Columbia 300 Beast Bowling Ball

I really REALLY wanted to like this ball. It seemed like a great addition to the bag as a mild 14lb ball for when the lanes were dry or got too tired to deliver a heavier ball. I expected this to be similar to my old 14lbs Spirit Reactive, but it just doesn't pound the pocket as hard. It can strike, but doesn't have a hard commanding hit. More often than not I'm left with a 7 count or worse. This is probably better suited as a spare ball at this weight. Maybe the 15 or 16lbs versions have more to offer.

One the most consistent balls that I've ever owned. I've had 3 of them, 2 were stolen. Always has been a strong hitting ball, I could use it on basically anything light to medium. The 300 came on a pair of lanes that was burnt in the heads in practice. Couldn't get any length from anything else in the bag. I almost took my Beast out of the bag a few weeks ago, it was old and just not working. The layout of negative leverage, plus the dry lanes, worked like magic. I flushed 12 in a row on the worst condition possible. If you have one in your possession, hold onto it. You'll see a condition for it sooner or later. Its a shame that balls like this are discontinued. There's always someone who wants it.

This ball was a real trooper for me! It has lasted over 15 years and still performs in a clinch. It has a true arc that is very predictable and I can use is on almost any lane condition. I've never had it resurfaced and don't even clean it very often. It's seen wood lanes and also synthetic. I had this ball when you used to score by hand and still swear by it. All in all this is the best ball I've ever thrown. I wish I could find a new one! done, done,done,done

Oldy but goodie. i love this ball. this is my dry lane ball. the ball is set up like alot of balls from that era- 0 inch pin in the middle of my span. i played up the 6-7 boards with medium revs and the speed was about 16mph. i find that with this ball, the head oil must be gone in order to get the reaction to be strong. the pattern was 38 feet. oil from gutter to gutter. light oil from 8 to the gutter about 25 feet long. once the oil outside was gone it opened the door for the beast. this ball will never leave my bag. Other equiptment- Big One, Raven Quantum, X-Factor II, Impulse Zone

My bowling buddy GAVE me this ball that was a pro on the pba(not sure who) drilled for a lefty and beleave it or not the span was almost perfict all my pro shop guy had to do was widen the holes and put in inserts.... Any how I tried this ball with several different finishes, wet Sanded to 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, but the one that seemed to work the best for the medium oil and for consistancy that saved the balls energy was 800 grid wet sand and lightly hand pollished with a reactive wax with a see saw bowling towl. The bestway to throw this ball for the carrydown and breakdown is regular speed medum revs and just alittle side rotation, bowled a 258 last game when every one was just making 170's - 180's( yeah I won that night) All in all I like this ball and hay it was free.. can't beat that...expecialy when you win money with it !!!!!

GOOD BALL BECASUE OF THE ROLL AND THE FACT THAT I THREW THE 300 GAME WITH IT, POOR MANUFACTURING BECAUSE IT HAS A CRACK IN THE BALL, CANT USE THE BALL EVER AGAIN:(, AND I AM JUST POINTING OUT, I WILL NEVER, EVER BUY ANOTHER COLUMBIA 300 BALL BECAUSE THE TWO I HAD, CRACKED!!!!!! THE BEAST AND SCOUT REACTIVE. SO I AM JUST POINTING THIS OUT TO ALLLLL POTENTIAL BUYERS. HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AT NESBITS LANE IN PITTSBURGH TO HOPEFULLY WATCH ME GET ANOTHER 300 GAME RING, IF NOT A 800 RING OR EVEN A 900 SERIES RING:)

I have always had a strong like for this ball and jumped at the oppurtunity (sp) to buy this ball at a thrift store for 2.99. the best ball purchase i have ever made. put new inserts and new slug into it and it works like a dream. also had the pro shop put something on it that gave it some static electricity and made it nice and shiny, hooks even more than before and looks almost new too. love this ball, but you just have to know when it is too powerful for your shot. i usually have to swich to and from this ball through out my series, seams weird to say that but my house shot is something fearce

I agree with the other reviewer who said back in the day this ball was the bomb. When I was in college, this was the first and mainly only ball out of the bag. It handled any of the shots the the 8 different alleys I bowled on with ease. Down and in on wet shots, or cranking over third to first on dry all had the same results. nice controllabe movement to the pocket and it carried well... not as well as todays equipment but better than most back then. The surface was easy to work with. It shined up well or dulled up easily it need. I had mine resurface after about 5 years of heavy use and it never returned to form after the resurfacing and is stuck in the closet. I have too many found memories and high 600's / low 700's with this to get rid of it.

This was my favorite ball back in the 90's. I played in an all wood house that would very the oil pattern every day and not in a good way. This ball could handle them all. If it was dry, I could swing this ball from third just outside of second and it had a very nice controlled arc to the pocket. If there was a lot of oil out there, I could take out the scotch brite, dull it up and play more straight up the boards. It didn't carry quite as well, but still hit hard. I shot my best series with this, a 765. Not bad considering it is considered a mid priced ball. I wish I still had it. I don't know what it could do on today's conditions, but I would like to try when the lanes break down. I still occasionaly look for a new one, that's how much I liked this ball.

I have had this ball many years now,but it is still a standard in my arsenal for dry conditions.In fact I shot 300/769 with it in a recent tournament.Its a shame this ball was discontinued because its the type that all styles can find a use for.Mine has the pin above the finger holes with the cg about one inch right of the grip center (high RG strong).Surface prep is 800 grit,then compounded to remove sanding lines and then polished with a wax based slip agent(luster king).Ball doesn't hook or flare enough to get you in trouble on dry conditions.Instead gets through the heads easily on dry for a nice skid / flip reaction saving all its energy for the HIT.Lets face it ...everybody needs a ball for dry lanes especially for longer format tournaments.

Well, to start things out, it was the only ball that I ever owned that I threw a 300 with. The ball was just flowing that day taking everything down in its path. I started out with a polished finish because I felt it was a good way to start. Once I got the feel for the ball and felt it had so much more potential, that is when I decided to rough the surface up a little bit. By doing that, I added much more power behind it because it was entering the pocket at a much better angle and that equaled total destruction of pins. I think this ball is excellent polished or roughed up. Another success from Columbia.