Hi guys,

I'm new to the darts world and would appreciate some help and guidence.

Don't want to break the bank but would love to get some nice darts/stems/flights

What would you guys reccomend?

Cheers

Welcome to the forum!

If your looking for a good dart at good prices check out [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

McCoy makes a great dart and you can't beat their prices. For a new player most would recommend somewhere around a 24g dart.

Welcome to Darts Nutz

Have to agree, McCoy's make great quality darts at very good prices, also they do lots of different styles plus gold and black coatings too.

I am sure through browsing the site you will see people showing their darts and a few reviews to help you decide what may be best for you.

Any questions, feel free to ask as the we have some very experienced members more than willing to help.

Beginners Guide to choosing darts

1. Weight
Beginners should start at the mid range end of the weight scale and will probably find they prefer lighter darts when their action/grip becomes consistent.
(a) If in doubt and since the maximum permitted weight is 50g!!
Starting around the middle at 23/24/25/26g would be a sensible beginners weight.
This gives scope for movement in both weight directions and a very wide choice of darts.
(b) If the player is short however and has a lighter grip (many women and kids), then starting lighter is better, so 20-22g would be a good choice.
(c) If you want to change weight, only change by a couple of grams, that doesn't sound much but it will make a significant difference.

2. Shape/Grip
Even in the first few throws, beginners instantly demonstrate their natural/preferred grip. Pick up a marker pen or a Biro/ pencil and pretend it's a dart. What grip feels the most comfortable?
(a) If the grip is three point (two fingers and thumb) close together, then shorter/stocky barrels are better. Also, if that grip is close to the front of the dart then forward weighted will be better.
(b) If the grip is wide or pencil style, then normal cylindrical barrels are better.
(c) If the grip is at the back of the dart then a scallop may be better.
(d) If the grip is light, narrow barrels are likely to be better
(e) If the players hands are naturally dry (usually men), then go for some light knurling or 'ghost' grip on the barrels.
(f) If the players hands are very dry (manual workers), go for knurled barrels.
(g) If the players hands are well moisturized (most women), smooth barrels with perhaps just a few grooves should be fine.
(h) If the player has large hands, a larger diameter barrel will be more comfortable.
(i) If the player finds it difficult to pick the dart up with the same grip each time, then barrels with some registration marks (depressions or grooves in the barrel) would be better, so the fingers are placed in the same positions every shot.

Don't be tempted to keep buying or changing darts in the hope that one day you'll find a set that 'work properly'.
Once you've got a smooth, repeatable consistent action, you'll know you are going in the right direction

agree 24g is a good weight to dstart with.

(a) Start with standard flights and medium stems.
As you progress and start to experiment ( 'Known as Tweaking') you will develop your own preferences

(a) An expensive dart does not mean you will play better!



[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


[b]And remember...Practice, practice, practice!!

Welcome to dartsnutz!!! Depending on where you live, you might want to check your yellow pages for any shops nearby where you might be able to try out some darts before buying them. Then you can get more of an idea of what weight/shape/style you might prefer.

Welcome to the forum!

"(a) An expensive dart does not mean you will play better! "


I can vouch for that

The unicorn flight selector kit is pretty handy. 5 shapes and experiment with different size stems. I've never tried mccoys but for £15 and 90% tungsten dart. It's not bad

Welcome = good advice from above posts I use McCoy's great darts.

coolhandfluke wrote:

Beginners Guide to choosing darts

1. Weight
Beginners should start at the mid range end of the weight scale and will probably find they prefer lighter darts when their action/grip becomes consistent.
(a) If in doubt and since the maximum permitted weight is 50g!!
Starting around the middle at 23/24/25/26g would be a sensible beginners weight.
This gives scope for movement in both weight directions and a very wide choice of darts.
(b) If the player is short however and has a lighter grip (many women and kids), then starting lighter is better, so 20-22g would be a good choice.
(c) If you want to change weight, only change by a couple of grams, that doesn't sound much but it will make a significant difference.

2. Shape/Grip
Even in the first few throws, beginners instantly demonstrate their natural/preferred grip. Pick up a marker pen or a Biro/ pencil and pretend it's a dart. What grip feels the most comfortable?
(a) If the grip is three point (two fingers and thumb) close together, then shorter/stocky barrels are better. Also, if that grip is close to the front of the dart then forward weighted will be better.
(b) If the grip is wide or pencil style, then normal cylindrical barrels are better.
(c) If the grip is at the back of the dart then a scallop may be better.
(d) If the grip is light, narrow barrels are likely to be better
(e) If the players hands are naturally dry (usually men), then go for some light knurling or 'ghost' grip on the barrels.
(f) If the players hands are very dry (manual workers), go for knurled barrels.
(g) If the players hands are well moisturized (most women), smooth barrels with perhaps just a few grooves should be fine.
(h) If the player has large hands, a larger diameter barrel will be more comfortable.
(i) If the player finds it difficult to pick the dart up with the same grip each time, then barrels with some registration marks (depressions or grooves in the barrel) would be better, so the fingers are placed in the same positions every shot.

