I recently had the opportunity to shoot a Ruger no 1, re-barreled to .500 Nitro Express. Despite the cartridge being quite powerful (570gr bullet at 2150fps) and the rifle being rather light (9lbs) ant it wearing a typical Ruger ˝" recoil pad, it was not uncomfortable to shoot. I fired 4 shots without being left with any aches or bruises. I would not like to try it from a bench though.