On 1/27/07, we featured Chris Barnes and Wes Malott at our Training Center in a "meet and greet" session during the week that the PBA was here in Las Vegas.  We presold the Columbia 300 Big Shot and the Track Phoenix.  We have received our Big Shots and the response from our customers has been phenominal!  This ball is a home-run for Columbia 300!  With the new TCS 4000 Optima coverstock, the ball gets through the heads easier than previous M80 covers and stores more energy for the pins.  This ball utilizes the proven core found in the Action Attack that came out this last fall.  One of our customers recorded his personal best (over 1000) for the first four games he used the ball.  By the way, this ball is not a skid/snap ball.  It flat our hooks!  One of our staff members threw one with a 4-1/2" drilling with no hole at the Gold Coast here in Las Vegas (traditionally, a tighter patterned house for the average bowler) and he had to put it back in the bag since it hooked too much(he used a Power Machine instead).  I watched him throw it and the most amazing thing was that the ball never rolled out even though it was clearly too much ball that day.  We have another customer who has thrown most of the Action series and he too agrees that this ball has more overall hook than the than the balls in the Action series.

This ball should be a great compliment to most bowling styles and trajectories, especially those with lower rev rates or excessive ball speed.  This ball is definitely a medium-heavy ball with much more angularity in the backend compared to its predecesors.  Columbia 300 coverstocks have been so strong the last few years that they needed to smooth out the surface (TCS 4000) so the ball will retain energy for the backend and the pins.  Using the same core found in the Action Attack, this ball exhibits a great compliment between coverstock and core.

Anyways, I thought I would just pass the word about how great this ball is being received by our customers.  This ball was delayed a few days due to freezing temps in San Antonio forcing the Columbia 300 plant to stop production in mid January, but it will be well worth the wait!  The other good news is that Columbia 300 has developed a new finishing process called TCS (Texture Control System) that will help your pro shop guy be able to duplicate the factory finish of the Big Shot.  This is a great deal since the surface preparation of most bowling balls nowadays is so critical to their performance.
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Ken Keegan
K&K Bowling Services
www.bowlinglasvegas.com
When you are in Las Vegas, visit us and find out why "service" is part of our name!

Pin: 1-1.5
Top Weight: 2 3/4
Layout: 5x4
Balance Hole: NO
Pin Location: Directly underneath the bridge
... for anyone who wants to know

I think this is a solid ball for medium oil if you keep the box finish on.  It makes a hard arc into the pocket (much like a strong version of my wrath sf but it doesn't go as long).  I played with the surface a little and found that taking the shine off and just putting on regular 4000 abralon with no polish allows the ball to have a smoother break point but it starts to break a touch earlier.  The best surface i found was by applying 2000 abralon and then a coat of track's Clean 'n Sheen.  It gives the ball (as eddie says) some teeth under the polish.  Once you take the original box polish off (with 4000 or 2000 or whatever) i would consider it more of a medium-heavy oil ball.  With the box finish, it gets down the lane a little too long and the back end is a touch squirty.  ...oh yeah, and the carry is excellent (but so is the carry with any new ball, so ill be back to update within a month or so)

Here is the follow-up review i promised...
I wouldn't consider the Big Shot to be a heavy oil ball, it's a little too squirty on the back end and it goes a little too long.  Putting a 2000-4000 abralon surface on the ball will be necessary for heavier oil patterns.  I found that throwing the Big Shot with its box finish on fresh oil allows you to leave some nasty pocket splits.  The back end is too aggressive for heavy oil... but it wasn't unpredictable like my Radical Inferno (two thumbs down for that ball)... i'd give the Big Shot a 7.5 out of 10 so far.

This ball is outstanding...I have been bowling with columbia products since the Powr Torq and I have not been this excited since the Ti Boss II solid.

I purchased it from ebay just to try it out...man what a good decision

the span is much shorter than what I am used to so I put in finger slugs and a double slug in the thumb to prevent having to plug...

while standing about 28...16 at the arrows...out to about 12 then the ball charges hard to the pocket...holds the line very well...very hard hit..

In the span of 2 weeks, my $60 investment has paid for itself 10 times over and given me my first 300 in 5 years...I have bought two more big shots and a total of 17 other new columbia pieces so I will be bowling with columbia for some time to come...sorry to see you go, columbia...we will miss you...

Best ball in my bag for THS. I have it drilled stack. I stand 20 hit the 12 board out to the 5 and watch the ball snap back into the pocket.It carries lite and high flush.Corner pins are a problem in the middle of the second game as lanes break down. Ball hates dry lanes.