Ball NPS Score: Not Available
Coverstock: R2Sâ„¢ Solid Reactive
Weight Block: Twin Vâ„¢
Ball Color: Purple/Sapphire Blue All colors do vary somewhat from the picture shown.
Ball Finish: 1500-Grit Polished
RG Differential: 0.055 (Med-High Flare) on a scale of .000-.080 Low Flare-High Flare
RG Average: 2.53 (Med-Low) on a scale of 2.43-2.80 Very Low-High Break Point
Recommended Lane Conditions: Medium Oil

Ok.  I said I would get back to you on this new Rapid fire so here goes.
I was really excited about this piece combined with this layout because my new T-Road Pearl (with flare hole) has just been taking off too early for playing a more direct line.  After only a few days I am here to report my initial observations on how it has been working for me.

Details on new ball:
Rapid Fire: Drilled.  15lbs.  Pin under fingers between middle and ring finger, CG above thumb no flare hole

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Practice on Sunday ¡V Lane Man Laid League shot down for me- 37 ft inverted pattern (Dry in the middle oil on the outside).  Characteristics..Stay in the track area.  Need to watch your speed and revs.  The ball will definitely check up early if you get into it good.  Can't tug it or it will go brooklyn, Can't move too far left because you will be swinging over the dry middle part of the lane.

Found out Sunday what I should have really been doing on my Friday night league.  Flattend wrist quite a bit (about 20 degress perpindicular to forearm down from about 70 degrees), played 14-10-5 instead of 20-15-7, stayed behind the ball more instead of side roll, squared shoulders.  This allowed me to get ball speeds up from 16-17 to 18-19.  Brought my target on the lane closer near the arrows.  What happened next was amazing!  I was getting out of the ball much more smoothly and consistently.  The rapid fire cleared the front part of the lane beautifully right through the target line, you could see it turning its engine and gripping in the midlane just past the arrows and at around 37-40 feet it would make a nice predictable and heavy move to the pocket-more sideways moving than angular for me.  Not as angular as I anticipated.  If I were to rate it on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highly angular) I would probably have to give it a 7-7.5 with this particular layout.   That's ok, becuase that's what I was looking for here. Something that was going to burn off a small fraction of energy, but not grip, in the midlane so I wouldn¡¦t have that slingshot reaction on the back.   That slingshot reaction has been causing me tons of problems during my slump.  However, I was worried that the descreased angle and loss of energy would affect my carry, sort of a catch 22 situation.  After I strung a turkey or hambone together I started getting really comfortable with my wrist position which was good because I haven't bowled with a flattened wrist in a while (just like riding a bike you know).  When I threw the ball I could read the path it was going to take to the pocket, I could point to the spot on the lane where the ball started revving, then I could point to the spot where it was going to make its move left, no suprises.  The ball never grabbed early, if anything I did experience it sliding a touch farther on a couple shots coming into the pocket a little light, but that¡¦s ok, was a rare occasion and I always favor a light mixer over a through the noser.  Once my ball hit the break I can only explain it as smooth sideways tranistion and a bit milder than a T-Road Pearl (with the same layout) , however it appeared to be a more forgiving on non flush shots.  Let me say this, I've been bowling for 24 years and don't think I have ever owned a ball that carried this well playing this line.  It hit very heavy.  With my Rapid Fire, light hits would scramble the pins all around, half pocket hits would take out ten pins, 7-10 splits, 5 pins you name it.  I was throwing wood even.  Heck, I was throwing pins everywhere. Again, half pockets hits no problem, light hits, no problem, barely touching the head pin, no problem.  Even got a couple of those half pocket hits where the deck would just split in half like the parting of the red sea.  Flush hits would keep pins low and nothing stood a chance.  For 4 games I think I left a total of 2- ten pins and 1- 9 pin.  I don't think I have ever seen a ball carry like this playing this line into the pocket. The thing I really like about playing this line with this ball and layout is not only do I have much more accuracy and consistent speed, than trying to swing the lane, but I have the carry to go along with it.   This tells me that the ball is revving up nicely in the midlane and has still has a ton of energy in it's roll through the pocket (the part we don't see).  I'm not sure you can say you have a lot of room out there when you are not swinging it, but playing it the way I did all I needed to do was touch the head pin to carry as opposed to having to dial it in flush. Anyway, not that it matters (198,251,279,267)..Believe me that's all carry right there ļ  Oh, and as a side note, I haven't shot over 660 during my 8 week slump.


