It's a cardinal rule of double rifles - you don't horse around with loads. You might push the envelope with a bolt gun. You do not do that with a double rifle. The design of a bolt gun is inherently more strong than any double rifle, no matter what steel is used.

I am confident you can shoot many thousands of rounds of .500NE ammo at standard pressure through my Merkel without it coming off face. You will probably instill more wear to the action by opening and closing it than by shooting it using proper ammo and proper lubricant on the hinge.

And then, many years out, if and when it does get loose, it's a relatively minor repair to have the rifle rejointed.

If you want a .500NE just buy the Merkel and have no fear. There are some really attractive deals out there right now. Do you want to have ejectors? If that doesn't matter to you, you can really find a bargain on a brand new extractor model (unless they have all sold since I last checked).

Check this out:

http://www.gunsinternational.com/detail.cfm?id=100059525&string=cid=106
Extractor model.

Or this:

http://www.gunsinternational.com/detail.cfm?id=100068314&string=cid=106
Ejector model.

Good luck.

Curl