Don't be tempted to keep buying or changing darts in the hope that one day you'll find a set that 'work properly'.
Once you've got a smooth, repeatable consistent action, you'll know you are going in the right direction

agree 24g is a good weight to dstart with.

(a) Start with standard flights and medium stems.
As you progress and start to experiment ( 'Known as Tweaking') you will develop your own preferences

(a) An expensive dart does not mean you will play better!



[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


[b]And remember...Practice, practice, practice!!

Great advice- ya get a plus one cool from me !

Thanks to all you guys.

Im sure this will help me loads.

Cheers Again

Hi cpowell
This is always a difficult question to answer as we would all suggest our set up to be the best one. Starting with something you like the look of is always a good point and even better if you can throw a few sets before you buy them like in a local shop for instance or a few mates that have some that they are using. There are so many combinations of barrel shape, length and weight to consider before you look at flight and stem choices. Like others have stated expensive does not = better so try a few sets from the cheaper range at Pure darts until you find the shape you like the feel of then build from there. The Darts Performance Centre do a great set of darts that I reviewed too and these are very easy to play with. As a range of weights I would go for anything between 22 and 26 so as others have also said a 24 is bang in the middle.

As for stems I would go with Deflectagrip nylon in Medium length as a starting point with Standard flights. You won't go far wrong with this as a starting point, it is difficult to know what is right but you will soon know if it is wrong.

good luck and keep us posted

hey guys, I have been playing since September and I love the game, but I am having a focus problem. when i can dial in I'm good but if im in a situation where I don't I suck! any advice? all input welcome

Hmm Big Gun?

dougie_a wrote:

hey guys, I have been playing since September and I love the game, but I am having a focus problem. when i can dial in I'm good but if im in a situation where I don't I suck! any advice? all input welcome

That is the big question, how do you find focus.


Every single player, pro's included can't focus 100% all of the time, its a state that you flow into and can just as easily slip out of.

Warm up, routines, relaxation and even alcohol can be used to try and get into the zone but how long you stay there is anyones guess.


I personally feel its combined with confidence, the better you throw when in the zone the longer the good darts will continue, however once a few start going astray, unless you stay positive, the negativity can soon bring you back down to earth with a bang.

Take Taylor for instance, when he is on fire there is no stopping him, if his opponent starts getting to him as we see now and then he can become edgy (chewing his flights) but he usually rides the storm and stays positive.
On the flip side, Barney is one of the all time greats, however when his darts start going astray he shakes his head, oozes negativity and may as well put the darts away at that point - in his defense he seems to be staying more focused and positive these last couple of months and we are starting to see the real Barney from time to time.

So it goes to show, positivity breeds positivity and good darts, negativity ruins your game, believe in yourself and your ability, focus on the good darts and block out the negative vibes - easier said than done I know, if it were that easy I would be world champion by now

You will find that it is very hard to stay 100% focussed for the whole match. What you have to learn to do is to get that focus back as quickly as you can.

I try to relax between throws. I stand with my back to the board when my opponent throws so that I am only thinking about my game and not what my opponent is doing.

That and some deep calming breathes help me stay focussed for long periods of time.

I couldn't agree more with Coolhandfluke's advice but I'd just also say, once you've decided on your basic set-up and practiced enough to be confident in joining a team, you'll probably get tons of advice (good and bad) from your new team-mates. Just take your time and suss out which advice to listen to. It's not alway the best players who give the best coaching.

Can I also put a word in for the little guys of the darts world. You don't say where your from but check out to see if there are any local shops that stock darts. Definitely go online to find a dart that best suits what your looking for but then see if you can buy them at the local "corner" dart shop. These people need encouragement to keep going against the online "darts supermarkets".

Hope this info helps

Great advice from all you guys really man- My 2 cents - Solo practice-solo practice-solo practice. I see lots of players who just practice with team mates (which is good) playing cricket game after cricket game and an occasional 01 game thrown in. How does that help if your weak on doubles or triple 18's say? It doesn't is the answer! Have a doubles routine, a trebles routine, a singles routine, a bulls routine! Having trouble counting? Play some 101 until you got it then move up your numbers to say 121. Solo practice gives you the chance to concentrate on your weaknesses , which gives you more confidence. Its been said that 80% of your practice should be solo!!! I believe that.

thanks a lot guys! I will try to stay positive and use your advice to focus. I am from Tillsonburg Ontario Canada, and I have joined a try county league. my uncle got me into it. I love it, even though I loose a lot! when I win Im on top of the world. All the guys around me are good for my confidence and I have grown a lot in my game in the past couple months. I practice an hour a day and really work hard to build my game. Im just a little frusterated by my lack of focus some times. I played a tournoment a few weeks ago and was on fire, last week i plaed one and could not get it togehter. thanks again guys Doug