i have a friend that is wanting to sell me one for my son and wanted to get a few opinions of the gun from owners. maybe some pros/cons of this animal.

Fantastic rifle for the money. Some people don't like the regular synthetic stocks they come with but I think a lot of them have Houge stocks.

It is Howa 1500 with the Weatherby name and can be had with some different stocks.

Maybe this is illogical but I would only own a Weatherby in a hotrod Weatherby Caliber.

I've got a Howa 1500 in 6.5Creedmoor and it is a nice rifle.

They are well made rifles with good solid actions. The only con I can think of is the possibility of it being a bit heavy for a young hunter.

There aren't however a lot of inexpensive light rifles.The only thing that comes to mind is the Savage light weight hunter and maybe the CZ 527 carbine in 7.62X39.

How old is your son?
A good youth option is the Weatherby Vanguard Camilla.
Pretty wood stock, scaled back dimensions for females and younger hunters.

HES 11 and a husky feller but he has alligator arms.lol

Never seen a Weatherby Vangaurd that wasn't a good shooter. Never had a 7-08, but bet it would be solid.

Here's the Camilla I mentioned.
http://www.weatherby.com/vanguardr-camilla.html

I’ve got a 20” VG2 carbine in 7-08, and the new stocks are nice, and the fit/finish is better than my Howa Lightning in 6.5CM. It’s a nice rifle. Very similar package to a Rem model seven, but a bit heavier.

Good solid rifles, if you don't like the stock there are options to replace it with.