First gun ever, what should I buy

I agree, first ever gun should be a 22lr. Everyone should have one. There is nothing else that give you hours or cheap practice at $25/500rds of ammo.
All the other rifles mentioned are great too, but can you afford to the ammunition to shoot them for a whole afternoon? You will get all the other guns, but 22lr is a good place to start.

Lots of nice affordable options, Marlin 795, Savage 64, Ruger 10/22. Bolt action 22lr are great for honing your accuracy skills vs volume shooting with the semi-auto. Many of these are about $200 and you can buy used, or buy new and sell it later. You will not regret a 22lr to start, and they are accurate up to 100yds.

Learn to use iron sights, optics come later. I have never met anyone who regrets getting a decent 22lr. You don't need big mags to start with either. Shooters tend to try and be more precise, and make their shots count, when having 7-10rds in the mag. It's kind of human nature, you'll experience that when you go shooting.
 
I've taken a correspondence gunsmithing course. Not at all a waste of time and money. Covered the history of firearms, action types, common failures, metalurgy, heat treating, blueing and many other subjects. At the end of the day you'll have to get your hands dirty and do the work but if you understand the process's and how firearms function it's a great place to start. I also came out of it with some great reference material and a few good quality tools. You could probably make a decent sideline job of glass bedding actions. As for making a living I suppose it depends what you think a living is. Honestly if you have to ask what kind of first gun you should have you are so low on the learning curve you better think of another way to make a living for now. There is no replacement for experience. That takes time.

An AR rifle is a piss poor choice for a first gun for a number of reasons not the least of which is the regulations surrounding the ownership and use of it. I don't know how you learn marksmanship with a 12 gauge although it should be one of your first 3 firearms. The guys here touting the 22lr bolt action have it figured out. Low purchase price, inexpensive to shoot, relatively quiet gives you the enjoyment of shooting without any hassle.
 
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