As stated on another thread, our local Big Game Rifle Club has a Sako Brown Bear .500J, with a nice fat pad and recoil reducer in the butt, as its Group 3 Nitro club-gun.
Sure, the Safari model would have been better, and a custom magnum Mauser would be fabulous, but both are beyond the means of our meagre club budget.
...and we're not enamored by laminated stocks either, but they sure beat synthetic for the firing line.
Two members were sufficiently impressed by the "punch for the price" that they subsequently bought their own, and another member has a lovely custom Brno 602 in the same chambering.

We feed our club-gun with 535gr Woodleigh bullets over 115gr AR2209 (H4350) for 2170fps and ~5600ftlbs ME. The other club-members use the same load.

Even prospective new members are handed this rifle often enough to appreciate that it is an absolute hoot to shoot! Yes there's recoil aplenty, but its quite manageable in the combination discussed here.

If you're not bound to a particular ME minimum just drop the load by 5 or 10 grains. It will still give 2000fps or better and be even more 'pleasant' to shoot!

Hope this account gives you some encouragement NS01!