Hmmm, very interesting. You will note the absence of any powder-burn marks on the .400 case in my earlier post, it wasn't cleaned.

What action did Ron build that .500 NE on? Surely not the Ruger Red Label...

If so, or even Ruger No.1, I assume he recommended the reduced load to keep the recoil manageable in such a light-weight gun. In any case, no-one likes 3031 for the NEs anymore, too many horror-stories.

Did that load produce dents on cases OTHER than at first firing?