Sena88 good luck on your rifle search. There's been a lot of good suggestions posted and with a little searching you should be able to find what you are looking for within your budget.
If I could give one bit of advice though, it would be don't get married to a caliber.
Probably most of us on this forum have bought a rifle because we got a deal, regardless of the caliber.
The .270 is a great caliber, for sure, and I have several of them but I wouldn't pass a deal on a rifle due to it not being a .270.
I would have no problem taking my 7mm, .30-06, .308 or any of the common calibers on a hunt that I'd take a .270 on.
Oh, and if I were looking for a budget rifle under $500 bucks, I'd buy a good used Ruger M77. Like everyone else here, that's just my opinion and you know what they say.
