If you can afford it, and can find them, the Browning A-Bolt 2 was on sale for 503$ for Composite Stalkers at budsgunshop , and if you're on a strict budget, the Ruger American in 7mm08 will shoot VERY much better than you would expect for that price, and even keep up with rifles costing hundreds of dollars more! I'd put a Nikon Monarch 5 on it with 5x zoom power adjustment range 3x-15x-40mm will let him bust up deer still hunting with it turned down all the way on 3x(the way ALL MY scopes are when hunting), but yet will zoom all the way up to 15x for a shot at extended range, predators, varmints, load development, or zeroing. If the budget won't allow that, a Nikon Prostaff 3x-9x-40mm s less than 150$, and sometimes on sale as low as 100$.