The Marlins have had allot of good reviews & a trusty ole Marlin 30/30 is a great choice. It is a lever action type rifle & has been used for ages. The 30/30 is one of the most popular rounds out there.
Additionally, the Hornaday Leverevolution rounds have greatly increased the ballistics of the Lever rounds. You can easily take deer out to 200 yds & maybe a lil bit more with the 30/30. Additionally, you can pick up one of these Marlin 30.30's from Wally World (Wal-Mart) for under $350.
Next is optics, there will be allot of folks/hunters that will tell you that if your scope don't cost at least $300 then it is crap...not true. I have used wally world specials...Bushnell Sportsman 3x9x40mm for a long time & they do just fine. My early days as a Marine I didn't get paid enough to throw down a bunch of money, I have upgraded to Nikon Prostaff scopes & they run around $150 to $170 per scope. Hope this helps & if you have any other questions feel free to ask or PM me...I am a budget hunter...even though I get paid a heck of allot more now w/ 14 years in the USMC, I still aint got the $ to just throw around. There is plenty of great gear out there for folks that are on a budget. Allot of things in the hunting world today are more for social coolness that anything...I do get wrapped up in it on occassion, but that's me just being spoiled...and it don't hurt to spoil yourself or get spoiled every now & then.
Oh yeah, if you are looking for one weapon that you can hunt deer, turkey, small game, upland bird, etc... May I suggest that you look into the possibility of buying a shotgun combo that comes with a rifled barrel & a smooth bore barrel. It is just an option & it is an all around gun that is good for allot of different quarry & great for home defense. I personally am a Mossberg man & bought my wife a Mossberg 20 ga combo for deer hunting on base (centerfire weapons are prohibited on base). I got it for right around $230.00. It shoots great & accurate w/ Hornaday SST slugs & patterns well for turkey out to 40 yards...just a thought. Your MAX effective range with the slugs is gonna be around 150 yds...but this is plent of range in a forrested area.
BTW, I thought that Michigan was one of those states that didn't allow the use of centerfire rifles for hunting? Just curious.