thanks everybody, he ended up buying a used model 700 s/s in 270 and topped it off with a aetec scope, i kind of felt the same as pa-sniper and would rather have something thats been around for a while, and i told him that also, he bought the gun from a friend that has to have a wsm and he got a decent deal so everybody is happy. again thanks for the input, i still have not had my hands on one of the mossberg rifles though.