BallReviews
Reviews => AMF => Topic started by: admin on December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM
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The Night Hawk Menace has 3-8 boards more hook and 25% stronger backend reaction than the original Night Hawk. This is accomplished using the original Night Hawk Power Ring Core with AMF’s phenomenal new particle coverstock, “SPTâ€. This combination produces better traction for more hook and area on the lane, higher rev-rate for better carry and more overall versatility from condition to condition.
SPT or Super Particle Technology is space age micro spheres that give the Menace more hook, backend and traction in today’s modern oils. SPT can be easily shined to 3000 polish which gives the Menace more continuation and versatility on a wider variety of lane conditions. The specifications are: D-Durometer is 76-78 hardness; the ball is available in 12, 14, 15 and 16 lbs.; Core: Power Ring Multi piece; Coverstock: SPT; RG’s: Low 2.52 with a flare potential of 6†(.045); Hook Rating: 14-22; Backend: 19; Finish: 1000 sheen; Weights: 12, 14, 15 and 16 lbs.; Color: Night Hawk Blue with blood red logo fill.
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AMF's first entre into particle technology is a good one! This ball has a cover that is tweakable like the Columbia Chaos, but, with a higher rg,
this ball gets down the lane even better than its counterpart.
I drilled mine with a 4" pin to PAP distance with the pin @ 12:00. This
ball has no problem clearing the heads and has a very strong arcing backend. Very controllable for such a strong cover, I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for their first Pro-active/TEC/SPT (particle technolgy) cover. The ball is versatile enough to use on medium to heavy oil and the cover takes well to polish, unlike some of the earlier editions of proactives...
On a fresh oil house (wet/dry) condition, this ball is a tad "flippy", but with just a little bit of oil carrydown this ball is as good as it gets for pin carry!
Way to go AMF! This is a definite candidate for solid ball-of-the-year....
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I have tried other "active" balls in the past, with little success. They just hooked to early to be efective for me. The Nighthawk is completely different. I've played lines from the outside to deep inside still being able to find a good line to score. Not many balls will work over this wide of range of conditions for me. This ball is a keeper. Plus it is very easy to polish to get the reaction you need.
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Had a Menace drilled label leverage last Saturday and it does exactly what I wanted it to do. I have a Track Contender that I love, but when the heads start drying up it gets me into the ball return. With 600 polish on the Menace (I have had no luck polishing the Contender) it lets me play the same type of line five boards further right! It hits hard and carries well! Great ball!
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Awesome ball -- all the benefits of Proactive Urethane with the length of resin. It's like AMF took the best things from the two, mixed them together, and out came the Menace.
Nice smooth reaction, great predictable, and more length than you'd expect. The surface is expecially receptive to surface changes, and shines up vey well.
I drilled this ball with the pin under my ring finger, with the CG kicked out to put the Mass Bias on my Vertical Axis Line. Final spec is 4 1/2 X 2 3/4. Ball only had 2.5 top weight to start. Put a large hole (1 1/8) at the intersection of the midline and VAL, but not very deep (only half inch or so).
With this drilling, the Menace does not cover boards. It goes straight for about 35 feet and then gets into a nice forward, predictable roll for the last 25 feet. The predictability is the best part of this ball. The Menace core is a great tweak of the Nighthawk core, which has as much power as any pure resin ball that has ever hit the market. This core/surface prep/drill pattern combo makes this a good ball to read the lanes with in practice. It lets you know where the oil is, where the dry is, and how far in is too far to be playing early on in the series.
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Nice to see a Pro active ball that is as versatile as the Menace. I've drilled these for customers both dulled and shined and I must say that all have been extremely happy with the way they can fine tune their reaction by subtle adjustments to the surface of the ball. For the heavy hands or those with slow ball speeds, I would recommend this ball for its cleanness through the heads and the way it turns the corner in the backend when there is some lubricant present.
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People that know me will tell you that I very seldom will be seen with a polished ball unless it's me shooting my mother-in-law (7 pin, what else?) for a spare. In that case, it's my plastic ball which hardness would challenge any frozen snowball. Anyway...I had the Menace polished up (1000) and it is usually the first shiny ball out of my artillery when I need a ball to go down long for a good swing shot. As with my other balls, it's leveraged drilled and its backend action is just as strong as my Wrath . It's too much ball for a straight up gutter type of shot (unless you really have a weak hand) but ideal for adult bumper bank shots. It's recovery after turning the bend gives you an awesome angle in carrying strikes. It sets up in the oil very nicely.
I've seen people in tournaments throw the Menace dull when the conditions are challenging with pretty good luck.
To be honest, I had given up on AMF products for some time until I got the courage to try their Bull Whip which I had much success with and now their Night Hawk series are on a roll.
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I have mine drilled over the fingers to create more down the lane and then a nice arc to the pocket. I really like this ball it reacts very well to my game which is down and in. It hits real well and this is a versital ball it takes to a shine real well or you can scuff it up if needed.
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I bought this ball because of the success I've had with the original black NightHawk, plus the price was right. The ball had 6" pin which doesn't seem to be a problem. Had the ball drilled approx 5x4 with extra hole. Don't know what the final weighting is.
First time out I had the ball shined to about 1500. Alot of over under made the ball very speed sensitive, but it did hit really well provided I did my job. Didn't score well that night. 2nd night out I lightly knocked the shine off the ball with 600 wet sand. Ok, the league shot is easy but I had so much area and carried really well. Just a couple of 10's. One 9 pin and no 8's which surprised me as I was covering alot of boards playing the middle arrow out to about 10 when thrown properly. Although I had to keep the speed up, for a particle ball it still got down the lane with a smooth hook and crushing hit. The ball showed no signs of rolling out. Shot 736 and paid the ball off that night.
