The Whitworth Rifle was the favorite Confederate sniper rifle of the Civil War. It was a .451 caliber with a 1:20 twist, which shot a 590 grain bullet on 80 grains of FFg powder. This Confederate weapon, when outfitted with a telescopic site was rummored to have an effective range of 1,500 yards. The twisted hexagonal bore imparted a steadiness of flight to its .45 caliber bullet, and made this rifle the favorite of Confederate sharpshooters. The Confederacy imported a small number of the rifles from the Whitworth Rifle Company of Manchester, England beginning in 1862. (This information was gathered from another site where this rifle was discussed in more detail. Musketman was the poster at this site.)

As for your friends claim of a 400 grain charge, I would doubt that. I would think the barrel would not be able to withstand the barrel pressures that would result in the discharge of the load, let alone burn all that powder off in a barrel of any length in an effective manner. Perhaps he meant 400+ grain projectile. Many of the target Sharps today run no where near a 400 grain load. I believe from some of my readings, they usually are at most in the 120 FFg catagory.

Also without a telescopic sight of some sort, no matter how good the Sharps Verneer Tang site is, I would think making a shot at 700 yards on a deer size target would be something to see. I know there is no way I could pull something like that off with the naked eye. I would have a hard enough time making a shot like that with a modern rifle and scope.