Mad Dawg
Bourbon Swigler
If your son is looking to shoot both skeet and hunt some, in my opinion which is based on my experience, I would go the semi-auto route. I have Beretta's new A300 Ultimas in both 12ga and 20ga. Paid $900 OTD for each. They both smash clay targets with ease as well as drop anything that flies.
An O/U has been used for hunting for decades as well as a clays gun. A "clay oriented" O/U is not ideal for hunting due to its weight. My Browning Citori Crossover Target weighs at 9lbs. Great for sending 300rds down range at registered trap events I frequent, not good for carrying around in the field. A "hunting oriented" O/U will be light for carrying in the field. You will feel the lightness after shooting several boxes in an outing if you're shooting clays.
This is where a semi would be great at both hunting and clays. A semi is light, easy to carry and can soak up the recoil of heavy loads when hunting. On the clay field, even with using moderately hot loads, you're not going to get beat up after shooting a lot of rounds. Just my $.02.
An O/U has been used for hunting for decades as well as a clays gun. A "clay oriented" O/U is not ideal for hunting due to its weight. My Browning Citori Crossover Target weighs at 9lbs. Great for sending 300rds down range at registered trap events I frequent, not good for carrying around in the field. A "hunting oriented" O/U will be light for carrying in the field. You will feel the lightness after shooting several boxes in an outing if you're shooting clays.
This is where a semi would be great at both hunting and clays. A semi is light, easy to carry and can soak up the recoil of heavy loads when hunting. On the clay field, even with using moderately hot loads, you're not going to get beat up after shooting a lot of rounds. Just my $.02.