BRK Ghost Review

[Franklink]

...I was aboot complain aboot the Ghost right after I was aboot to praise it here behind the "Franklin Tune"...

...after increasing regulator pressure, I shot a string of 6 and saw 891 fps with an SD of 1.1...

...I thought that was awesome but too good to be true, so I shot another string and got 885 fps with SD of 2.4...I was like "huh"...

...so the next string came up at 870 fps and 4.9 SD...now I was like WFT...?!?...

...then I noted that the tank pressure was down to around 125 BAR, which is where I had set the regulator...
'
...and now the regulator shows around 100 BAR again...how did that happen...?!?...

...I figger I best charge the air tank...but why is the regulator so low...???...there is still more than 100 bar in the air tank...???...

EDIT: ...whatever the reason, it is back where I set it at with a bit of air pumped into the tank...

...I don't usually get to shoot this much at once...!!!...

...FWIW this is the first time this rifle has been charged in CT....I hope it doesn't miss that AZ air...

...14 shots after refill came in @ 895.8 and 2.3 SD...

I'm not sure I'm following.....

If you don't refill the gun when you get down to reg pressure and just keep shooting, the reg gauge will go down too.

Once your bottle pressure is below reg pressure, both gauges will read the same (bottle pressure and reg pressure). B/c you simply have less pressure than the reg is set for now.

Take home message -if you want consistent and trustsble shots, refill the bottle before you get down to the reg pressure.

 

[Dairyboy]

Also the small gauges used on these guns (and i mean on all airguns) can be off some. Which would explain your issue. The small gauges are really a tool for giving you a rough idea where it is. Not necessarily an exact pressure.

 

[cavedweller]

I'm not sure I'm following.....

If you don't refill the gun when you get down to reg pressure and just keep shooting, the reg gauge will go down too.

Once your bottle pressure is below reg pressure, both gauges will read the same (bottle pressure and reg pressure). B/c you simply have less pressure than the reg is set for now.

Take home message -if you want consistent and trustsble shots, refill the bottle before you get down to the reg pressure.

I’m surprised his ghost didn’t dump the rest of it’s air

 

[Solo1]

...I was aboot complain aboot the Ghost right after I was aboot to praise it here behind the "Franklin Tune"...

...after increasing regulator pressure, I shot a string of 6 and saw 891 fps with an SD of 1.1...

...I thought that was awesome but too good to be true, so I shot another string and got 885 fps with SD of 2.4...I was like "huh"...

...so the next string came up at 870 fps and 4.9 SD...now I was like WFT...?!?...

...then I noted that the tank pressure was down to around 125 BAR, which is where I had set the regulator...
'
...and now the regulator shows around 100 BAR again...how did that happen...?!?...

...I figger I best charge the air tank...but why is the regulator so low...???...there is still more than 100 bar in the air tank...???...

EDIT: ...whatever the reason, it is back where I set it at with a bit of air pumped into the tank...

...I don't usually get to shoot this much at once...!!!...

...FWIW this is the first time this rifle has been charged in CT....I hope it doesn't miss that AZ air...

...14 shots after refill came in @ 895.8 and 2.3 SD...

You have to remember when getting sd’s in single digits it can be misleading! A 1 grain variance ( 17gr and 18 gr shot in same string) will push the sd of 1 that you had up to a sd of 2 or more. To prove this to yourself weigh 10 pellets take all the same weight and shoot over crono then take the 10 worst of the rest and shoot. You will get 2 different sd values

 

[Franklink]

You have to remember when getting sd’s in single digits it can be misleading! A 1 grain variance ( 17gr and 18 gr shot in same string) will push the sd of 1 that you had up to a sd of 2 or more. To prove this to yourself weigh 10 pellets take all the same weight and shoot over crono then take the 10 worst of the rest and shoot. You will get 2 different sd values

Also important to not go down the rabbit hole of number chasing.

The concept of aggregation of marginal gains illustrates that there is indeed value in even the small things, and aggregating even small improvements can result in enough of a difference to matter. BUT going down the rabbit hole of weighing pellets and chasing single digit extreme spreads can turn the pursuit of accuracy into the pursuit of the ridiculous. Ie a guy can easily spend more time sitting at a scale or in front of a chronograph than shooting.

