if you were to buy one centerfire rifle...

Of all the calibres I shoot the 223 is my fave. All around fun cartridge and cheap too. No recoil and accurate. You can shoot it all day and still use your shoulder. I own a 30-06 and a 308 and a 22lr too but the 223 is the funnest.
 
.308 cuz it's no fun when there's no recoil

If he goes through hundreds of rounds per shoot, then a .223, otherwise go with a round that has some punch
 
The novelty of the recoil of a 308 will quickly wear off for someone who has a 22LR. If he is not going to use if for hunting, then there is no point. I wouldn't call the 308 a plinking round..... he will be much happier with a .223
 
Since he has no intention at present of taking up reloading or ever going hunting, he should select .223. If he later decides to take up big game hunting he can have the fun of getting another gun then.
 
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.308, in a solid bolt action like a Ruger M77. dont start him out with a semi-auto especially if he will be using this mostly for range use, as its very rare that a semi can come close to bolt accuracy. not saying they cant, but hell either have to be very lucky or spend significantly more money.

.308 ammo is not much more expensive than .223. it will give you more options at the range - you could shoot 1000 yard with .308, but .223's range is much more limited.
if he decides to hunt he could find ammo suitable for pretty much anything from varmints to moose or black bear. it is not ideal for either of these but its perfectly acceptable. if he doesnt handload he would not get the benefit of added versatility from the .30-06 so he should just stick with the .308 and more widely available/cheaper ammo.
recoil is also perfectly acceptable for most people. im a huge fan of both the .223 and .308 but if i had to own only one rifle it would definitely be a .308. there is nothing the .223 can do that a .308 cant (aside from hunting in areas with a caliber restriction), but much that the .308 can do that a .223 cant.
 
7mm-08? or 6.5x55? or even a 6mm rem. Should have a legal hunting rifle just in case the opportunity arises. Or for sake of easy to find ammo, that's resonably priced .243 would do nicely.
 
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