Alex,
You are going to have to settle this. I'd do it but I don't own a .44-40 rifle. Load her up and chronograph the results. Let me reccomend you use Elephant or Swiss blackpowder rather than Goex.
Mike,
Believe it or not we are pretty much on the same page. The only two major differences I see is that I give Alex credit for having the discipline to wait for the right shot, pass up marginal shots , and put the bullet in the right place. I don't know Alex, so I don't know if he can do all of that or not. You might know him personally and consider him not capable of doing these things. I am simply giving the man credit for being capable with his chose rifle.
The other thing we might be in disagreement is on handgun hunting. Rereading your post, I am not too sure of your opinion of handgun hunting. But if, if mind you, you consider handgun hunting to be nothing more than a novelty, you are sadly mistaken. There are revolvers and loads available today that produce as much energy at one hundred yards as the .30-'06 180 gr. does at the muzzle.
If you are opposed to handgun hunting, or think it is only a novelty, let me suggest that you visit:
http://disc.server.com/Indices/34422.html
and make a post politely stating your opinion. Come back in a few hours, with a glass of something cool and soothing and read the rebuttals. Rest assured they will be polite, but they will also be most informative.
Now I guess it is up to Alex to let us know whose velocity predictions are closer to right.
Regards,
Doc Hudson