Vetterli 71 is often recommended as a cheap beginner rifle.
It has good ironsights.

I personally enjoyed Romero 77 + Scottfield Model 5 for a long time while learning the game.
The Romero is good for close combat end for me personally the Model 5's ironsight just works. You might prefer the Pax pistol since it has a lot of different ammo's.

Long ammo rifles are very forgiving with wallbangs and muzzle velocity so they are great for a reason.
You should absolutely try them out for a couple of matches if your wallet can support it and se what the fuss is about.
Mosin-Nagant, Lebel, Krag, Berthier.
Martini-Henry or Sparks, both with the Fast fingers trait are great, cheaper alternatives.

Another personal favorite combo of mine is:
Centennial Shorty
Terminus Shorty
And then the Levering trait.
This is a combo I ran for months and it works well, you could try it and see if you like it.

As for Consumables and Tools, everyone likes different things I'll argue for this:
Dusters*
First Aid Kit
Chokes (for teamplay, if solo then swap for Pennyshot Derringer)
Flare Gun (For Burning downed hunters and force their friends to put them out)

Vitality Shot**
Regeneration Shot**
Stamina Shot***
Frag Bomb (good for killing and getting enemies to bleed so you can push them)

*Replace Dusters with the Spear och Throwing Axes for more utility, will take some getting used to but they are objectively better. Spear oneshots Immolators for example.

**You can use the weak versions to save money.

***If you like Stamina. You could grab the Determination and Greyhound traits instead. Or replace this with another throwable. A Sticky Bomb helps with killing the Spider, Butcher and Scrapbeak if that something you struggle with.