I have both the Savage 111 and the Remington 710 in 30-06. I have to say I much prefer the look and feel of the Savage, but the recoil in the Remington is much less. The other things to consider is that the 710's barrel is pressed into the stock meaning you can never replace either the barrel or stock on that gun. The 710 got a really bad rep, but Remington has remedied most of the problems people were complaining about. All in all, I find the Savage tobe more accurate and a bit lighter to hold, but the recoil is much more so than the 710, so the best thing you could do would be to try both and see which suits your son better. The 710 is also a little shorter overall...
