Hammer First Blood Ball Reaction Video - By bowlingball.com

[BowlingBoards.com]

http://youtu.be/BHloOEc1s78

Sink your teeth into the competition by striking first with the Hammer First Blood!

[Mudpuppy]

This ball is really wicked. A ton of backend. I played around with it Saturday and Sunday throwing it farther and farther out and no matter what I did it would snap right back. I haven't thrown a big game with it yet but only bowled 4 and a partial game with it so I haven't broke it in quite yet. But I can definitely see the potential.

[Bunny]

Great choice! Love this ball! It seems to do whatever you ask it to do. Hubby loves it too.

[Mudpuppy]

Yes I can't wait until it breaks in a little more. And if I can hit my marks and keep my head out of my backside it will definitely help.

[YODA]

Really love the look of this ball, it has some really nice backend. My buddy has one, It is on my list of balls to order soon :)

[Mudpuppy]

The ball is very temperamental. About 20 games into using it and I find it differs from frame to frame. I feel like it is starting to come in but I am not 100% sold on it. Initially I loved the way the ball rolled but that love turned to hate when it became erratic and I started throwing 150-170 games. That and I started throwing the Melee I won and it is super smooth super consistent hits hard right out of the box - that didn't help the case for the First Blood. But I think it is definitely improving as it breaks in. I will just keep throwing it and see what shakes out.

[MICHAEL]

The ball is very temperamental. About 20 games into using it and I find it differs from frame to frame. I feel like it is starting to come in but I am not 100% sold on it. Initially I loved the way the ball rolled but that love turned to hate when it became erratic and I started throwing 150-170 games. That and I started throwing the Melee I won and it is super smooth super consistent hits hard right out of the box - that didn't help the case for the First Blood. But I think it is definitely improving as it breaks in. I will just keep throwing it and see what shakes out.


Hummm my son was thinking about getting The First Blood...... Keep me posted on your thoughts, he will be getting a new ball to add to his collection soon! At the moment he just has two, a plastic, and Lights out!

[Mudpuppy]

Hummm my son was thinking about getting The First Blood...... Keep me posted on your thoughts, he will be getting a new ball to add to his collection soon! At the moment he just has two, a plastic, and Lights out!

Will do Iceman. I am not sold on it yet. I see potential but I just haven't found it yet. Maybe it is a bit more aggressive than I am used to - I do find myself moving a lot more right than I would with either of my other 2 balls.

[vdubtx]

Will do Iceman. I am not sold on it yet. I see potential but I just haven't found it yet. Maybe it is a bit more aggressive than I am used to - I do find myself moving a lot more right than I would with either of my other 2 balls.

What part of the lane do you play? Arrows and then break point. Also, how is your ball drilled, pin up or down?

Mine is drilled with pin above ring finger stacked and is a great ball. Don't ask me about Pin to PAP etc., I have no idea. I leave that to my driller. :)

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/Vdubtx/IMG_3646_zps33b8927e.jpg (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Vdubtx/media/IMG_3646_zps33b8927e.jpg.html)

[Mudpuppy]

What part of the lane do you play? Arrows and then break point. Also, how is your ball drilled, pin up or down?

Mine is drilled with pin above ring finger stacked and is a great ball. Don't ask me about Pin to PAP etc., I have no idea. I leave that to my driller. :)

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/Vdubtx/IMG_3646_zps33b8927e.jpg (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Vdubtx/media/IMG_3646_zps33b8927e.jpg.html)

Looking at your ball it appears I have the identical layout except for left handed. No idea on Pin to PAP, etc. either. I know the pro shop guy mumbled something about ordering a specific pin dimension or something.

I typically line up at or near the middle of the approach and throw between 1st and 2nd arrow - typically just left of the 2nd arrow (again left handed keep that in mind). If I go all the way to 1st arrow with speed my ball will skid right down the lane missing the pocket hitting the 2-4 and leaving a 7 almost everytime. If I go right over the 2nd arrow or a little right of it I will smash the head pin dead on. So typically I am 1 board left of the 2nd arrow with success and if I do throw 1st arrow or even farther left if I stay under 15.50mph my ball will have a solid hit into the head pin.

