I am a high speed, high rev bowler.  This ball is a house bowlers dream.  One of the most forgiving balls on a house condition that I have ever thrown.  I have my 16lb Red Fuze drilled up 5 1/4 X 5 which puts the pin right above the ring finger and the CG in the center of the grip.  This ball gets down the lane very well and produces an EXTREMELY angular move to the pocket.  I have never seen a ball flare more than my Red Fuze.  Didn't have very much success on tournament conditions because of how much it flares I would say.  As long as there is a decent amount of oil on the lane this is the ball to throw to generate the most amount of area.  Hooks too much on the dry and not quite enough on the flood.  If you are looking for a great house condition ball this is it.

Hey guys I quoted in another review of this ball that we would continue to give this ball a try. Well I am continuing up my review of this ball. We redrilled it and put the pin under the ring finger and kicked the cg out about 3 in. from my center of grip. Polished the stew out of it with storm's xtra shine. This ball just didn't roll good for me. On the majority of the house shots here if I get right it hooks out and when I move in to like 21,22,23 it makes the trip to the 1-3 but hits like crap. I saw quite a few of the pros using this layout and thought there might be a message in that, but thought wrong. When I take some the hand out of it and play a little straighter it rolls pretty decent, but nothing special. I would recommend this ball for a stroker, crankers and tweeners look for another ball.
Good Luck and Good Bowling,
Michael

OK...this ball rules.  Drilled stack with the pin above the ring finger.  I've had it for a month, and it has already gotten me my first 300.  This ball is the ball for anyone who has trouble with leaving ten or seven pins on oily conditions.  At first, I had a problem with unusual leaves if I even just went a little high into the pocket...but after getting a few games on it, the ball plows through anything.  

I have yet to throw it on a genuine sport condition but when I do I will update this.

In essence, this is the best Brunswick ball I've thrown, and is always the ball I throw my first practice shot with.

Only had this ball for about 2 weeks before trading it, and I never did get it sized correctly. However, from what I saw in that limited time, this is a fine ball. I'm not a fan of big B, as I find most of their stuff rolls up too early and hits fairly soft. However, this ball breaks that mold completely. It can be used on everything from light oil to heavy oil (provided the backends are clean) and the hit is very strong. This is one of those stand left, throw right skid-flip balls that people love to throw. The recovery is fantastic and it carries the corners very well. I would have kept it had I had room in the bag for it. 8.5 out 10.
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Bowling is without a doubt the dumbest, most pointless, most idiotic excuse for a game that has ever been invented. So, what time are we bowling tomorrow?

Drilled - Pin over Middle Finger, Cg kicked out,
X-hole on PAP (6x4.5)
Coverstock - Grey scotchbrite, reshined w/NeoTac #2

This ball is discontinued but I know it was a favorite on Tour. I found a blank and drilled it. Since my Inferno reads so hard in the midlane, it sometimes lacks the backend pop I need sometimes. So I drilled this strong pearl with a high pin to delay its reaction and get the kick on the backend. This ball is very strong, even with the weaker drill it has no sign of squirt on longer patterns. Most longer sport patterns are playable inside of 3rd arrow, this ball is right at home. It holds line easily and has a strong but controllable change of direction. A great Brunswick ball, I know Brad Angelo had much of his success on Tour with it.

Too bad its discontinued, but I know the Inferno would be a suitable replacement with a similar drill pattern.

Hum, seems that it has been some time that somebody took notice of this great ball? Well, once more a lucky shot for me at Ebay . I always had an eye on one of these, and I finally ended up with a used 15 lbs. pin-out Raging Red Fuze from a lefty in very good condition for EUR 50,- (about $ 60,- at the moment), plus plugging, drilling and inserts.

Some Raging Red Fuze balls are (end of 2004) still on sale in Germany, but they are in closeout these days. New balls are available for less than EUR 150,-, and the ball is (update July 2006) still a common sight in league bowling and a favorite ball with serious players.

About me:
Style = Stroker/mild Tweener, right-handed
Speed = 13,5-14,5 mph
PAP = 5" & 7/8"^
Axis tilt = 18,7°
Revs = 250-300 RPM at release
For more details, check out my profile, please.


Ball setup:

To make it a complement to my Trauma (pin-in, drilled for wide arc), my 3 3/4" pin-out Fuze got Brunswick's layout 2L for high-differential balls for a later reaction, just by the book:
Pin from PAP ~4 1/2", pin ended up 1" directly above of ring finger hole. CG placed at 90° from PAP, ending up 3/4" to the right of midlane on the midline. No X-hole necessaery, a urthane thumb slug and silicone finger inserts completed the ball.

