Remington 870- if he’s wary of new ones (I don’t think I would be)- there are plenty of used Wingmasters for sale. Come to think of it, I would prefer to find a used Wingmaster with choke tubes to a new Express which would be the one in his price range.
I also wouldn’t be afraid of a used 1187 with choke tubes, keep the gas port(s) clean, wipe the magazine tube off, and it’ll be just fine.