In my favorite airgun pastimes of both types of field target common in the US, as well as popping pests at extremely long-for-fpe ranges, I've not found weighing pellets or single digit extreme spreads to have any value. I can kill pdogs out to 175yards pretty regularly, and further occasionally. And I can be competitive in field target. Both of those with unweighed pellets and extreme spreads up around 20-25 with some guns/tunes.

I am here for the shooting, not the pellet weighing.

 

[Solo1]

Also important to not go down the rabbit hole of number chasing.

The concept of aggregation of marginal gains illustrates that there is indeed value in even the small things, and aggregating even small improvements can result in enough of a difference to matter. BUT going down the rabbit hole of weighing pellets and chasing single digit extreme spreads can turn the pursuit of accuracy into the pursuit of the ridiculous. Ie a guy can easily spend more time sitting at a scale or in front of a chronograph than shooting.

In my favorite airgun pastimes of both types of field target common in the US, as well as popping pests at extremely long-for-fpe ranges, I've not found weighing pellets or single digit extreme spreads to have any value. I can kill pdogs out to 175yards pretty regularly, and further occasionally. And I can be competitive in field target. Both of those with unweighed pellets and extreme spreads up around 20-25 with some guns/tunes.

I am here for the shooting, not the pellet weighing.

What you say is very true cole but i was trying to help him self educate and gain some knowledge of some possible fallacies help by people who hold numbers above all else. I weigh pellets primarily for 100 yd shooting. I don’t have the option to go out and put the smack down on p dogs @200. My hunting is mostly squirrels @ 50 or less and i wish we had more rabbits but they seem to be becoming nocturnal around here. Sometimes learning things for yourself make them sink in a bit better than someone just telling you

 

[Hapo]

I'm not sure I'm following.....

If you don't refill the gun when you get down to reg pressure and just keep shooting, the reg gauge will go down too.

Once your bottle pressure is below reg pressure, both gauges will read the same (bottle pressure and reg pressure). B/c you simply have less pressure than the reg is set for now.

Take home message -if you want consistent and trustsble shots, refill the bottle before you get down to the reg pressure.

...the regulator was reading well below both what I had just set it at and the reading on the air tank...that seemed odd...

...once refilled the regulator went back to the new setting...1st refill...GX pump worked great...

 

[Corvid_hunter]

...try to not get your panties in a knot...

...you're new to this...

 

[Aristovertex]

As I commented a few days ago, that's part of the beauty of the Ghost, various ways to produce the desired fps. And how we choose to get there offers peripheral benefits that allow other uses, or increase efficiency, or shot cycle, or etc.

I Love the Power of Beauty of the Ghost...

 

[cavedweller]

...the regulator was reading well below both what I had just set it at and the reading on the air tank...that seemed odd...

...once refilled the regulator went back to the new setting...1st refill...GX pump worked great...

The reg is reducing the air from the bottle but the reg requires a certain amount of pressure to work properly

 

[Aristovertex]

@Franklink
Today i shoot a brand new GHOST HP .177...

When i fill the bottle, i see that the regulator pressure is 150 Bar (Factory Setting), i took a picture because my eyes is + and Cylinder, so i can see clear when i zoom in the photo

so i decrease the regulator pressure to 100 Bar, and set the PW to MIN

1-2 ==> FPS 964-965 - JSB 10.34 gr ==> 100 Bar PW-MIN
3,4,5,6,7 ==> FPS 868-869 - JSB 13gr ==> 100 Bar PW-MIN
8-9 ==> FPS 871-872 - JSB 13 gr ==> 100 Bar PW-11

I shoot sillouette with Zeroing at 33 meter, it is flat shoot between 18mtr, 25mtr, 33mtr, 41mtr ==> This is awesome, i am wondering why this can be happend ?

After that, i was shoot Benchrest Target at 25 mtr,
This is the first time i shoot Paper Target, it was windy day, here are the result:

As the Conclusion, i am so happy and very very very satisfied with GHOST..

How much the hight regullator pressure BAR have you tried ? and how is the result? (for .177 cal)

And what other setting or tehnique i should try for the next?
i ordered NSA Slug 20.5gr .178.. can i shoot with this ?

 

[Franklink]

@Aristovertex,
Congrats on your new Ghost! Glad to hear it's proving to be an accurate shooter.

