I honestly think you should wait until they get married.
Me too. Your said he's just her "boyfriend", so being that they are not even engaged yet, you'd feel like a fool if you bought that rifle and two weeks later he dumps her. I'd wait until their wedding and give him a nice rifle as part of their wedding gift. But that's just me.
But if you must buy a rifle for him, I'd get a rifle for yourself and let him use it. Then, if he puts a ring on her finger, you could give it to him at that time. That would be my opinion.
As far as the type of rifle, I'd look at the Savage line. They have some great features and the accuracy is very good. Since he already had a .30-30, you might consider a Marlin 336.
Good luck,
Mike