This is the beauty of the Impact...

Hello AGN:

About this time last year, I ordered two new Impact M3's: 1) a 500mm 0.25 in bronze and 2) a 600mm 0.22 in black. I ditched 0.22 pellets a number of years ago and went exclusively to 0.25 because I really only shoot ground squirrels in my yard. But with all the buzz around slugs, I put a 0.22 slug liner in the 600mm and set out to make myself a slugger. After a little bit of tinkering, I got the 0.22 to shoot the NSA 218 24.8g slugs really well. In the process, I put just about every accessory I wanted on each rifle and ended up with the following pair:

Impact Screws Latest1.jpg
Impact Screws Latest2.jpg


The sad news was once I got the 0.22 slugger set it and sighted in, I hardly ever shot it after that. The main reason was that I don't really need slugs for my normal use - but the other big factor was that this black beast weighed a ton and was very cumbersome in this configuration with the fancy butt pad, bigger 580cc bottle, long rail and larger moderator.

This Fall, just as boredom with my current rifles kicks in and I start thinking about buying a new gun like the BRK Ghost, I wanted to see if I could reinvent the 0.22 into something that I'd actually use. After many days of religiously scouring the Classifieds, a few FB messages to DonnyFL and then several more days of tirelessly refreshing all the tracking numbers, I had everything needed for the makeover. Back are the factory buttpad, smaller 300cc bottle and Tatsu LDC. Replaced the scope rail and trigger guard and went with a 0.22 500mm Superior liner setup w/ CF barrel tuner. Twisted a few knobs, turned a couple of dials and I've now got this compact little beauty shooting 0.22 JSB 18.13g pellets at 880fps very accurately with minimal effort. It's quieter, uses less air, costs less for ammo . . . and still plenty strong enough to take out its first squirrel this morning with a one shot DRT kill from about 40yds away. And..it's way lighter and so much easier to maneuver!

So with a few very easy changes, I've converted a little used rifle into one that might be my new go-to backyard gun! It's like I have a new gun and (for now) no longer have the itch to drop $2,000 on a new Ghost. I love the versatility and flexibility of the Impact platform . . . here's what they look like as of today:

impacts oct30b.jpg
impacts oct30a.jpg

impacts oct22c.jpg
 
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Yen, you nailed it!!!
Nice transformation to a gun you can use on a platform your familiar with.
I have transformed my MKII and M3 into the same platform as well and love it!!!
Having multiple platform combinations to, just on a whim, go, "I want a 600mm .25" or a "700mm .177", on this or that platform, in mere minutes, is a fantastic option to have.
...The BRK is of interest though 🤔

Patrick

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They really do look great. I too love the Impact.

Like you I have 2 M3s. One is set up as a .30 Powehouse (700mm barrel, 700cc bottle, big, heavy Crimson Trace 5-25 scope) while the other is a .25 which started off with a 600mm barrel and 480cc bottle. It now sports a 700mm barrel and 580cc bottle. I’ve been thinking about going back to 500mm barrel compact with a 480cc bottle on the .25, but that will duplicate what i have in my Wildcat MK III BT so i may just opt to change to a .22 Sniper for now.

What’s really great is the ability to basically have a New Gun whenever the urge strikes, without having to drop big bucks each time.
 
Very nice transformation of your Impact to something smaller and more versatile… But you know you want that BRK Ghost. Can’t wait for some Impact owners such as yourself to own both and do a comparison. Not a which is better deal? Just user impressions is all…
@L.Leon - I know you love you some Brocock but I'm going to keep telling myself that I'm not going to buy the Ghost this year. I had that Sniper Magnum HR briefly and that issue with the fill valve left a bad taste in my mouth. I know the Ghost is a totally different animal but it would be a nearly identical duplicate of this 500mm Compact setup. I'll probably end up with a Ghost sooner or later just to satisfy my curiosity but I'm in no rush to get one.

Yen, you nailed it!!!
Nice transformation to a gun you can use on a platform your familiar with.
I have transformed my MKII and M3 into the same platform as well and love it!!!
Having multiple platform combinations to, just on a whim, go, "I want a 600mm .25" or a "700mm .177", on this or that platform, in mere minutes, is a fantastic option to have.
...The BRK is of interest though 🤔

Patrick

View attachment 299982

Patrick - nice setup! I remember going away from the 300cc / 500mm setup when I got these rifles last year because I thought it would be a hassle having to refill the gun all the time. But in that previous heavy setup, I was never shooting it anyways so I was NEVER refilling anything. And under normal use, I'll probably put my crosshairs on a reticle only a couple of times a month so even with the smaller bottle, I won't be filling it much either since I don't shoot a high volume of shots. It so much more enjoyable in the shorter, lighter setup!

Those look great Yennie!

Thank you, "Mr. Impact"! ;)
 
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They really do look great. I too love the Impact.

Like you I have 2 M3s. One is set up as a .30 Powehouse (700mm barrel, 700cc bottle, big, heavy Crimson Trace 5-25 scope) while the other is a .25 which started off with a 600mm barrel and 480cc bottle. It now sports a 700mm barrel and 580cc bottle. I’ve been thinking about going back to 500mm barrel compact with a 480cc bottle on the .25, but that will duplicate what i have in my Wildcat MK III BT so i may just opt to change to a .22 Sniper for now.

What’s really great is the ability to basically have a New Gun whenever the urge strikes, without having to drop big bucks each time.

Yessir, that's the key right there! So many possibilities with these Impacts. I can now truly and finally enjoy this black rifle almost a year after first buying it!
 
@L.Leon - I know you love you some Brocock but I'm going to keep telling myself that I'm not going to buy the Ghost this year. I had that Sniper Magnum HR briefly and that issue with the fill valve left a bad taste in my mouth. I know the Ghost is a totally different animal but it would be a nearly identical duplicate of this 500mm Compact setup. I'll probably end up with a Ghost sooner or later just to satisfy my curiosity but I'm in no rush to get one.



Patrick - nice setup! I remember going away from the 300cc / 500mm setup when I got these rifles last year because I thought it would be a hassle having to refill the gun all the time. But in that previous heavy setup, I was never shooting it anyways so I was NEVER refilling anything. And under normal use, I'll probably put my crosshairs on a reticle only a couple of times a month so even with the smaller bottle, I won't be filling it much either since I don't shoot a high volume of shots. It so much more enjoyable in the shorter, lighter setup!



Thank you, "Mr. Impact"! ;)
Yes I do love my Brococks😉😊. The BRK Ghost is ”not“ the Bantam HR and you know that. It is a mechanical version of the Delta Wolf, so the Ghost is a different PCP altogether. Looking forward to your posts about your Ghost.🤓
 
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Yen, you nailed it!!!
Nice transformation to a gun you can use on a platform your familiar with.
I have transformed my MKII and M3 into the same platform as well and love it!!!
Having multiple platform combinations to, just on a whim, go, "I want a 600mm .25" or a "700mm .177", on this or that platform, in mere minutes, is a fantastic option to have.
...The BRK is of interest though 🤔

Patrick

View attachment 299982
Patrick, show some love to that MK2 and dress him up with some new school clothes, like it’s own BB rail. He appears jealous of the M3!
 
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@ Yen- I have a list of a few impact owners that I follow, just for the pure joy of seeing how they outfit their platforms in color schemes and aftermarket combinations and for sure you’re in the top three of that list. Your impacts have always been ones to drool over. Nice job!

I totally get what your feeling at the moment, to take a platform you’ve had for awhile and make it seem brand new again. I’m going thru that currently just from testing results. It’s a beautiful thing to be content with what you have and not have to fork out $$$ to scratch that itch
 
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@ Yen- I have a list of a few impact owners that I follow, just for the pure joy of seeing how they outfit their platforms in color schemes and aftermarket combinations and for sure you’re in the top three of that list. Your impacts have always been ones to drool over. Nice job!

I totally get what your feeling at the moment, to take a platform you’ve had for awhile and make it seem brand new again. I’m going thru that currently just from testing results. It’s a beautiful thing to be content with what you have and not have to fork out $$$ to scratch that itch
Thank you, Augie...that's high praise coming from you!
 
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While I’ve owned 2 impacts, and was never able to get into them, I own a maverick in compact form that I have a lot of fun shooting .25 in. I have a .30 barrel I might try soon to make it something else. With most new fx platforms, a lot of parts are interchangeable, and now I have a maverick, dreamline, and crown, I can interchange barrels as well as magazines to make them something different. That’s the fun of owning the fx platform.
 
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Got the last couple of accessories in and installed so updated the pics in the original post above to reflect the current setup. Got some of the new smaller 25mm Sekhmet gauges but have been having a very hard time getting them installed without leaks so still tweaking those. Other than that, I'm very happy with these changes and think this is how my M3's will stay for the foreseeable future.
 
Yen, Very nice rigs! I noticed the Nightforce on one of your M3's then in the later photo you have the Nexus installed. How do they compare? Im a bit of a glass snob and always liked the NF for clarity. So Ive been afraid to move away from what I know, would you say the Nexus is on par with the NF?

Good question...a year or two ago, I ventured into the nicer scope territory because I ran out of things (at that time) to buy for this hobby. For my eyes and normal use, I just can't really tell the difference between a $3,000 scope and a $1,000 scope. The Nightforce certainly was nice (as were the March scopes) but was it 2x-3x nicer than anything else I had? I really couldn't tell. The Nexus is also nice for a street/second hand price of about $1,100-$1,200 but I have also thrown it on the Classifieds because I don't think I need that much scope.

Of all the scopes I've owned, my current all time favorite is the Hawke Frontier FFP #18540 5-25x56 30mm. To my eyes, it's just as clear as anything I've ever looked through and it's very lightweight (24.8oz/698g) compared to other similar scopes. And I love the super clean illuminated Mil-Pro reticle on it as well. You can find these for around $650-$700 on the Classifieds and they're impossible to beat at that price.

I just got its bigger brother in the 18641 5-30x56 34mm FFP and it's also really nice but it's the MOA Pro reticle, which I don't like as much. I'm looking for a decent deal for the MIL Pro version #1840 and will get that whenever it presents itself. For anyone wanting a great scope at 1/3rd or 1/4th the cost of NightForce or March, these Hawke Frontiers are legit.
 
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