Buying 500 rounds sounds like a lot... And then I remember that I shoot 250 to 350 rounds most weeks when the weather is nice. Thankfully I can replace those rounds with reloads easily enough. Once this round of panic buying subsidies you should be able to build up a decent stock at reasonable prices.

Keep up the weekly practice session and you’ll notice considerable improvement. You’ll be able to move the target further and further down range and get better groups while doing so. Before too long you might realize you need something a little bigger and with a longer sight radius like a 686 or 627. Pretty soon 25 yards shots become routine and ringing the gong at 100 becomes possible.