=====*===
===o=o===
=========
=====#===
=========
====O====

* = Pin
# = CG


Ball picture: http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3527890

This drilling matches well with the ball's main characteristics and the juiced-up PK 18 pearl coverstock called "Aggressive Reactive": strong midlane recovery, smooth breakpoint, lots of traction on dry boards (especially on a THS) and even in the oil. The core provides a rather early roll tendency, but it is very powerful. All in all, this results in a terrific back end performance on medium-dry to medium-oily conditions.


The testing program

First tests on 30' and 40' left me immediately with very satisfying results between 180-200 pins (I am averaging ~165 at the moment). Due to the strong, rather arcing motion and the almost violent roll of the low-RG core, this ball forced me to move quite deep:

On a 30' pattern with dry backends I had to stand at 25 with the right shoe tip (add 2 boards for left shoe inside), aiming at 12/13th board area, and it moved screaming across the lane into the pocket with thunderous roll and very good carry. And I am just a stroker! Even with my Trauma I rarely have to stand farther than 23rd board on the same conditions, although the Trauma moves differently, with longer skid phase and a sharper backend move. Amazing!

On an oily 40’ sport pattern with no dry outside boards I had to play it fast and straight (Normal hook release was inconsistent), with an end over end release. This worked very well, and pin carry stayed the same as if playing on the easier 30’. Stood at 22, aiming at 3rd arrow, raising speed through a higher starting position. Although I tried to kill the hook, this was not possible. After reaching its breakpoint at about 35’, the ball made a recognizable arcing move to the left (covering 5 boards, I guess), with a good angle into the pocket directly to the 5-pin. And with consistency!


Conclusions

The Raging Red Fuze is a great all-round ball on medium oil. With its tendency to roll due its low RG and great midlane performance, it is ideal for strokers on longer medium oil or short heavy oil patterns with some dry boards at the end: good for big Hollywood hooks and consistently high results. I think it would be difficult to make this a real skid/snap ball. You will need speed and revs to move sharply.

High-rev players will also be able to play the Raging Red Fuze with more oil, since the pearl cover goes cleanly through the heads and saves energy for the back end where it grips like hell and creates a strong move, delivering the core's energy to the pocket. IMHO, crankers should seriously consider a moderate drilling layout, since the Raging Red Fuze might prove uncontrollably strong on dry or broken-down lane conditions.

Lane utility for tested ball (pattern length vs. oil volume):

|S M L
|h e o
|o d n
|r . g
|t
_______
|0 + X| Light volume
|0 X X| Medium volume
|X X 0| Heavy volume

Legend:
X = Best suited with effective control & carry
+ = Fairly suited (works, somehow, but lacks control)
0 = Unsuited (ineffective, either slips or burns up)


The chart concept is borrowed from Storm's 2003 catalogue. Surface prep and drillings may change the results, it is just personal experience with my style

Although Brunswick recognizes this ball in their Ball Comparison Chart to be the same as the Monster Bruiser (M13 position), I consider the Raging Red Fuze from league bowler observations with the Bruiser to be the overall stronger ball. The Aggressive Reactive shell is impressive, even after some years, and the high flare/RG differential adds to the ball's versatility. I think it is quite close to the Original Inferno on comparable conditions, just a touch rollier and generally reacting a bit earlier and smoother. When you play these balls side by side, you will notice the slightly more aggressive reaction shape of the OI.

Pin carry could be better, this is the only critics I can apply so far. Make a flush hit, and it seems as if the pins were imploding with a cracking noise. You will hear "good" pocket hits for sure...
Light hits tend to be left open, and lack of oil can cause burnout and splits.

In direct comparison, my Trauma shows, with its ACCU-Tread pearl coverstock and a similar core, more impact action on a wider range of hits and half-hits. I can confirm this through my friend/bowling pal who has the same pair of balls in his assortment - they show pretty much the same performance characteristics (although they move differently due to style and drilling).
But please do not misunderstand me: the Raging Red Fuze IS a hard hitter! There are simply better benchmarks, even among older balls.

Nevertheless, I give it an overall 8,5 out of 10. I had great expectations, and my Raging Red Fuze fulfilled them from the start, even though newer balls and coverstocks evened this out in the course of the 2 years I own this ball now.

The Raging Red Fuze really IS a strong ball - maybe underestimated by today’s standards, but not out-dated. Even the core lives on in overseas balls like the Dynamic Zone II (with a particle pearl coverstcok), the Majestic Zone II (with a solid PK 22 shell) or the Mega Zone H [re-edited in July 2006>.

If you find one in good shape or even NIB at reasonable price, it is worth having in the arsenal as a main ball for medium conditions. It is also a good Inferno alternative, when you can live with that lightly softer hook shape. It even looks good! Classy style among some modern balls which tend to be a bit intrusive to the eye .

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DizzyFugu --- Reporting from Germany

"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe

This is a very hard hitting ball. I've used it on a 6pm league with a fresh +Medium oil. It has a nice Arc then roll very hard toward the target. I called it Kabooooom!

Updated 11/20/06 Bowled 300 on Medium Light lane.