Pistol shooting isn’t a natural process. An ergo grip in a Hammerli certainly doesn’t feel natural the first time you pick one up, but the grips certainly bring value for shooting.

Personally, if you think he’ll do it more than casually, skip the Ruger or anything like it and start at least with a Smith & Wesson 41. If he wants a field toy which can also pretend to be a match pistol, then the Ruger is fine. The 22/45 would have a more similar grip to a 45 1911 for his centerfire gun, but personally, I prefer the Mark series of pistols for the task. A Mark II and an older Springfield were my first Bullseye pistols, and I wouldn’t feel too terribly under-gunned with new of the same if I started over today.