8-Flight, Used by Champions
Shot! The Bandit and Bandit Duro
Back in 1992, Shot darts revolutionized steel tip dart boards with the first bladed bristle board. Today they’re updating their original recipe for success. As a result of years of player experience and manufacturing knowledge Shot came up with two different versions of the Bandit so you can select the best board that fits your throw, environment, and gear.
The segments use brighter eco-friendly inks, tested under multiple lighting systems, making the board bright and visible without being harsh or distracting. The steel number ring was updated as well. While the numbers themselves are still white, the outer ring is now black giving more contrast and making it easier to see and focus on the numbers. The number ring is a clip on-clip off system for ease of rotating the board.
Both the Bandit and Bandit Duro are made with premium self-healing African sisal conditioned for high durability. Shot continues to use the finest razor wire which is approximately 50% thinner than other boards and 100% staple free. Meaning larger play area, virtually no bounce-outs, and higher scores. It’s for these reasons that the Bandit is the board of choice for the Championship Dart Circuit (CDC).
Both boards come with a tape measure, U-Bracket, foam wedges, and a cardboard stabilizer. The puck style mounting bracket makes for quick and easy installation and rotation. The innovative cardboard backing and foam wedges are used for stabilization and sound dampening – making the Bandit and Bandit Duro the quietest steel-tip boards on the market.
So the big question is which board should you choose? Shot wants you to carefully select your board the way you would select your darts; get something that fits you. Consider your throw, your environment, and your gear when selecting a board.
The Bandit is made with Medium packed sisal and built for humid environments where the sisal may expand and relax, this would be my recommendation for anywhere NOT temperature controlled like a garage or outside; it may last longer if avoid textured or grooved points which pull out the sisal.
The Bandit Duro on the other hand is made with Hard packed sisal and was made for dry climates without much temperature variation; it may also respond better to aggressive textured points that tend to pull out sisal. This board is equivalent (if not better) than any double packed sisal board on the market.
Much like Shot branded darts, the new Bandit and Bandit Duro are a balanced blend between years of manufacturing knowledge, player experience, and innovative technologies. Both of these boards can be purchased on our site, you can find the links below.
Cornhole: Family Fun Gone Pro!
Magic Wear Cornhole Court at the Taste of Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce EventMagic Wear Cornhole at the Taste of Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce Event
Cornhole, as a professional sport, is on the rise. Previously known as a fun backyard, and tailgating party game; cornhole can now be viewed on ESPN as a headlining sport. Before figuring out how Cornhole found its way on to one of the largest media networks in the US; which begs the question what is Cornhole?
A game of precision and accuracy more than anything, sometimes called “Soft Horseshoes”, the object of Cornhole is similar to horseshoes only replace the Iron post with a hole in a board and the horseshoes with beanbags. Boards are placed 27 feet apart, players stand in a “Pitcher’s Box”, a 4 foot by 3 foot box at either end of the court from there bags are thrown at the board on the opposing side of the court. A bag on the board is worth 1 point while a bag tossed slid or knocked into the whole is worth 2 points. The game is played until a player, in singles, or team, in doubles, reaches or exceeds 21 points.
Typically finding a home at summer backyard barbecues and tailgating events, the casual family game gone pro has found a new home on ESPN. Cornhole has actually been airing on ESPN for a couple of years now debuting in 2016 on ESPN3. The sport got a spot on ESPN2 the following year. Then by with some luck, and surely some shrewd negotiations The ACL Pro Invitational on the 4th of July in 2018 was the headline sports event Viewed by 500,000 people. This week the ACL can be found holding their 4th National Tournament of the year in Uncasville, Connecticut. This event can be viewed live on ESPN; Thursday, The 4th of July, on ESPN2 and Friday, July 5th, 2019, on ESPN and ESPN2.
Fisher Bissett, righBranson McCannon, at the ACL National College Cornhole Championships on Dec. 30, 2018. by Lauren Petracca at Post and Courier 
Fisher Bissett, right, and Samanetha Richardson, left at the ACLNational College Cornhole Championships on Dec. 30, 2018. by Lauren Petracca at Post and Courier
We’ve joined in on all the fun too. At the Taste of Fair Oaks- a local Chamber of Commerce event- we set up cornhole boards and held challenges for awesome prizes, such as a special event jersey, made by our sister company Magic Wear and an electronic dartboard. A local woodworker made our custom hardwood cornhole boards for the event and they turned out beautifully. The event was a blast and it was awesome to bring strangers together for a family fun backyard game. The boards are now for sale in our retail store and we carry extra bags in an array of colors. We plan to set up the boards at our upcoming 30th Anniversary bash, August 9th and 10th. If you happen to be in the area drop by for some family fun and prizes!