Comparisons

Comparing My T-Road Pearl's to my Rapid Fire¡K

Playing around 14-10-5 wrist around 30 degress perp to forearm.  18-19mph
T-Road Pearl #1..Drilled (same as rapid fire)
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My original T-Road Pearl with this layout combo was my favorite storm ball of all time.  It went about 2 feet longer then my rapid fire had an angular breakpoint shape of about 8-8.5 (on a scale of 1-10) as opposed to the (7-7.5) for the rapid and brought a lot of energy to the pocket. Comparable in overall hook potential, however I would say the T-Road pearl got about 1-2 boards more when the back ends were clean.  However, carry down caused my pin carry to go down dramatically and the ball would squirt more.  The big difference here is that my rapid fire can be used just as effectively on the fresh as my original T-Road pearl and can be used when there is some transitional carry down.   The carry I have experienced thus far is superior to the T-Road Pearl.  It's just plain out more versatile for me playing this line

Playing around 14-10-5 wrist around 30 degress perp to forearm.  18-19mph
T-Road Pearl #2..Drilled.  Pin above ring finer CG kicked out to the right with a flare increasing hole to the right.
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My current T-Road pearl with this layout combo is my least favorite storm ball of all time.  It starts up about 2 feet sooner then my rapid fire, has an angular breakpoint shape of about 9 (on scale of 1-10) and just hooks like crazy, most of the times too much.  Carry down doesn't affect it too much because it starts going earlier in the midlane, but the problems arise from the dry boards in the midlane, this things just takes off when it hits them.  I am getting about 4-5 more boards hook with this T-Road Pearl layout over my rapid fire.  This T-Road pearl is not an option for me on this line.


Playing around 14-10-5 wrist around 30 degress perp to forearm.  18-19mph
Special Agent ..Drilled.  Pin above ring finer small flare hole above finger to the right
, light polish
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Keep in mind I have about 50 games on my Special. To be honest I get pretty similar length with my current Special and my Rapid fire.  The biggest difference I'm noticing is my breakpoint shape and total over all hook.  Oddly enough, with this layout and light polish I would give the special a breakpoint shape of 8 as opposed to the (7-7.5) of the Rapid with overall hook of the Special being about 2-3 more boards total on this condition. The numbers may not say it but a lightly polished Special with a little flare hole above and to the right of fingers give it some good length and angularity.   I'm thinking that the Special will be the Perfect; I mean perfect solution to switch to when my Rapid is just struggling to give me enough energy and angle to carry.  I am really excited about seeing if my hypothesis is correct.

My conclusion¡KIf you are looking for piece to put a low flare drilling on for playing a straight up shot that will give you enough midlane revs, without grabbing too early, a predictable break with a heavy semi angular transition into the pocket, and here's the thing, with a carry percentage you wouldn't think possible then this is the ball for you.  Just envision Norm Duke playing straight up with the spit fire and having a much higher carry percentage on those hits that aren't exactly high flush!  I am really excited about bringing this to some of the tougher conditions on the American Masters Bowling Tour and some tournaments so I can play straighter up on the flatter patterns.  With this ball and layout I can get it through the flatter fronts without biting early and I can go straighter with, here's the thing that is exciting, more consistency and pin carry

got a few games on this now and i must say it is quickly becoming my go to ball its a combination of two of storms best balls the special agent cover and the fire up weightblock. ball clears the heads with ease and has a surprising amount of punch on the back end couple times i missed out and the ball just rolled right back to the pocket, hits and drives the pins off the deck good a few more 9 pins due to the hard drive but hey better than a 10 pin

RAPID FIRE...

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(House Shot 41 ft.)

This ball is extremely strong. Good length with incredible traxtion on the backend. Great complement on the Spit Fire and/or Fired up. Good 2 ball arsenal. Need at least Medium Oil and could definatly handle heavy oil.
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John Patrick

this is a update have close to 200 games on my rapid fire now the ball hasn't lost a bit of movement. ball works on any condition dry it clears the heads and has a nice move to the pocket, med. nice smooth roll to the pockets, slick or carrydown bump my feet right and play it up the boards. having drilled way to many balls for myself this season trying to layouts and brands i went with what fits my game the best. this is in my opinion the smoothest and most predictable ball I've ever thrown and I've tried alot. this ball will find a spot in anyones arsenal crankers, strokers, tweaner everyone

rev rate: 400+ rpm
PAP: 4 7/8 over 7/16 up

I drilled my first rapid fire with the pin 5 1/2 from my PAP at 50 deg with the weight hole through the cg 5 1/2 over. This ball is simply amazing. This layout combined with this core and cover combination allowed my ball to get down the lane without spending nearly any energy and when it got to the breakpoint it was like someone kicked the ball at the pins. The twin V core from the fired up allowed my ball to start getting into a strong roll while the polished R2S cover got my ball to have a strong change of direction without skidding too far down the lane. This core and cover combo is amazing, the ball gets such a good read without burning up any energy and never did my ball miss the breakpoint.

