The story of Annie Oakley's legendary trick shooting in the Old West lays the foundation for a magical challenge with a selected card secured in the middle of a deck. With the audience providing the sound effects, the challenge is met when the helper's finger gun makes the chosen card fly out, complete with a burn hole from the imaginary bullet. Another legend is born!
Shooting Card was one of my pet routines and I loved every chance I had to perform it. I could create pure wonder by having a young volunteer 'shoot' their selected card out of the deck in my hand. The flying card is memorable just like the flying snakes in my Smushies routine. As with my Halfsies routine, it was another card trick that worked best as a stand-up routine. Shooting Card was all about innocent fun and mystery, far removed from today's toxic gun environment. While it had its origin in a commercially available trick, my homemade version improved the routine on many levels and provided me with a winner unique to my repertoire.
Daryl Hurst's Hometown Magic routines are laser-focused on practical entertainment that can be performed in a variety of formal and informal venues without significant restrictions, giving professional results with simple props and minimal staging. Going beyond the traditional instruction sheets that take a minimalist approach to effect and method, each of Daryl's in-depth guides focuses on storytelling, playfulness, artistry, and education, the fundamentals of creating wonder that elevate magic as a performing art. Sections for each guide include Description, Evaluation, Background, Props, Storyline, Fundamentals, annotated Script, and Keys to Success. These guides can be a valuable resource for researching props and their potential before making a purchase.
1st edition 2026, PDF 11 pages.
word count: 5290 which is equivalent to 21 standard pages of text
