There are several situations during a leg where a dart at the bullseye can be very useful indeed. Whether its ensuring your end up on a two darter, instead of a three, or to ensure you have a finish at all, its basically a cover shot with two possible outcomes, this is BullShifting.

Match Example:

If you are on 201 and your opponent is not on a score where adding pressure might be relevant and you hit t20 s20, with darts one and two, this leaves you with 121 remaining and a single dart. A dart in either the 25 or Bullseye ,(a BullShift) will leave you with a handy two darter (either 96 or 71) whereas a single twenty or a stray (caused by a deflection, obviously!) will likely leave you with a tricky three darter including more complex treble possibilities.

In addition there are many other situation where two at the twenties and one at the bull/outer will be required. These may include shots at 170, 130 to finish or 90, 105, 130, 145 or even 170 to set up a finish.

So its important to be be a bit of a BullShifter with your last dart!

Game Overview:

Although I like most drills to be based around five turns this one has to involve at least 6. For each turn you will take two darts at the twenties and one dart at the Bullseye ring.

There are six possible outcomes if you hit the twenty bed twice & BullShift: 170, 145, 130, 105, 90 and 65.

Each time you hit a score it is removed from scoring. As an incentive, and to give every throw mean, the Bullseye counts as 50, if hit with the last dart (LDB), even if you have repeated a score or not hit two in the twenty bed.

Perfect Example:

• Turn 1: T20 T20 Bull – 170
• Turn 2: T20 T20 25 – 145
• Turn 3: T20 s20 Bull – 130
• Turn 4: T20 s20 25 – 105
• Turn: s20 s20 Bull – 90
• Turn 6: s20 s20 25 – 65
• Total – 705!

Realistic Run Through:

• Turn 1: s5 T20 25 – 0
• Turn 2: s20 s20 25 – 65
• Turn 3: t20 s20 25 – 105
• Turn 4: s20 t5 Bull – 50
• Turn 5: s20 t20 Bull – 50 (repeat score)
• Turn 6: s20 s20 Bull – 90
• Total: 360

Variations:

You can vary this drill a number of ways. But beware of driving yourself into a fit of frustration.

A harsh variation is to list the possible numbers on the marking board, 65-170 inc and then give yourself a set number of throws to knock them all out. 

Example: use 10 turns and mark how many 65’s, 90’s etc that you clock. But also mark how many times you miss the twenty bed with either of your first two and how many last dart bulls (LDBs) you manage!

Levels:

As you can see from the variations you can set your own level and then simply try to better your best. Total score after 6 turns, number of finishes hit after 10 turns etc. But here is a guide:

• Amateur: 1 lower BullShift (65 or 90) and an LDB. 115 to 140
• Pub Team: 1 or 2 BullShifts and an LDB. 115 to 220
• Higher: 2 or more BullShifts and an LDB. 250 or more
• Elite: 3 or more Bullshifts and a LDB. 400+ (often!)

Records:

Who is the biggest BullShifter?

Top Score: 665 (145,130,65,170,0,50,105)

Fewest Turns: All six BullShifts were taken out in only 11 turns by a player who has flirted with the PDC top 32 but flew a little too close to the sun.

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Originally published for the dartsworld.com Darting Isolation Series during the Covid-19 Lockdown of 2020.