I sold my NightHawk Menace Pearl which was probably one of the worst ball I ever owned. I think my white dot hooked more! This Menace is much better for me. This ball and my shined black NightHawk provides a nice little arsenal. Menace on more oil, and the original if the lanes start to dry up.
With one good night and one bad, not ready to give it a number yet. Maybe in a few weeks.
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I have never been more disappointed in a ball in my life. That about says it all!! I've had this ball for about a year and have never been able to get it to do anything. Overreacts, underreacts, doesn't react... You name it this ball does it. Tried it with the out of the box finish, would hook out of the gym on dry lanes, but medium oily, or oily forget about it. And the oilier the lanes the backend just disappears.. Not sure if I got a lemon or what. I have an SPT that out performs it on every level. Hit, backend, carry, everything...This ball is so tame, it should come with a leash. Tried polishing it to save the backend a bit, hoping it would store up some power but nothing there either. No thanks. Angle Evolution is the way to go!!!!
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This ball is incredible. I bought my Menace used from ebay so I am not certain of the age. It is drilled with the pin slightly above and right of the ring finger with the power ring indicator in the strong position just right of the thumb. My style is medium speed and low revs (right handed). I bowl down-and-in starting about the 10th board.
It's all about forgiveness. When I miss left the ball carries brooklyn hits for strikes 75% of the time. When I miss right the ball comes screaming back across the lane. Pin action is incredible. While other league bowlers on my lanes can't strike consistently with flush pocket hits, the Menace carries any hit that gets a solid piece of the head pin. On my second night with the ball, I was able to bowl 195 pins OVER my average in a 3-game series. This ball is a definite 9 out of 10. I only paid $10.50 for it, but I wouldn't sell it for $100.
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This Nighthawk Menace is drilled with the pin below and to the right of the ring finger with an extra hole. This was the first AMF ball that I have ever thrown and will probably be the last one too. This ball starts up early and kind of lays off on the backends. I found that the more that I lofted the ball the better reaction I got with it, it got down the lane and made a strong charge on the backend. When I layed it down smooth is when it started up early. I really wasn't too impressed with the hitting power of this ball either. Even when I got it down the lane, the ball would still kind of deflect. So basically I'm saying that I don't really care for this ball becuase it really doesn't fit my game. I like to get the ball down earlier than this ball will let me. For someone that lofts the ball a lot or creates a lot of length naturally, then I think this ball will fit you very well.
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Have you ever felt that a series of balls were just made specifically for you? Well this is how I feel with the AMF Hawk line. Every Hawk I've tried(2 menaces, 1 revenge, hawk solid, Ti Hawk, Firehawk) have all suited my game so well that I am thinking about ditching everything and rolling all AMF.
This Menace I have has the pin over the bridge, CG under the ring with the Mass Bias in the strong position. This ball has a 2 inch pin and a lower topweight. A weighthole in on my VAL an inch above my PAP for some added flare.
What I get with this ball is an even predictable strong arc. It clears the heads without a problem and it reacts very smooth despite changes in hand positions or late block carrydown. I used this ball mainly on a variation of PBA Pattern C last weekend and averaged roughly 180 with it that I am really proud of on such a hard shot, playing a deep inside line going 24 out to 16. As with every AMF product I've ever tried the finish was great. I only left one ringing tenpin out of the 4 games I used it. I felt that it was much more even and less sensitive to oil down the lane than the ball I was using in the first half of the squad(Columbia Special), and as the oil began to carry down all I had to do was change my hand position for a bit more forward roll and move in 2 boards deeper. Overall this is a great addition to my bag for the harder sport shots I will be playing on for most of the year.
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-D. Marshall
ScratchBowling.com Shirt Staff 2003-2004
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WOW If ever i struggle using my Warp Zone i can just grab this out of the bag throw it down the lane and just somehow manage to get something from the game. most reliable ball i've ever used wish there was something newer like it (any sugestions welcome) obviously has lost something from it after first using it but what a ball at first put 15 - 20 pins on my average which won me most improved player in my league
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The Menace reacts more like a reactive ball than a particle ball. Good length, nice midlane read, big snap into the pocket, and excellent carry. The ball will not work well on dry or flooded lanes, but can be tuned to work on everything else. I liked the original Nighthawk, but the Menace is even better.
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You will not see me on the PBA Tour, but I love the game!!!
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well. all i can say is that this ball is just as consistant as my nighthawk. only difference is that it has a more agressive coverstock. the performance is just as good. mine is 15 lb with a 3 in pin. my drilling pattern is ur basic 4x2. the pin is set right of my ring finger, CG kicked out, with a balance hole on my PAP. i dulled this ball down with white scotch brite, and finished with clean and dull. i did this so i can use it where i bowl. they dress the lanes 34' i believe, but they don't strip the back ends, so there's usually a lot of carry down. my storm eraser and black thunder (both polished & both with strong drilling patterns)couldn't do anything on this pattern, got lots of inconsistent reads which made it hard to make adjustments. though im finding that the 2 houses i bowl at don't use a lot of oil during the day (lots of senior bowlers (leagues) in the am), the shot is usually 32-38ft, with or without carrydown. on this day, i was able to play down 10 and the ball rolled true and hit the pins solidly. it doesn't leave too many 10 pins, and you can make quick adjustments without having to wonder what the ball will do. the coverstock is very tweakable. polished or dull, you can use it on a variety of lane conditions. the power ring core is a great match with the coverstock, which is a particle. you can use it as a bench mark ball, and it compliments the other nighthawk balls great. If you can find one, get it. oh. im new to this posting stuff, so if you find my review vague or you just can't simply understand it, let me know, and i'll work on it. thanks..