How old is he? I think driving a bolt gun is much easier than shooting a semi at long distance. 6.5 Creedmoor could be a little heavy, depending on his size. You of course want to build his confidence up, right up until he can beat you, then you got a problem...

One problem with 6Creed is if the factory Hornady 108 doesn't shoot, what then? And you really want to see how well it shoots at 500y, not just at 100y. The 6.5 is much better in selection. I might also hold off on 224 Valkyrie. It may be great, might be a flop. It also might be too popular and impossible to find ammo in 6 months. Meanwhile 223 (77gr) and 6.5 Creed will be around.

The Buffalo creek was one of my first matches! I think I met esaabye there too. If you want to get into PRS go to Ryan's Cheyenne Mountain match, it is very positional and is good training for PRS. If you really want to learn to shoot long range and shoot in the wind, go shoot Raton. We will all be there this weekend for the first match of the year