My $0.02 for what it's worth.
For a reliable 1,000yd shooting rifle the 6.5 Creedmoor does fine as do any of the creedmoor variants in 6, 25, 6.5, 7mm
For 500yd hunting on big game the 6.5 Creedmoor is more than capable with the caveat that the guy shooting it needs to hit vitals. Every caliber from 22LR to 50 BMG can be instantly lethal or it can be a mess. We as hunters need to have the wherewithal to make the proper shot.
I've personally killed a bunch of deer past 500yd with a 6mm BR, 6.5 Creedmoor, and bigger calibers. I've also seen several friends and my dad put down big deer and elk at 500+ yards (almost 900yd in reality). A couple of them were good sized deer shot with 130gr factory PRIME, the old stuff. One took a bullet at 515yd through both front shoulders. It absolutely anchored the animal and wrecked the front end of the deer. There's no argument that it was dead, it died with grass still in its mouth.
But all those shots were done with guys who placed the bullet well. A poorly placed shot at those distances would not be the cartridge's fault, the gun's fault, or the bullet's fault.
The Tikka is a very nice factory action, I've made a lot of very good replacement barrels for them. They shoot well, they're accurate, and they're smooth. Now that they're catching on in the US the aftermarket options for parts has gone up considerably since I got my first T3 about 8 years ago.
@coldboremiracle has taken several elk with a soft loaded 6.5 Creed shooting my 122gr hunting bullet and there were both DRT, they were all right about 500yd out.
If you go with something bigger, harder hitting, higher recoiling it is harder to shoot. It is also much more expensive to shoot. So a 6.5 Creed will be a very good choice for him. Instead of trying to dream up a situation where the rifle does every job from EDC to ELR, let's figure out what the rifle will be used for 85-90% of the time. Optimize it for that and you'll end up the most satisfied than if you try to build a rifle to do everything.
