[taylorce1]

I'm going back to your original post and lets talk a bout the rifles. If it is strictly for target shooting you're better off with a heavy barreled rifle. It has nothing to do with the barrel heating up, it has everything to do with weight. Shooting LR requires a stable shooting position, and a heavy rifle will be more stable on sandbags bags, mechanical rests, or bi-pod than a light rifle.

So IMO you can throw out the hunting weight rifles and that will leave you with.

Marlin X7VH
Savage Model 10
Rem 700 SPS

So now with a starting budget of $500 your best deal will probably be the Marlin since most I've seen start around $400. I've never owned one but from what I've read on line they'll usually shoot sub MOA out of the box. I like both Savage and Remington but a Savage M12 and an Remington M700 VT, will more than likely start out north of $500.

Then next problem with the budget friendly rifles is the stock. The stocks on these rifles is that they are injection molded, and very flexible when compared to other stocks. You won't have as much of a problem if you rest it on bags or a mechanical front rest, however if you put a bi-pod on it and load it up you'll cause the forend to flex which will cause accuracy problems. So if you buy any of these rifles you can expect to have to replace the stock in the future with a more stable one. This is where you'll be limited on stocks for the Marlin, as I think the only aftermarket stocks being made for it are the Boyd's stocks.

Now for the good news, you can reach 500 yards with just about any rifle. However, when you go to 1K you'll have to invest in better equipment. Plus if you can't find a range that offers 500-1000 yard shooting within an easy commute, then you might want to concentrate on the ranges you can shoot where you can shoot easily.