Its one of those age old arguments. A lot of people think 3-9 on everthing. Well I can tell you where we hunt I have never one time felt like I had to much magnification. I always find myself wanting more. The minimum, I will put on a rifle is 4.5-14 but prefer the 6.5-20 or the 8.5-25. The nice thing about the 6.5-20 is you can still get it in a 1" tube. Everything else is 30mm from there up. I am sure he will love that scope on it.