BRK Ghost Review

[Franklink]

Quick question.. Does the Ghost use a Plenum, and if so how big is it. Its not mentioned in the specs on teh rifle that I could see.

Mike

Yes, the plenum is the length of the chassis.
The regulator is up at the front of the frame, and the valve is opposite (rear of frame) everything in between is regulated air (plenum). Essentially a cylinder/tunnel probably about 3/4" in diameter and maybe 12-14" long? Just guessing on those dimensions so don't consider that hard facts.

For some reason 80ccs is coming to mind as the plenum size, but I'm not positive on that volume.


I just tried to find a solid number and AOA lists it as exactly one metric "massive" in their listing. Lol

Brocock BRK Ghost .25 HP Black: Airguns of Arizona

 

[Franklink]

Revisiting the GHOST...
Swapped scopes, after nearly two years.

The .20 Ghost has mostly been relegated to prairie dog pesting duty this summer. I had it out a handful of times throughout the summer. Each time it simply did what the Ghost does, puts slugs/pellets on target.

I was recently playing with a .20 cal AirForce Condor and that gun got me converted the idea of the PARD DS35-70RF. It was a hard sell for me, as I typically prefer old school. In this case, a solid Athlon Midas Tac 6-24, conventional glass scope, no electronics. The Ghost in fact has had a Midas Tac on it for nearly two years. Up til today.

I sold the .20 Condor and pulled the Midas Tac off the Ghost, and put the PARD on the Ghost. The PARD is an electronic scope, which means image quality isn't even close to the Midas Tac. Where the PARD shines though, is that it has a built in laser rangefinder, and a ballistics app. So, range the target, click for the ballistics program to give you the holdover, and boom, pellet (or slug) on target. AND it can video all of that.

So, PARD on the Ghost....

The scope mounting situation is frankenstein-esque to say the least. Yep, I pulled the BRK OEM scope riser. This was partly for correct scope height/placement, but mostly b/c the PARD was already in those rings, AND on that pic rail from the gun it was coming off. The PARD nearly requires adjustable mounts, so I knew I needed to stick with the rings it was already in. SO, it's got dovetail rings, attached to dovetail to pic adapters, which are attached to the pic rail, which is attached to the dovetail rail of the Ghost. lol, definitely took the long way to go from dovetail rings to dovetail rail, but eye placement wouldn't have worked if I omitted the combinations of contraptions in between them.

I spent about 10 minutes zeroing the .20/18.9grain NSA slugs at 30 yards and plugging the ballistics info in.
Same deal for zeroing the .20/15.89JSB pellets. Same speeds as before, the slugs are going about 910fps, and the pellets are going 925fps. MAX on the wheel for the slugs for that speed and "5" for the pellets to go that speed.

After the data input, decided to test out the predicted trajectory to actual on the steel in my backyard. So, we've got roughly 130, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50 yards on this little video. I tweaked the data slightly (had to bump up the BC from 0.09 to 0.1 for the slugs to track correctly). But the pellets were spot on with a BC of 0.046.

This little vid is the slugs. All one take, no editing. And yeah, the wind was rocking pretty good (check out the foliage. I missed one of the paddles at maybe 70? yards. Just didn't hold enough for the wind.

Despite the wind, I was too excited for the PARD on the Ghost and spent about 90 minutes in a prairie dog town after the above trajectory verification. I've got some good raw footage and will try to get it edited down to a palatable length vid. If I can find some time for that I'll add it here as well.

Here's a small clip of one kill shot on a pdog from today...

 

[L.Leon]

Great shot on that prairie dog…

 

[Franklink]

Great shot on that prairie dog…

They don't always drop and twitch like that. Seems to take a spine or head shot for that.

Much more frequently with the .20 slugs is that they'll run about 20feet and then flop over dead. It reminds me of a solid vitals hit on a whitetail deer with a broadhead.

 

[Arzrover]

Nice shooting and interesting view !!

 

[Franklink]

Nice shooting and interesting view !!

Thanks.
If you're referencing the motor in the background the grainy photo makes it look like it may be something valuable that shouldn't get shot. In reality that motor has been laying there for at least 4 years that I personally know of. Up close it looks like it's been laying there 2 or more decades.

 

[Arzrover]

No... I was just referring to the scope ranging and suggestions...

Watcha gonna make with that motor?

 

[Franklink]

No... I was just referring to the scope ranging and suggestions...

Watcha gonna make with that motor?

Lol, bout the only use I could see anybody getting out of that thing is to drop it into a wash to slow down erosion.

The PARD is interesting. It's definitely giving up image quality to a lensed scope. And for some reason in bright sun like that it washes out and is yellowish. The video from my back yard was taken from the shade of my porch and color is more accurate. The combination of scope and rangefinder and ballistics app (and to a lesser extent camera as well) into one unit makes it perfect for pesting like this. Normally I'd range with a separate lrf, consult my dope sheet or Strelok App, and then hold over or dial. So the PARD allows for quicker shots on these long range bombs that are so often the reality when pesting pdogs.