What I find with this ball is one frame I will throw it perfect 1 board left of the 2nd arrow and it is golden. Next frame it changes with same exact shot. I talked a bit with the pro shop guy about it and he made some suggestions which I have tried. So now I start with a 5 step approach and it hooks nicely. Once I get tapped I move up to a 4 step approach and that works. If I have issues I am finding myself moving farther right with this ball than either of my other balls. But that has its limit as well - I start to throw it out to in and that is definitely not my shot and it causes me issues - which is normally when I switch to the Melee and move back left (or more centered on the approach - and if I remember to do that because if I stand too far right with the Melee it is disaster - at least the First Blood has the capability dispute my poor shot to go out in but definitely not the Melee). Which is probably why I have shot much better games with the Melee - it is more suited to my shot.

But I will keep throwing the First Blood because I think ultimately it will help expand my game and my skill set so down the road I can make better adjustments, etc. It probably is just what I need to bump my game to the next level. It just takes time and ultimate patience and weeding through bad shots, yanking the ball, throwing it too far outside, too much speed, not enough speed, etc. If I could just get my mechanics perfect the learning curve would increase exponentially. But Molson Canadian and short circuits of the brain say that is not possible.

[Mudpuppy]

I will post a picture of the layout later when I get home so you can see - your pin is a little hard to see - blends in with the rest of the red. Mine is definitely pin up though.

[vdubtx]

Have you tried playing more in? More towards 3rd arrow-15 board to start and then adjust as the night goes on? I used to play 10 board with my prior equipment, but with this ball I moved to stay in oil longer and it helps a ton. LIke I have said before, totally revamped the way I play and look at the lanes.

[Mudpuppy]

Have you tried playing more in? More towards 3rd arrow-15 board to start and then adjust as the night goes on? I used to play 10 board with my prior equipment, but with this ball I moved to stay in oil longer and it helps a ton. LIke I have said before, totally revamped the way I play and look at the lanes.

So you are saying you stand left and throw it over the 3rd arrow balls goes out to ??? (in between 2nd and 1st arrow I assume) and then back into the pocket?

I played around with 3rd arrow when I first got it but not typically my kind of shot. If the ball, oil, my mechanics are all cooperating I am shooting 1 board left of the second arrow, straight down the lane and in the pocket.

[vdubtx]

Here is a video I put together awhile back.

http://youtu.be/5dKh-CDN0bM

Shows some lines I was throwing during some practice sessions last summer. Some lines the break point was between 5 and 8, others I kept it inside with a break of 11-12 or so. I usually don't need a breakpoint outside of 10, this ball loves the oil.

[Mudpuppy]

Looking at your picture I see the pin now directly above the ring finger - mine is slightly different layout - just to the left and above the ring finger:

http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o348/mudpuppyr6/unnamed.jpg (http://s340.photobucket.com/user/mudpuppyr6/media/unnamed.jpg.html)

[Mudpuppy]

Here is a video I put together awhile back.

http://youtu.be/5dKh-CDN0bM

Shows some lines I was throwing during some practice sessions last summer. Some lines the break point was between 5 and 8, others I kept it inside with a break of 11-12 or so. I usually don't need a breakpoint outside of 10, this ball loves the oil.

Interesting. I will have to try moving right a little more and use the 3rd arrow from the other side to see if I can throw it that way. It would definitely be a game changer. Looks like for the most part you are throwing over the 3rd arrow and coming out to the 2nd arrow back in. I will let you know how it goes. Could be what I am missing trying to throw this ball. Thanks for the tip.

[Mudpuppy]

Tried 3rd arrow in a rare practice yesterday and despite inconsistency in my shooting through 2 games I like the option of moving far right and shooting the 3rd arrow. Going to incorporate it into my game starting tonight.