Either the Marlin 336 or the Winchester 94 would be a great gun for your son to learn on. My son who will be 14 in a couple of days has a Marlin and loves it. We have been reloading together for him and my Marlin 44 and it is great time together. We are going to start casting our own bullets soon to help keep plinking costs down. Gosh, if anything the deer have gotten more wimpy in my area. Its getting harder and harder to find a deer with good size horns or weight on him anymore.