I would suggest a lever gun or a single shot of some sort, firing a cartridge that will serve him well if y'all venture out of your bailiwick. (You can load it down to levels he finds tolerable, and increase them as he grows into the gun.) Reason for a lever gun or single shot: You can fit a shortened stock to fit him, and save the original stock for when he outgrows the short one. If you shorten a bolt gun stock, that's it- it'll look bodgered no matter what you do to it 10 years from now.
A Savage 1899 carbine, takedown or solid frame, weighs but 6-6½ pounds. I wouldn't call that heavy. I never saw a M94 that weighed a whole lot more than that. Most anything in the realm I suggested will weigh in at between 6-8 pounds- if a kid can't handle weight of that nature, then perhaps he needs to grow up a bit more before taking him into the woods. You go too light and it'll belt him even with reduced loads and may well turn him off from shooting.
Last edited by gnoahhh; 04/28/16.
