I would dare to say that 99% of hunters in the woods have no business shooting 500 yards at an animal. I'm not saying the OP isn't in the 1%, although if it's been 5 years since he's shot a rifle, he has a lot of practice to do before he has any business shooting that far. If you're really going to shoot a measured 500 yards, not just "it looks like 500 yards but it's only really 200", you'd be best off with the flattest shooting magnum you can find. If you can't handle the recoil, then you don't need to be shooting that far. I'm a huge fan of the .308, it's what I hunt with most of the time. However, I do not consider it a 500 yard rifle. That bullet is dropping in a hurry at that range, so you'd really have to know exactly where to hold on a deer out at those ranges.