i get a kick out of people who rip on savage, marlin etc.. for the "precious" remington. IN all reality, Savage makes a good gun, so does marlin. I own both, and a remington. the remington shoots the worst out of all of them. Its not bad, and it looks pretty, but it isn't as accurate as the other two and i paid a heck of alot more for it. And since the poster was asking for under $500, you won't find a remington for that unless you really mess up and get a 710/770. You can't even find a used remy for under that. And my opinion is remington made great guns a number of years ago, but have seen some real issues with some of their more recent guns. I looked at one 2 months ago and the bolt was so hard to operate, even the dealer said something isn't right, took it off the rack and out of sight.

I take care of my rifles, but still understand they are tools for hunting. I shop for the best value i can find. And there is nothing wrong with a savage or marlin. It goes "bang" every time and has no problem taking a deer.