Fix a nail slightly in a block of soft wood and drive it home with a shot.
We now come to the conjurer's style of shooting, which I would not advise any one to practise, even for a Charity Bazaar; it will ruin his reputation as a shot. However, I will describe hereunder some of the devices in connexion with this trick shooting.
The chief apparatus--under different forms--is a lever some twelve inches long. This lever is pivoted in its centre; one end has a steel disk about a foot in diameter, or less, according to the shooter's skill--of a size he is sure of never missing,--the other end has a steel point at right angles. The lever is placed vertically at such a height that the steel spike is just opposite the middle of the ball which is placed on the assistant's head. The steel disk is some eight inches above the man's head; the whole of this apparatus is hidden from the audience behind the "back-cloth" of the scenery. The locality of the disk is indicated to the shooter by something in the scenery, as a pattern, or a trophy of flags, etc.
The assistant stands with his back against the back-cloth, and the ball is on his head so that the steel spike is just clear of the middle of the ball; the shooter then fires at the trophy of flags, or what not (which is eight or more inches above the man's head, and therefore a practically easy and safe shot); the bullet hitting the disk, drives it back; the other end of the lever with the spike comes forward; the spike goes through the scenery, breaks the ball, and at once returns out of sight. The trick is varied by having the lever inside a dummy figure, the performer shooting into the figure to break small objects on its head or in its mouth. A bellows is sometimes behind the back-cloth with the nozzle at the flame of a candle which is blown out when the bellows is hit; and the shooter is supposed to have snuffed the candle.
The shooting can be done at quite long range from the back of the gallery to the back of the stage (for instance) by lengthening the lever so as to minimize risk to the assistant.
Another way in which the candle trick is done, is to have each candle inside a large concave reflector; the splash from the bullet comes back from the reflector and puts out the candle.