Where does your son live? What does he do? Does he have legitimate family ties there that go back more than a generation? Those really need to be answered. And what is his freedom worth to him? It’s more than just a $600 AR we’re talking about. It’s the AR, the taxes, the crime, the cost of fuel, the cost o homes, the quality of the schools, the quality of the jobs.
For example. $200k in Oklahoma will buy you 10 acres of your own land and a 2,000sq ft home. Gas is $2.15/gallon. Our public schools are generally good schools. Our tax rate is 8.5-11%. We don’t have a lot of crime as long as you stay out of certain places in Tulsa and OKC. Good careers everywhere. From burger flippers to Google tech systems analysts. Door greeters to space and aviation engineers. If you can’t make it in Oklahoma, you have problems.
We don’t have the ocean. But we’re halfway to either of them.
If he just has to stay, I’d say an 1894 Marlin in 357 or 44 Mag would definitely fit the bill. 10+1 of either is no slouch in the firepower department.