If the .223 caliber is legal to hunt deer with in his state I would recomend the weatherby vanguard in .223 Rem. the new generation of this rifle garuntees sub moa accuracy out of the box. the previous generation garunteed sub 1.5 moa. the new ones can be had for under 500 and i see the used ones all the time at cabelas for 350 ish. I have owned mine chambered in .30-06 for probably 5 years now and its perfect. if .223 isn't legal for deer hunting where he lives stick with the vanguard but in .243. as for a scope. tasco's and bushnell's generally wont break your bank i can be had in various powers such as 2-7 on up to 6-25. good luck.

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psalm 23:4 cause I'm armed