I've not had a 97 or a .504 before but shooting one is not at all unpleasant. I'll be using basically the same weight bullets in this rifle as I do in my .451 98. That action is considerably more compact than is the 98 and with 2" extra barrel length, both the rifles are nearly identical in length as well as weight. Conicals will be in the 460 to 500 grain weight range and charges will probably be around 75 grains of 2F T7 or Pyrodex P. Shooting a load like that in an Encore would rock your world but the Whites handle them with ease.

Here's a pic that hopefully shows the cocking and secondary safety feature better: