Predator Shafts on Custom Cue?

[billiardcue]

Thanks guys. I LOVE the way my Blue Grass plays but occasionally I miss shots due to adjusting for deflection. I don't like the hit of a pred cue, and you all seem rather divided about if the hit would change depending on the joint and back half of the cue?
Still on the fence.
will

Richard Harris makes a fantistic playing cue, I've had about 30 of them. He doesn't have an eight year back log because his cues are the prettiest but because of the playability.

Replacing the shaft with a Predator or any other after market shaft will change things entirely.

Predator shafts do exactly what they are represented to do, decrease deflection on shots with side english, this is purely physics. When a cue ball is struck off center (left or right) something has to give. The hollow in the Predator shaft lightens the end of the shaft causing it to move away from the cue ball as opposed to the cue ball deflecting away from a heavier shaft.

Other factors you can change to decrease deflection are:

1. Hit the cue ball closer to center, many of today's players use way to much side spin. I wasn't there but I would bet the day Willie Mosconi ran 536 balls he never used more than a half tip of english and wouldn't have run 537 or more if he was using a Predator shaft.

2. Lengthen your bridge, the further the pivot point the easier it is for the cue to move away from the cue ball.

3. Stroke don't poke.

I play with an ivory jointed Barry Szamboti that is pure sweetness, have been playing with it for ten years so I believe I am used to the cue's characteristics. About five years ago I had a Predator shaft made for it using the same Moori tip that is on the other four Barry shafts that I have for this cue. Simply horrendous is a definition that fits the feel of this great cue when used with the Predator shaft. I screw it on about every six months to see if with age it improves like fine wine or women, no change.

I reiterate, Predator shafts do what they are advertised to do but at the expense of feel, they don't tell you that in their ads.

Me personally I can't play with a cue that I don't like the feel or the sound and because of my chosen profession I've played or hit balls with everything imaginable.

This is just my personal opinion, I may be wrong.

 

[SCCues]

If you like the hit of a Bluegrass cue with the original shaft, you will like the hit with a Predator shaft.

I'd disagree with that.
Two different shafts here altogether.
BG shaft is built to have a stiff hit and more feedback to the griphand ( harder ferrule and conical taper ).
Pred has a long barrel "taper" and soft ferrule with hollowed front.
ENTIRELY different hit and feel.

That's a great observation. The hit of a predator is nothing like a Bluegrass firm hitting shaft. Predator shafts are designed to give a little on contact with the cue ball to help stop deflection.

I play with predator shafts on my custom cue and I like them a lot. I'm so used to the predator hit that it's hard for me to play with a regular shaft now just like it took some time to get used to the predator hit when I first started using them.

James

 

[poolplayer2093]

Thanks guys. I LOVE the way my Blue Grass plays but occasionally I miss shots due to adjusting for deflection. I don't like the hit of a pred cue, and you all seem rather divided about if the hit would change depending on the joint and back half of the cue?
Still on the fence.
will

if you do make the change you'll end up missing shots for adjusting for deflection that isn't there