BRK Ghost Review

SpinJ- may I ask what's your .22 carbine slug/pellet of choice is? and your reg and fps setting? Thanks,
I only shoot pellets and have no desire to even entertain the idea of slug shooting, especially in my applications, as it wasn’t the reason I delved into the hobby.

My .22 Ghost Carbine is configured for low-power backyard shooting—at 9 FPE. I shoot both JSB 16-grain and Crosman 14.3-grain Hollowpoint pellets. The hollowpoints are more than sufficient for my backyard shooting sessions,having just 27 yards of maximum range, and shooting at high power levels isn’t just unnecessary, it’s also risky because I’m in a suburban area. So, they are what I shoot the most.

For the reasons above my other PCPs are also set up to produce the same power as that of my Ghost, the setup of which includes a plenum pressure of 45 BAR, which generates 540 FPS (9 FPE), and the hammer spring setting at the #3 mark. Please note that to achieve the current power level I had to swap the original hammer spring for a weaker one. Also, I removed one Belleville washer in the regulator and put in its place a flat washer to retain shot-to-shot consistency and maximize shot count.
 
Last edited:
I only shoot pellets and have no desire to even entertain the idea of slug shooting, especially in my applications, as it wasn’t the reason I delved into the hobby.

My .22 Ghost Carbine is configured for low-power backyard shooting—at 9 FPE. I shoot both JSB 16-grain and Crosman 14.3-grain Hollowpoint pellets. The hollowpoints are more than sufficient for my backyard shooting sessions as I have just 27 yards of maximum range, and shooting at high power levels isn’t just unnecessary, it’s also risky as I’m in a suburban area. So, they are what I shoot the most.

For the reasons above my other PCPs are also set up to produce the same power as that of my Ghost, the setup of which includes a plenum pressure of 45 BAR, which generates 540 FPS (9 FPE), and the hammer spring setting at the #3 mark. Please note that to achieve the current power level I had to swap the original hammer spring for a weaker one. Also, I removed one Belleville washer in the regulator and put in its place a flat washer to retain shot-to-shot consistency.
Did you use the spring with .47 mm wire?
 
Frank, when the desire is to achieve extreme precision in shot placement, extended shooting sessions, let alone ammo procurement, are an absolute necessity for me.
For purposes of amending my previous statement:

When the desire is to achieve extreme precision in shot placement in a seated, non-benchrest shooting position (offhand), extended shooting sessions, let alone ammo procurement, are an absolute necessity for me.
 
Had about 40 min to shoot this evening and the Ghost was the chosen one for the evening (too many guns, too little time).

Set out some paper @ 100 yards, 1.25inch printed circles, mostly 5 shots per circle. Ghost still has the .20 barrel of course. Used the .20 Heavies at 11 on the hammer tension wheel for 915fps.

Was happy that I could keep a lot of them within the 1.25 circles. Even had a couple 5 shot, sub MOA groups. Wind wasn't cooperating and I needed between 0.2 and 0.8mils of windage, average was about 0.4mils hold off. The wind was also causing some lift at times, pushing my pellets up and right.

Counted the holes in the paper afterwards and had 61. Bottle was @ 250bar to begin with and ended at 175. Reg pressure of 140 so another 20-25 shots above reg are likely possible. So, something like 85, maybe 90 shots per fill with Ghost set up as a 30fpe .20. The shot count is nice, the long range accuracy for such a small pill is even better.

The above is gonna whack some pdogs later this summer when season opens up for sure!
 
The most rewarding airgun quarry to drop.....
PXL_20230522_145339362.jpg


Ground squirrel, rock squirrel, dirt mover, etc. Whatever a person calls them, they are a CHALLENGE to get.

This one was dropped alongside a silage pit. My cousins and uncle take potshots at them in this location, using iron sighted .22 rimfires and cb shorts. They don't often connect, but they do condition the local population to be VERY wary.

The unfortunate victim was sunning himself at a lasered 46 yards. From an accuracy perspective, that's a gimme from the Ghost .20. One shot one kill, using the .20 Heavies at 915fps. Dead before he hit the ground.

Good start to the day.
 
I am looking to purchase a Ghost I have read almost all the comments on this thread. What I may have missed is single shot vs cartridges with pellets. Is there a difference in accuracy ?
And using a Benchrest vs bipod.
Thank you in advance.
I only have a .177 magazine, and therefore the bulk of my shooting with the Ghost has been single feed. With the .177 magazine I didn't notice any difference in accuracy between the magazine or single fed. It is very fun to cock and shoot quickly, that type of shooting just doesn't fit what I use airguns for.