O-Rings? Oh My!
Are you tightening your shaft after every throw? Ever wish there was something that can help with this problem? Well I’m here to tell you there is! And it’s a beautiful little thing called an o’ring.
An o’ring is a small rubber ring that is placed in that open area above the threads and below the body of the shaft. When the shaft is tightened into the barrel, it basically acts as a seal (or gasket) between the thread and barrel. Hence, eliminating movement, some vibration and the issue of over-tightening your shaft. You only need to screw the shaft and barrel together-no need to wrench down with an o’ring. Something to note-it was common knowledge when putting metal to metal (like aluminum shafts to tungsten barrel) you would always need an o’ring. However, with the harder plastic and various hard materials shafts are made of now, most manufactures recommend using o’rings on these shafts as well. Keep in mind, by wrenching your shaft tight in your barrel, you run a greater risk of the shaft snapping at the barrel if your dart were to hit the ground.
O’rings are so useful but putting them on can be a challenge. It’s a lot like threading a needle except the needle is floppy and the yarn is stiff. I polled the crew here at Magic Darts and below are some methods of how we put on o’rings:
The Tuck n Roll – The tuck n roll method revolves around placing the o’ring onto the thread at an angle so that one side of the o’ring is above the first few threads. Once there, hold it into position with your finger. With the other hand stretch the loose side of the ring by pushing it to loop it over the shaft. Once it sits on the threads, simply roll it down over the threads to the shaft base.
The Knit n Roll – The knit and roll shares many of the base principals as the Tuck n Roll except instead of using your second hand you use the point of a dart. After the ring is held in position on one side of the shaft, place a dart point in the center of the o’ring and stretch the ring over the threads using the point. Once your ring has caught onto the threads, pull your point out and roll over the threads to the base of the shaft.
The Back Slide – In this method you apply the ring from the other direction. Your shaft must be naked, meaning your flight and any stem rings have to be removed. Place the o’ring over the flight end of the shaft and roll it down the entire length of the shaft to its resting place at that empty section above the threads. This method we found to be the easiest however it does have its drawbacks: the o’ring can stretch or might tear and get caught in any cuts or grooves in the shaft. It’s trial and error if this method will work for you.
The Tool – If you find the methods above too challenging, we have a solution. After all, those little round suckers can be hard to manage! There are nifty tools available that look like bowling pins and are hollow on the bottom. Simply place the hollowed bottom over the threads of the shaft, put the o’ring on the top of the tool and slide to the bottom of the tool. Once there, pull the tool back a little and slide the ring off into the empty resting space of the shaft. This is hands down the simplest method, and the one we recommend. There are different versions of tools on the market, even a handy one that is reloadable-meaning you can store your o’rings on the tool ready to use when needed.
Gomu System – There is an alternative to o rings that accomplishes the same task and that is the Gomu by L style. The Gomu shaft tightening system has three “Caps” that you place the thread from the shaft into. Then while the cap is over the shaft threads, you screw the shaft into the barrel of the dart. This system is fast and easy but one thing we have noticed is the seal becomes broken if you unscrew the shaft, where as with o rings you generally can unscrew and re screw multiple times without having to replace it.
6 Pack Oring 
Shot’s O-ring Tool Target’s O-ring Tool 
Lstyle Gomu
Below you can find links to the different o-ring products we offer.
6 Pack O-Rings | 12 Pack m3 O-Rings
Website Navigation – Mastering The Wish List
In this article we will discuss the wish list feature on the website. We think you will find the wish list to be a useful tool when shopping with a-zdarts.com.
What is a wish list?
A wish list is a collection of desired products that are saved on account signifying interest without immediate intent to purchase. That’s great… but what does that mean exactly? Basically, you add items you are interested in and save this list for convenience. There is no pressure or timeline to purchase. You can make multiple wish lists and save them under different names. Reason for this would be-if you are looking at five or six different darts and want to think on them and make a purchase on payday-save these models on a wish list to revisit at the time you want to purchase. Same with accessories like flights and shafts.
