All the ideas sounded here are good ones,based on individual opinion, and experience! Opinions are like a basket of rubber balls, when poured out they all bounce in different dirrections. Any discussion on the proper firearm for any purpose, is the same! In most case no one can agree which ball bounces in the best dirrection.

Here, then is another opinion, and that is all it is, but it is the only one I have!

For a first double rifle I would never buy a 577NE, or a 500NE! Not that they are bad, they are just not versatile enough for a learner new to double rifles! The 470 NE has some things in it's favor, but I don't think it is the answer, either! My vote goes along with that of Rusty, and the PH model chambered for 450/400NE 3". It can be had in a 9.5, to 10.5 lb rifle, that you can carry all day in Africa's, sometimes, oppressive heat, and still handle at the end of the spoor, like a part of your body, instead of a railroad cross tie! The 450/400NE 3" will handle anything you need to stop, and is very usefull in the deer/bear fields of North America, as well. The fact that you shoot the rifle often will pay off when things get tight, and muscle memory is all you have to do your job quickly. Since handloading is a necessity for most of us, no matter the caliber, simply because #1 the ammo is so expencive, and #2 the loads need to be tailered to the rifle, for best results.

One can always go to the big boys later, but I don't think anyone who has owned, and hunted with a nice 450/400NE 3", or 3 1/4" will ever be as happy with a 577NE as they are with a 450/400. As far as I know Butch is the only maker that will chamber your double for the 450/400NE 3". IMO, the 450/400NE 3" is "THE" all around double rifle, and gives up nothing to any of them!