Randy: The only reason I avoided the scope is that it adds a lot of extra weight to the gun and affects his gun handling. There is very little advantage of a Scope over a Red Dot optic at 300 or less, and at Conversational distances there is a significant advantage to the Red Dot. Target acquisition is so much faster with the dot it is scary. Also the extra weight of the scope will slow down presentation at closer distances.
The vast majority of Combative type shooting is accomplished at less than 100 yards, so the faster you get on target the better off you will be.
Anyway good luck with his training. he'll really enjoy it.
Randy