Ha . He is 16 he will be very happy with whatever he gets . He's an appreciative kid
A good age to buy a gun. Price appropriate is debatable. When my kids were old enough to hunt, about 14 I bought them both good quality Brownings. One an auto-5, the other a Citori. Both in 20 gauge. Shot them until graduated from college. The one with the auto-5 wanted a 12ga, the Citori one just wanted to keep shooting his 20. Now they both still own their original guns and those are the only shotguns they eash own.
Point being, buying a good quality gun today will last a lifetime and in the end the cost might be lower. I would recommend placing cost way down the list when buying guns. Does not mean you need several thousand dollar guns, but a little more can go a long ways. Fit is important, smooth action, ejectors on a break-action, a left handed action is important if the shooter shoots left hand.
From experience cost is the least important issue on a gun.