A basic hunting rifle will generally work well to 500 yards, with the usual mounts for a 3x9 or 3x10 scope and otherwise proper loads, bedding, trigger and all that. Quite a bit of factory ammo will work quite nicely.
But to get on out into serious Ma Bell country, issues arise. Scope magnification, angled mounts, tailored handloads--just for starters. A major issue in the skills department is that of doping the wind. It's a much lesser problem at 500 yards, for sure.
Example: I took my reliably-sub-MOA '06 sporter to my 500-yard range. I guesstimated about two feet of "up-breeze" hold and sure enough: I centered the steel plate. Shot some sub-MOA groups, yeah, but I wouldn't figure that the rifle would be all that useful in playing around at 1,000.