ok, it's christmas, and i need some advice:

background info:
my oldest has outgrown his 870 youth (puberty hit, and he's suddenly 6"1, 240 lbs). he shoots clays with me, but really the replacement gun will be used more for upland bird hunting than anything else.

this has been a bad year financially, so i'm looking primarily in the stoeger/spartan price range.

he a big traditionalist, and is quite taken by side by side's, and since i've always loved them , that's the direction i'm moving.

now here's the question:
we were in gander mountain the other day, and he saw and began handling a coach gun. absolutely fell in love with it. i did a little research, and found i can get several different models w/20" barrells with screw-in-chokes....so:

can a coach gun with screw-in-chokes be effectively used for upland bird hunting?

i wanna get the boy the gift that lights his eyes up, but i want the dang thing to work for its intended purpose.

thanks in advance for all your insights.