I have a Savage 25, not what I would pick for a kid, a little fussey on cycling, I couldn't find a single-shot follower to remedy that. Reloading for this little bugger doesn't give much room for error. Maybe factory ammo (shorter OAL) might help cycling, but not the accuracy. Maybe 17HMR might be better, locating spent brass isn't as important and ammo will be much more available. I guess maybe your son is an adult, didn't consider that....It has a small report, zero recoil and way more effective than the HMR on prairie dawgs. I just don't often see one around here....I actually don't know another local that has one. Good luck with the seach...there are a couple on Gun Broker currently.