Re: muzzleloader sniper rifles?
I took up the research challenge and checked my book "Sniper" by Adrian Gilbert.
Contemporary tests they did on the Whitworth and the Kerr rifles (the other major Sniper Rifle used by the Confederates) showed that at 800 yds, the Whitworth could hold a 12" circle consistently -- good for military snipers.
At 1800 yards, the mean deviation showed up as 11.63 feet. Though there was still more than enough energy to kill a person. So body shots at 1800 yds were certainly dooable, but combined skill with 'luck' that your target would be in the right place in that circle.
I have little doubt that a sharpshooter could make a quite few hits out at that range during a career.
The Kerr, even better than a Whitworth, used a tighter-fitting heavier bullet and a huge powder charge. It was more consistent out to 1800 yards.
Couple of other bits of trivia from Gilbert... the shot that killed Gen. Sedgewick ("they couldn't hit an Elephant at this range") was a head shot from a Whitworth at c. 700 yards. Based on the tested accuracy of the Whitworth, it would have been a lucky shot... inside the 12 inch circle, but it could have easily been a near miss.
And the Whitworth cost $500 per rifle! Staggering sum at the time. A Sharps rifle (Union) cost $43.
Last, Hiram Berdan's standards for his 'Berdans Sharpshooters' were: Body shot every time at 220 yards. Body shot 2 out of 3 times at 1/4 mile. And body shot 3 out of 5 times at 1/2 mile.
Berdan equipped his men with Sharps rifles, the breechloaders giving a distinct advantage over the Whitworth/Kerr rifles which loaded from the front and, in the case of the Kerr, used a bullet that was very tight and almost had to be hammered in. Loading a Kerr in battle was no small matter.
More on the Kerr:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~orphanhm/sharpshooters.htm
Great thread!!!
Cheers,
Sirhr