Savage 99: Recommendation on a 99

I want to buy a Savage 99 for my son-in-law for next year's deer season. It will be his first time deer hunting. He is retiring from the Air Force in June; the gun will make a nice gift, both for his retirement and for his entry into our traditional family hunt.

I've been doing a lot of reading the past few days. I new nothing about 99s, other than that I have always liked the quality and looks. I really wanted one in the late 60s, when I was buying my first deer rifle, but cash limited me to a used 30-40 Krag.

I have narrowed down my selection to:
o .300 Savage or .308 Win (initally I was thinking only .308, but reading has opened my eyes up to the .300)
o Factory drilled and tapped to be able to mount a scope (Not drilled and tapped post-manufacture)
o Hand checked, or no checkering ... not pressed checkering.
o Good to very good condition
o No stock cracks
o budget 400-600

From my reading, I believe this limits selection to:
a) a post-war R or RS
b) a late F (I think 55-56ish or later for factor drilled and tapped, but no newer than about '62 for hand checking.
c) an uncheckerd E

Questions:
1) Are there other models that would fit the criteria (e.g. - were late EGs drilled and Tapped; were early Cs hand checkered?
2) I've seen several comments about a tendency for stocks to crack stocks near the receiver. Is this more common with a late F with higher recoil? Should I even worry about this?
3) What else should I take into consideration?
4) What would be your model recommendation to focus on.

Looking forward to your experienced insight and recommendations.
Thanks in advance,
Keith