Its an affordable gun ...I think it will hold up to easily 150,000 - 250,000 shells probably ....without any issues typically - if he takes care of it / keeps it clean and properly lubricated.
If parts wear out ...it can be rebuilt.
O/U's still dominate the competition guns ../ and have for at least 40 yrs...but semi-autos are holding their own these days ....they aren't nearly as finnicky as they used to be / and if kept clean and properly lubed they'll run 100%. My semi-auto of choice -- as a backup competition gun -- is a Benelli Super Sport model ...but new its about $ 1,875 in my area ...and I don't think you need to do that for a young shooter ( but with the comfort tech systems - the Benelli's are soft shooting and very clean shooting guns). The Franchi and Benelli systems are similar - but not identical / I wouldn't own a Franchi either - but I do believe in the Benelli system.
These newer gas guns ...like the one you're looking at shoot cleaner than the older versions did even 15 yrs ago.
Pump guns still have their following ...but not in the competition world / where there are 2 targets in the air at once / not that you can't shoot a pump gun ...and some of us do on occasion just for fun ....but for most of us, our scores are way better with semi-autos or O/U's ...and the O/U's get the edge primarily for reliability over the pump or semi-auto ...but with an O/U you also have the choice to set your chokes different for each barrel vs a one choke option for a semi-auto or pump gun ...and while I may shoot Mod / Mod most of the time...sometimes its an advantage to change the choke in one barrel over the other.
The other factor in picking a gun ...is its adjustability ...does it have shims between the stock and receiver that can be changed ...give you a different comb angle, more cast left or right...etc ......some models come with shims, some don't. How many changeable screw in chokes does it come with ...most of us want to have a gun with a Skeet, a Improved Cyclinder, a Modified, an Improved Mod, and a Full choke ...some guns come with 5 some don't ...and chokes can be purchased at $ 20 for flush mounted / $ 75 for extended chokes....depends on what he wants. But all this adds to the price ...and when you look at various models...keep this stuff in mind.
