice with the feel of a different gun. However, I was limited to ONE gun by the spouse, so I chose something that I could have the fun of blinging out (scopes, bipods etc.) and still get me most of what I wanted vs. getting two (which is what I would call ideal).
I think I still will go pick up a .22lr after christmas.....ammo is 1/10th the price of .223 still, and cheap one can be < $200.
My question for the masses is this: how do you say .223 properly? Is it: "point two two three" or "twenty two three" or just "two two three".
) .. and was then subsequently beaten by a honda civic 
