500 is a Hail Mary on a deer IMO. Again, even if you have a 1 MOA rifle (off the bench) you're looking at 5" groups at 500 yards. Add even a touch of wind and that's 8-10" off a bench.
Maybe if I was lobbing rounds at a wounded deer with a canyon between us. But otherwise, no. I shoot about 500-1000 rounds a year, and 300 yards is a chip-shot for me. But in the field, on an animal with something less than a bench, I'll keep it under 400.
That said, I have yet to shoot a deer beyond 250 yards in my life. And I've been poking holes in deer for 36 years now. So this is mostly an academic exercise.
