Talk:Bullet catch
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[edit] Request for comment
Please take a look at Talk:Out of This World (card trick)#Request for comment. Bovlb 2005-07-06 04:41:32 (UTC)
[edit] Method
The article says NOTHING of how this trick is actually performed, other than that the gun fires blanks. I think it's safe to assume that the most important aspect of the trick isn't that the magician didn't die (from a real bullet), but HOW the signed bullet ended up in his mouth. The method presented in the article does not answer this question at all, despite quite a detailed summary of Penn & Teller's version of this trick which makes special note of the fact that the magicians do not pass the signed bullet to each other (line drawn across the stage).
[edit] Missing piece of the puzzle
I'm not sure if any other performers have done the bullet catch for real, but I can assure you with first-hand experience that there is at least one person who has performed the bullet catch for real. His name is Carl Skenes, and ignoring his contributions to the bullet catch is a glaring ommission on the part of Wikipedia. Carl Skenes performed the stunt on That's Incredible in 1980, and later repeated the feat with his wife, Tina, as his sharpshooter on similar shows in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Japan. He wore a special tooth guard, and then placed into his mouth a small metal box with a target a little smaller than a dime in the front. A .22 rifle was then placed on 2 gun stand for steadiness, and the bullet was actually fired into the box in his mouth. So, the vast majority of "how'd they do that" can be attributed to magic tricks, distractions, and gimmicks, but at least one performer of the bullet catch uses no gimmicks or tricks.
- You wanna reference this? -- Krash 20:47, 10 November 2005 (UTC)
He's my dad, and I was there? Does that work? Also, That's Incredible did a frame by frame trace of the bullet from the rifle to his mouth. Once my mom became his sharpshooter, I grew up watching her do target practice up and down the halls of our home, preparing for the stunt. Additionally, Mick Ayres wrote an article about Carl Skenes' performance of the bullet catch for "The Linking Ring" (the official publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians) in 2000. I don't have the exact issue # off hand, but can provide it by tomorrow if that is helpful. Thinkingsoutherner
- Cool. But this treads a fine line with respect to vanity guidelines and souce citation. I'm not trying to be a dick, just saying that without sources this could be perceived as dubious. -- Krash 21:46, 10 November 2005 (UTC)
I understand. As far as vanity guidelines, I simply assumed that if a string of magicians who faked the bullet catch (quite well, and with a great deal of entertainment value) were of note, then someone who actually did the stunt without a gimmick would be of note. Unfortunately, there just aren't a whole lot of sources on this, as most people just assumed he was faking too (magicians aren't known for their honesty and upfront-ness). Mick Ayre's article was called ""Carl Skenes: Biting the Bullet" and I have contacted both Mick and The Linking Ring editor for the exact publication issue and date. Thinkingsoutherner
[edit] dime-sized
In the History section of the article: "A sharpshooter then fired the bullet into the dime-sized opening at the front of the box."
Can this be changed to something else? As something being "dime-sized" means little to non-US citizens. How big is a dime?
I don't mean to be pedantic, I am just interested in this article and I would like to know how large the opening is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.56.85.81 (talk) 18:57, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Method removed
I have removed the method from the article as it is unsourced. This is following the guidelines laid out in Wikipedia:WikiProject_Magic#Magic_Methods_and_Exposure. If the method can be properly sourced, then it can be re-added. StephenBuxton (talk) 16:34, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
NB: The material was removed in this diff and contained the following information:
/==Method==
No matter what speed a bullet leaves the muzzle, it must eventually come to rest. If the gun were perfectly aimed using an appropriate distance, such a trick would seem plausible. This is the line of reasoning the performer of the bullet catch encourages the audience to accept.
As is often the case with other magic illusions, there is no single way the bullet catch is performed. The method a magician may use will vary from performer to performer. It should come as no surprise that the gun or the bullet is rigged in some way. In the simplest form of the bullet catch, the gun is made to fire blanks. The target through which the "bullet" passes is set to destruct using a squib. All the performer must do is keep the bullet in his or her mouth until ready to produce it.
If the gun is to be loaded in front of the audience, a wax bullet is loaded into the firearm. The spray of liquid wax from the barrel of the gun is enough to break the pane of glass. A good magician is able to use misdirection to exchange the marked bullet with one made of wax and place the marked bullet into his or her mouth. There are also electronic guns, which will simulate the sound, smoke, and flash of a firing, but not actually affect the bullet. Another method when loading in front of the audience or by an audience member is to have a small magnet attached to the ramrod; the magnet then removes the bullet immediately after loading. When the magician takes the stick, he removes the bullet, and holds it in his or her mouth until producing it. In that case, the gun is always gimmicked; it only simulates a shot. This method is now of course somewhat obsolete, given that modern firearms do not use a ramrod.
In cases where the bullet is marked by an audience member, the marked bullet is then transferred to the magician through sleight-of-hand, or a similar bullet is duplicated by an off-stage assistant and transferred to the magician.
The gun that Soo used was set to fire a blank in an adjacent barrel. When the gun malfunctioned, the bullet that had been loaded into the main barrel was accidentally fired into Soo's lung.
Carl Skenes used no gimmicks in his performance. The .22 rifle was mounted onto a number of gun stands to keep it steady, and the protective gear and target box he placed into his mouth were put in as part of the performance.[citation needed]
Despite frequent rumors to the contrary, in a radio interview with Penn Jillette in February, 2006, magician Criss Angel seemed to indicate his unaired performance of the bullet catch was an illusion, saying that it "was so believable" that television network A&E barred it from airing. In Angel's performance, his musician friend Jonathan Davis appeared to fire a high-powered rifle into a titanium cup custom-made to fit into Criss' mouth.[1]
Editors are encouraged to restore the material when they find appropriate sources, or to restore the content if the original removal of the material was in error, and to correct any errors in the method described. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:24, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
