Rice8644,
fyi, just this afternoon, my "brother of the heart" (Richard) found & promptly bought:
a 1975 vintage BLUED,
2-inch "snubnose" barrel,
S&W Model 10 revolver in .38SPL,
with a perfectly acceptable/used OTB holster
&
a full box of 125Grain JHPs
for "the princely sum of" 182.oo ( including tax), from a small local gun shop.
(the Model 10 had been carried a LOT by a detective, but shot LITTLE! = i'll have it throughly cleaned, polished & "touched up", looking like new, for less than 10.oo.)
your 500.oo budget would then have plenty of money for targets, cleaning supplies, a pistol case AND still have the money for PROFESSIONAL shooting lessons!
do some looking around at local gun stores and/or gun shows & i predict that you'll find a BARGAIN, in a "perfectly suitable" police department "trade in". =====> any of the revolvers, that i mentioned, will outlast YOU, if taken care of.
BEST WISHES!
yours, TN46