Generally, there's some pretty strong feelings amongst airgunners about magazine vs single feeding. Across a bunch of brands and types of airguns, I've ever only seen very very small differences in accuracy. And that's maybe because I'm not a benchrest shooter literally splitting hairs. I personally prefer single feeding but most of my airgun use is specifically to hit a singular target, without huge time crunches. I'm usually shooting a field target or a pdog or a starling. And usually the first shot is the only one that counts cuz that's the rules in field target, and cuz for critters they fly/run if I miss. I grew up with a single shot break open .223 and a bolt action .22 rimfires so the concept of making the first shot count was ingrained pretty early.

With the single feeding I'm not using a tray or anything, simply loading the pellet directly into the rear of the barrel with my fingers, from within the magazine gap. I know a guy who single feeds with his left hand, and cocks the gun with his right hand. I have the cheek rest somewhat blocking the left side of the magazine gap so need to load from the right. There ARE aftermarket single feed flip out trays available for the Ghost.

A silhouette shooter who's against the clock at one of the big competitions like EBR is going to have different feelings about the importance of magazines than I personally do. The magazine for the Ghost are the same as the magazines for the Alpha and Delta Wolf. They're anodized aluminum and some of the best magazines I've seen or played with. They are also very expensive. I was told by my machinist friend that the .22 magazines work for the .20, I just haven't personally had the chance to try it. I have a different gun, that was also a .22 converted to .20 and the. 22 magazines work for the .20 in that situation, so they should here as well.

As for your other question about using a benchrest versus bipod. I think you're asking about the heavy contraptions used to hold up guns during benchrest competitions. Some of those go as far as to have sleds and micro adjustment for windage and elevation. I don't have any of the fancy benchrest gear that that crowd gets into so can't offer much input there. I have shot the Ghost from a simple pic rail mounted bipod, an Atlas clone actually. That cheap bipod is in the photo with the ground squirrel a few posts ago. It shoots fine from that type of bipod, you'll notice I made an extension to get the bipod further towards the front of the gun. There are various aftermarket parts that extend that pic rail forward, and most Ghost owners will need one of them if they intend to shoot from a bipod much. There is a pic rail for bipod mounting included with the gun in OEM form, but it's right in front of the trigger and, frankly, too far back to make the most of bipod shooting.

95% of my Ghost shooting has been single feed. Probably 75% of the shooting has been from shooting sticks or off my knee. The other 25% being from that cheap Atlas clone. It's been making smiles since September.
 
I only have a .177 magazine, and therefore the bulk of my shooting with the Ghost has been single feed. With the .177 magazine I didn't notice any difference in accuracy between the magazine or single fed. It is very fun to cock and shoot quickly, that type of shooting just doesn't fit what I use airguns for.

Generally, there's some pretty strong feelings amongst airgunners about magazine vs single feeding. Across a bunch of brands and types of airguns, I've ever only seen very very small differences in accuracy. And that's maybe because I'm not a benchrest shooter literally splitting hairs. I personally prefer single feeding but most of my airgun use is specifically to hit a singular target, without huge time crunches. I'm usually shooting a field target or a pdog or a starling. And usually the first shot is the only one that counts cuz that's the rules in field target, and cuz for critters they fly/run if I miss. I grew up with a single shot break open .223 and a bolt action .22 rimfires so the concept of making the first shot count was ingrained pretty early.

With the single feeding I'm not using a tray or anything, simply loading the pellet directly into the rear of the barrel with my fingers, from within the magazine gap. I know a guy who single feeds with his left hand, and cocks the gun with his right hand. I have the cheek rest somewhat blocking the left side of the magazine gap so need to load from the right. There ARE aftermarket single feed flip out trays available for the Ghost.

A silhouette shooter who's against the clock at one of the big competitions like EBR is going to have different feelings about the importance of magazines than I personally do. The magazine for the Ghost are the same as the magazines for the Alpha and Delta Wolf. They're anodized aluminum and some of the best magazines I've seen or played with. They are also very expensive. I was told by my machinist friend that the .22 magazines work for the .20, I just haven't personally had the chance to try it. I have a different gun, that was also a .22 converted to .20 and the. 22 magazines work for the .20 in that situation, so they should here as well.