It is somewhat funky how the crosshairs aren't the aiming point when ranging with the laser. Until I learned that it's ranging whatever the little square is landing on (not crosshairs) I struggled to get accurate ballistics solutions. It was a turning point with the PARD when somebody here on AGN told me the laser's "splash" is NOT lined up the crosshairs.

So, with the Ghost and the 18.9gr NSA slugs becoming my go-to for prairie dogs, just makes sense to have the PARD on there. In contrast, if the slug slinging Ghost needs to be brought up for an Ultimate Field Target match, I think I'll go back to the Midas Tac.

 

[bowwild]

Ordered Ghost Plus .22 yesterday.

 

[Franklink]

Ordered Ghost Plus .22 yesterday.

If it gives you even a small slice of the enjoyment and fun that I've had with mine I think you'll be quite pleased.

 

[bowwild]

Thanks. I found this thread very useful as I was trying to decide between: FX M4, Western Sidewinder, and the BRK Ghost.

I'm wondering if down the road I can change some items and make this .22 Plus a .25 HP? I know barrel switches are quite possible, I just don't know if there is anything about the Carbine or Plus that makes a .25 barrel and larger bottle possible?

I was torn for a few weeks trying to decide between .25 HP and Plus at .22. I have a Taipan Veteran 2 in .25 and I wanted a shorter rifle in the Ghost.

 

[Franklink]

Yep, barrel kit makes your .22 Plus a .25 HP. And probably a heavier hammer spring. (I think the Plus already has a 480cc bottle).

As far as I know, same valve in all the versions of the current production Ghosts. At least here in the US.
Not sure how they get it down to 12fpe in the UK, but could be a different valve.

I've got a .177, .20 and .22 HP barrel, and 300 and 480cc bottles. I've been meaning to take a photo with all three barrels as a sort of size comparison, just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[bowwild]

Thanks!

 

[cavedweller]

Ordered Ghost Plus .22 yesterday.

Great choice!
One gun and .177, .22, .25, .30 caliber all possible! 10 minutes to change… check out the thread “ghost collaborative data request”.
Buy a spring kit from AOA!
Barrel kits can run $570.00 new depending on type. Used $ $350 if you are lucky.
Check out PRS accessories in the UK

 

[PowderBurnt]

I can't find the slug barrel anywhere. Is it part of the secret menu?

 

[Franklink]

I can't find the slug barrel anywhere. Is it part of the secret menu?

Kinda. My .20 is a one off. It just happens to be incredible with slugs.

There's all this talk of slug specific barrels but this .20 is a standard 12 groove lothar with the typical 1:17.7 twist rate that they've been using for years. Heck, it's even choked!

Supposedly Daystate has been working on producing slug specific barrels for s couple years now. I have no idea where they're at there or even what that constitutes.

 

[cavedweller]

I can't find the slug barrel anywhere. Is it part of the secret menu?

I don’t know of a slug specific factory barrel for the ghost, custom made?

 

[PowderBurnt]

I don’t know of a slug specific factory barrel for the ghost, custom made?

Mainly my own ignorance. I've been told not to shoot slugs out of a choked barrel, and I'm assuming the Ghost has a choked barrel.

 

[Franklink]

Mainly my own ignorance. I've been told not to shoot slugs out of a choked barrel, and I'm assuming the Ghost has a choked barrel.

Yes, the factory Ghost barrels that I've played with have been choked.

 

[Franklink]

Stayed up late and got the footage cleaned up.

Skip this one completely if you're a critter lover. While some might consider them cute, these dudes are serious pests for the farmers. I've yet to be turned down when asking permission to shoot them on various properties. All up and down the little farming community where I live I've got people that have given me permission. Many of them I initiated, but some of them actually reached out to me, friend of a friend, etc.

Anyway, the wind was pretty stout this day. In the past, windy days like this would not have been a day I attempted getting after the pdogs, but these slugs make it not only possible, but quite successful.

Most shots felt like they were in the 70-125 yard range. What I included in the video are the cleanest kills from about 2hrs of shooting. I left in some misses. I also left in some hail mary's in the 215-220 yard range. Although even those hail mary's were just this close from connecting. The farthest obvious hit was at 169 yards, towards the end of the video, it was almost a double. There's also a solid 165 yard shot (death dance). The hold off for the wind was pretty evident on some of these, even with a 0.09-0.1BC slug.

If you're just joining in, these are the .20/18.9grain NSA slugs at 910fps from the Ghost. That makes it just shy of 35fpe.

As noted a few posts back, even on the far shots these slugs zip right through the prairie dogs. With a good clean vitals shot they often run 20 or so feet and then flop over dead. I left a couple of those in the video too.

It's also interesting to watch the dust splash after one of these slugs goes through a dog. They often change directions quite drastically, deflection off spine/skull is what I figure.

Anyway, just an example of what this Ghost is capable of when a slug/barrel jives really well. And also an example of how less is often more, specifically when it comes to fpe from airguns. I have a 50-52fpe airgun and rarely shoot it. The Ghost and the .20 NSA slugs are my long range airgun solution. I don't want nor need any more power than this.