To begin with the unaided shooting: You must have a safe background to shoot against. The best, in my opinion, is a steel plate, leaning towards you at an angle of forty-five degrees, and below it a shallow tray, filled with sand, to catch the bullets, which flatten on the steel and drop into the tray. As only very light powder-charges are used, and as the bullets for this purpose are round, or semi-round, this is sufficient.
It is usual to have something for the bullets to go through before striking the steel plate. Green baize is good for the eyes as a background; but it is dangerous, being very inflammable; it gives off fluff, some of which stands out from the baize, and the rest falls to the ground. This is like tinder and is liable to catch fire from burning particles of powder. Some fabric dipped in a non-inflammable mixture should be used; either green, white, or black, whichever you find suits your eyesight best. The butt is either put “prompt” side of the stage (so that the shooter’s right arm is nearest the audience), and at a slight angle, in order that people may see the target; or it is placed at the back of the stage, the shooter standing with his back to the audience. In either case, the shooter keeps his “tools” on a side-table, and when he shoots he stands quite clear of any table, so as to afford an uninterrupted view of all his proceedings.
The range is about fifteen feet. This may seem very short, but it looks a long shot on a stage; and it must be remembered that the shooting is at very small objects and no misses are allowable. The golden rule to be borne in mind in stage shooting is: Never hazard a shot that is not very easy to you, and which you cannot be practically sure of successfully accomplishing. If you try a difficult shot and succeed once in three times—such as hitting a cork thrown into the air—hardly any of the audience will think of you as aught but a bad shot; whereas, if you hit six stationary glass balls—each as big as an orange—in rapid succession, they will think you wonderful! Several professional self-styled champion pistol shots, use both hands to hold their pistols which is never allowed in any pistol competition, and stamps them as no pistol champion.
WEAPONS
One or more .44 Russian Model Smith & Wesson target revolvers; Ira Paine target sights; hair-trigger; Union Metallic Cartridge Co.’s gallery ammunition. I use the revolvers which formerly belonged to Ira Paine; several front sights, the finest about the size of the head of a small pin, the stalks as fine as a needle; hind sight adjustable, both laterally and vertically, with screw adjustment; trigger-pull so light that laying the finger on the trigger almost sets it off. With such a revolver, of course, extreme care must be taken never, for an instant, to have the barrel pointed in any direction except that in which it would be safe for the bullet to travel, and also to keep the finger off the trigger till you actually want the bullet to go.
Ira Paine when shooting at objects on the head of an assistant, used to “come down” from above, instead of “coming up” in the usual way; so that if the pistol went off by accident there would be no danger to the assistant, as there would be if the muzzle travelled up his body to his head in sighting from below.
I do not approve of shooting at objects on the head or in the hands of an assistant; it is not, in my opinion, justifiable to risk life in this way.
The other weapon is a Stevens, or Smith & Wesson, single-shot .22 pistol. Some people use this to give variety to the show; but I prefer a duelling pistol.
See that a narrow plank of wood—metal would, if struck, make a bullet glance—is put in front of the butt with slits and clips in it for holding objects. As mentioned before, I do not like assistants holding them in the fingers, though, for this purpose, steel thimbles are generally worn over the thumb and forefinger, and are concealed by a glove.
Professionals sometimes shoot objects on the heads of assistants—generally a lady with her hair piled up very high, or wearing a steel skull-cap under a wig. Devilliers bullets make such shooting practically safe in case of the assistant being hit.