The second rapid fire i drilled also with the pin 5 1/2 from my PAP at 50 deg but this one i placed the pin under my middle finger and put my weight hole 2" down from my PAP and an 1 1/2 past my VAL then i brought the cover down to 4000 abralon. This ball got into a much quicker roll than the first one and was much more arching. By bringing the surface down i was able to get a read off the ball that was much more predictable and more even down the lane while the flare increasing weight hole allowed my ball to still make a strong change of direction to the pocket. When polished back to the box finish the ball had a little more skid but was still much more arching than the first Rapid fire.

With both balls carry percentage was phenominal as almost no 10 pins stood up and if they did there was a messenger searching for it. The R2S cover gave both of these balls a great read without sacrificing power or predictability.

This ball if a definate winner from Storm.

Storm Rapid Fire
With the muscular Twin V core (from the Fired Up, Diablo, Pyro) wrapped in a solid R2S Cover (from the Special Agent), I was expecting a strong piece. I sure got that in the Rapid Fire.

My Specs
I’m a RH cranker. 450+ RPM. PAP is 4½ across and 3/4 up. Ball speed is medium high at 18 mph.

LAYOUT
The ball in question had 3.3oz Top Weight and a 3½" pin. My Rapid Fire is laid out in a long, control drilling. Pin was laid out 5 5/8" from the PAP with a 2¼ Pin to PAL Buffer, MB 4½" from the PAP. PBA fans will see Ryan Shafer and Chris Barnes often throw similar layouts when using strong balls. A photo is attached.

Precision layout and drilling were carried out at Bowler’s Edge in Canberra, Australia. www.bowlersedge.com.au.

COVER
The cover stock is factory polished R2S Solid. It’s got some serious energy retention and release. This gets the ball through the heads easily and (as always) R2S reads the midlane with firm control. Previous R2S releases have responded well to cover adjustments, so I would expect the Rapid Fire to behave similarly. The colour is Purple and Sapphire Blue. The grape scent is much milder than the Pyro which it was last used in.

REACTION
I've bowled this piece twice now on Brunswick Anvilane with a fairly easy 43ft tournament pattern. Here's how it went.

This ball is very clean through the heads, makes a positive midlane read, and then a big move left. I’ve punched it out for tournament conditions, but it made the 43 ft pattern look pretty short from a variety of angles. I had to trust the Rapid Fire from angles that nothing else would recover from. When I did trust it, it repaid me with amazing recovery. There were quite a few “Did that really get back from there..?” moments.

When the pattern broke down and other balls became too touchy, the Rapid Fire allowed me to move in to the big oil, hook the ball more and really open up the lane. I'm learning to tame it and am thinking another with a weaker layout would be a nice pair.

CARRY
The Rapid Fire’s pin carry is WOW. The ball blew some big racks and some atomic messengers. It’s got that noisy R2S “Ker-runch!” in the pocket. When recovering from the big angles this ball generates, I was expecting a lot more 10 pins than I got. I played with different angles and it carried well from all over the lane. >From outside 5 to inside 20, it still got the corners out convincingly at Tuggeranong, a house notorious for standing them up, even when skating what I considered to be too far.

SUMMARY
The Rapid Fire is solid muscle. This ball will clear the front of the lanes easily with a bunch of pop in the backend for great pin action. The R2S cover can be readily tweaked with sanding or polish for fine tuning. And while I wouldn’t recommend it for use on dry lanes, it’s great ball for anyone looking for some extra boards of hook.

Jason Doust
Storm/Vise Australia
Amateur Staff
www.bowlersedge.com.au

Drilled:  5" pin to pap, just above fingers, 7/8 hole 2 1/2" deep on axis.
cover is slightly polished.

First tested this ball on a fresh house pattern.  The rapid fire displayed all the characteristics that I like about storm equipment on a THS. The ball was clean through the front and mid part of the lane, but also had a strong continuous motion on the backend.  The backend motion was not overly sharp compared to storm balls that I have used in the past, but very strong.  

Good length with the continuous motion on the backend made reading and adjusting to the lane pattern very easy.

I also had a chance to use the RF solid on cheetah PBA experience pattern left over from the previous night.  The lanes were pretty chopped up, but the ball was very controllable from the outside angles.  Being so clean in the front and mid lanes allowed me to keep the speed at a comfortable pace.

For me this ball is definatley not a hook monster that covers alot of boards, it is a solid inexpensive ball that can be used and controlled from all parts of the lane and angles.  I find this to be very important on most tournament and league conditions today.

I believe this ball incorporates the Twin V core previously used in the diablo and fired up.  I had alot of success with this core in the past and I like what I see in this ball.

This is my first storm ball in a couple years, and I would like to thank local Storm staffer TJ Calara for setting me up with the ball and Rich Huzina at Strikez proshop for the advice.