As for your other question about using a benchrest versus bipod. I think you're asking about the heavy contraptions used to hold up guns during benchrest competitions. Some of those go as far as to have sleds and micro adjustment for windage and elevation. I don't have any of the fancy benchrest gear that that crowd gets into so can't offer much input there. I have shot the Ghost from a simple pic rail mounted bipod, an Atlas clone actually. That cheap bipod is in the photo with the ground squirrel a few posts ago. It shoots fine from that type of bipod, you'll notice I made an extension to get the bipod further towards the front of the gun. There are various aftermarket parts that extend that pic rail forward, and most Ghost owners will need one of them if they intend to shoot from a bipod much. There is a pic rail for bipod mounting included with the gun in OEM form, but it's right in front of the trigger and, frankly, too far back to make the most of bipod shooting.

95% of my Ghost shooting has been single feed. Probably 75% of the shooting has been from shooting sticks or off my knee. The other 25% being from that cheap Atlas clone. It's been making smiles since September.
Thank you
 
Anyone know if there's a way(trick) to remove the 1/2-20 that's on the carbon tube side? I'm not sure if it's pressed in or glued. I like to make the carbine shroud longer to match up with the 480cc bottle. I already have the carbon shroud 500mm ready to cut to any size. Thanks
Sorry, I have not needed to remove that 1/2-20 threaded front end of the shroud from the carbon fiber. I saw somebody shoot the end off their Red Wolf shroud one time though, and it seemed like it had been glued. My guess is that the threaded insert on the Ghost shroud is also glued/epoxied.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KratosTM
I want a .30 cal Ghost, and I wanna shoot the 56 grain pellets from Zan.
Pretty sure I'll probably be maxing out the FPE to shoot that heavy of a pellet. Shot count would be really low as well, so I'm considering a 700cc bottle.
But I haven't come across anyone on the internet who has done the path I'm wanting to do.
Should be simple. This review gun started as a .177 Carbine, so it came with the 300cc bottle. When I was shooting it as a 50fpe .22 I needed more air and went with a 480cc bottle, same bottle that would have come on a Ghost HP. When I got the 480cc bottle it didn't come with a bottle valve but AOA had them as a separate item. Give em a call, they can probably tell you what the threads are so you can source a 700cc bottle. I don't think there are any bottles that big as OEM on any of the Daystate/BRK guns, but buy a bottle valve from AOA, thread it into the 700cc bottle and you're in business. They may even have store brand (Omega) 700cc bottles that are correct for the bottle valves that marry the bottle to the Ghost monobloque.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KratosTM
Should be simple. This review gun started as a .177 Carbine, so it came with the 300cc bottle. When I was shooting it as a 50fpe .22 I needed more air and went with a 480cc bottle, same bottle that would have come on a Ghost HP. When I got the 480cc bottle it didn't come with a bottle valve but AOA had them as a separate item. Give em a call, they can probably tell you what the threads are so you can source a 700cc bottle. I don't think there are any bottles that big as OEM on any of the Daystate/BRK guns, but buy a bottle valve from AOA, thread it into the 700cc bottle and you're in business. They may even have store brand (Omega) 700cc bottles that are correct for the bottle valves that marry the bottle to the Ghost monobloque.

Thanks for replying! I'll do that. Glad to know it can be an easy switch.

Curious....do you think the gun would look hideous? Lol. I calculated the bottle length to come to the muzzle end (based on your great measuring tape pics). Which means the 0DB 110c would start at where the tube ends......assuming I did the measurements right, lol.
 
Thanks for replying! I'll do that. Glad to know it can be an easy switch.

Curious....do you think the gun would look hideous? Lol. I calculated the bottle length to come to the muzzle end (based on your great measuring tape pics). Which means the 0DB 110c would start at where the tube ends......assuming I did the measurements right, lol.
Here's a 700cc bottle on a Vulcan 3 that I borrowed from a friend for a couple weeks. Not a Ghost and wood stock but gives you an idea of a barrel-shrouded bullpup with a 700cc bottle...
PXL_20230418_162327896.jpg

Would it look hideous on a Ghost? I personally don't think so, especially if it gets more shots per fill. I'm always a fan of more shots per fill, and if your desire is throwing heavy stuff like the new .30 Zan, you're gonna need/want more shots/fill. You could always put a longer moderator on to balance out the "look." The only 0DB I have (and therefore the only one in any pics in this review) is the 110c, which is pretty short, as far as moderators go.

Maybe reach out to @pesty3782 to see if he's shot the new Zans from his .30 Ghost. He's shared some pretty impressive .30 groups from his Ghost but I think it was with JSB pellets. Dunno if he's tried the Zans but he's a reliable info source to see whether or not the Ghost .30 has the oomph necessary for the Zans and a barrel that agrees with them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KratosTM