Where is the wish list?
You will find the wish list section once you click on the “My Account” tab. In order to access this page, you must have an account. If you do not have an account, you can create one here: https://www.a-zdarts.com/wish-list.html? After you log in, locate the Account tab (Tap triple horizontal bar in top left if mobile, or account button next to cart for desktop). Once inside the account section locate the button labeled “View wish list”.
How to create a wish list?
Once you are on the wish list page, you will see a “Create a wish list” button and a field for previously created wish lists. (If this is your first list, you will have no saved wish lists). Now click the “Create a wish list” button. On the next page you will see three fields, Title, Notes, and Public checkbox. In the Title box enter the name you want to call your wish list. For example, you may want to call one Darts (for any darts you have been thinking about purchasing) or Birthday list (for items you want to receive as a birthday present). The Notes box allows you to add extra information about your wish list. The checkbox Public-check only if you want someone else to view your wish list. Leave this field unchecked when you want your wish list to be visible only to you. Next click the “Save” button and you have created a wish list! Next, just add product to your wish list. To add product to your wishlist, go to an item and click into the details page. There you will see the quantity, red add to cart button and a button to the right “Add to wish list”. Select the quantity you want on this item and click the “Add to Wish List” button. Your item will automatically add to your newly created wishlist.
Tips on using the wish list feature
A short cut for adding product to your wish list would be to add all items to your cart (including desired quantities) then click the “edit cart” button. Once on this page you can select the “Move all to wish list” button. However, this will only move these items to a wish list you have already created. So if this is a new wish list you want to create-you must go through the steps in the Account tab/Wish list to create first.
Public Checkbox: A great feature of the wish list is you can make your list public and share with friends and family. Be sure to check the “Public” box and give them the list name. They can go to the site and click “wish list”. In the “Find a wish list” field, they will type your wish list name and then search. On the next page they click your list name. The following page will show your items from which they can add to their basket for their purchase. They will not need to create an account to purchase from your wish list.
We hope you found this article helpful. Please leave feedback if we might have missed anything!
Website Navigation – Search Bar
Quick tips:
- Format search into keywords (Panda Flight vs Panda bear eating leaf flight)
- Less Keywords is sometimes better (Panda Flight vs Panda leaf flight)
- Avoid using two word searches vs one word searches ( Throwlines vs Throw Lines)
- Avoid using plural and choose a singular version (Throwline vs Throwlines)
- Double check spelling
- Still lost? Call us, we are always happy to help!
In this post are suggestions for using our search bar. The search bar is common on most web sites but not all search bars work the same. Google may possibly have the most advanced and well known search bar. Their search bar not only serves up the most relevant results but is also robust enough to predict what you may want. We have come a long way with our search bar in the last few years but we are not Google! Because of this there are a few points to keep in mind to get the best results.
Our search is built mostly around key words and as such works best when the search is broken into key words as well. For example, if you wanted to find a flight which features a panda bear eating a leaf. You might search “Panda bear eating leaf flight”. This type of search would return no results. Instead limit your search to a minimum number of keywords, in this case less is more. Thus, change your search to “Panda Flight” which provides two results. It is at this point you might notice it really isn’t a leaf, but more a blade of grass. So having the extra key word “leaf” would have hurt your search.
When a search reveals no results, it is because the item might have a different name. Sometimes the same item will have different names in different parts of the world. For example “Throwlines”. On our website we call the lines that are placed on the floor to mark minimum throwing distance from the board “Throwlines”. However it also has other names like Toe line, and Throw markers or Oche. If your search comes back with no results, consider searching by another name.
Spaces between words (or a lack of) can also cause your search to return no results. Using the same example “Throwline”, this can be searched as one word or two (Throw Line). In some cases the difference can be enough to give you no results. The same rule also applies when searching for the plural version of an item versus the singular. In the case of “Throwline”; you may not see any result if you search the plural version “Throwlines”.
Lastly, always check your spelling of key words during a search. Having too many (or too little) spaces and misspelled word can produce zero results. Luckily most web browsers now highlight misspelled words and offer spelling corrections.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to call us. We are happy to guide you in the right direction. Even if we no longer stock an item we may have a suggestion for an alternative product which might work for you. We are always working to improve your search experience. If you have a product search suggestion, feel free to let us know. We have the ability to add keywords to current stock and we may not have included all the variations/possibilities. Happy shopping!
