The question is, do you *think* you're going to shoot at 500 yards or do you *know* you're going to shoot at 500 yards? What's your experience at that distance up to now? I ask because a lot of people buy a lot of gear for things they're never actually going to do. I recall buying a "sniper" rifle when I was in college thinking I was going to shoot out to 200 yards when all my shooting up to that point was 50 and in. I ran all the way out there, plopped down my target, ran all the way back in, looked through the scope, and ran all the way back out again to bring that sucker in. I probably didn't shoot past 100 yards for another decade.

Do you know what course you'll be taking? Do they have an outline that gives the distances you'll be shooting? I've taken Randy Cain's carbine course a couple of times and we shot out to 200, and while I wasn't one of them I saw several shooter turn in very tight groups with 4 MOA Aimpoints (something I've read on the internet is unpossible). I'm talking about <4-5" groups with cheap ammo, which was about at the limit of what the barrel/ammo combination is up to.

I used to have a VX-R 1.x-4 (I forget what the "x" is, it's not a true 1x). I shot it out to 300 yards and all the way in to <5 yards in matches and classes, and I shot one hog with it at <20 yards.

It definitely can be run quickly up close, but I was faster with my offset irons, perhaps because of familiarity. I was also faster up close with my ACOG TA33, but that also is something I'm more familiar with.