If money is tight, go entry level with any of the units recommended above.

For a few hundred more there are Model 70s, Ruger Hawkeyes, Remington Mountain Rifles, Kimber 84s. The added cost is not lost at resale time. If he likes hunting, he keeps then and is set.

I’ve got a safe full, and every animal I’ve killed could have been fine with my first, 700 ADL in .270.

Im not scared of used rifles either.