The seemingly flat trajectory at those distances is probably at least partly due to the Ghosts relatively high scope height, which is simply a fact of the Ghosts design.

I've never personally played with a Ghost HP in .177, only .177 Carbine. I have played with other.177 guns with similarly rifled barrels. The HP .177 has polygonal rifling and the Carbine has 12 groove.

I imagine you've got a bit higher reg setting available but don't know that for a fact. The .22 HP I've played with had a 165 bar factory reg pressure. For pellets the 150 bar might even be a bit high. But for those 20grain NSA slugs you'll probably need to max out reg and hammer spring. Those .177/20gr NSA slugs can be incredible but they seem to be really picky about bore condition. Once the bore fouls up accuracy goes out the window. If you can crack that nut, you're likely to be impressed by them from your new Ghost.

 

[Aristovertex]

@Aristovertex,
Congrats on your new Ghost! Glad to hear it's proving to be an accurate shooter.

The seemingly flat trajectory at those distances is probably at least partly due to the Ghosts relatively high scope height, which is simply a fact of the Ghosts design.

I've never personally played with a Ghost HP in .177, only .177 Carbine. I have played with other.177 guns with similarly rifled barrels. The HP .177 has polygonal rifling and the Carbine has 12 groove.

I imagine you've got a bit higher reg setting available but don't know that for a fact. The .22 HP I've played with had a 165 bar factory reg pressure. For pellets the 150 bar might even be a bit high. But for those 20grain NSA slugs you'll probably need to max out reg and hammer spring. Those .177/20gr NSA slugs can be incredible but they seem to be really picky about bore condition. Once the bore leads up accuracy goes out the window. If you can crack that nut, you're likely to be impressed by them from your new Ghost.

Thanks @Franklink , i just know it that high scope height can make a flat trajectory, yeah you're right, i am really falling in love with GHOST.
Normally, i am using as low as i can for scope ring for my other airgun.

How much Regulator BAR will be the Maximum that i can set ?
if i am using NSA Slug 20.5gr, what is your recommended for regulator BAR setting?

with this slug, i can shoot over 100mtr, right?
NSA Slug 20.5 grain Crack the Nut ? hehehe... give me some clue what should i do and what should i try ?

 

[Solo1]

Im shooting 13.4 for field target @ 810 fps @ 140 bar pw 6. At max it will shoot 13.4 to 935 fps and this is with the lighter hammer spring than stock. (.047). I haven’t shot my ghost much with the stock hammer spring so i cant tell you much. My setup will shoot the 13 gr ko slug to 915 fps. If you want to shoot the 20 slug id bump the reg to 150 or so but then to i don’t know what hammer spring you have.

 

[Franklink]

Been awhile since I shared anything Ghosty, but I've still been immensely enjoying the platform.

Just casual plinking this evening....

Repainted the steel yesterday but didn't have a chance to shoot at it til just now, after work.

I took 5 shots at the paddles, 3/5 connected, one on each paddle. These are @ 130 yards. Big ones are maybe 2.5", small one is probably 1.25-1.5".

Then took 15 shots at the old brush hog blade behind it, 135 yards. Ten shot group using the top hole as the aim point. Three shots are right at the hole, the 9 o clock hit actually mostly went in the hole, but there's a 1 o clock and a 7 o clock that are edge-touching the hole. 7/10 connected for a kinda big group.

Then took five shots using the lower hole as the aim point. MUCH better group here, had the wind figured out by then. Didnt measure but something like 1.75-2" or prairie dog head sized for all five shots. I'll take that!

Wind is whipping pretty good, needed 0.6-0.8mil hold off. This is with the .20/15.89 @ 915-920.
Fun stuff.

 

[Franklink]

Went on a long evening walk with my wife right after dark but got back from that and couldn't resist walking to the back of the property with a tape measure.

Confirmed that the large paddles @ 130 are exactly 2.5".

And this is a tape measure on that 5 shot group @ 135. Kinda tough to measure with metal and lead splatter. It's just a shade better than 1.5" but not quite as good as 1 and 3/8", call it 1 and 7/16 probably.

1.4375" @ 135 yards = 1.0168 MOA
Pretty dang sweet.
And THAT'S one of the reasons why I love the Ghost.

Oh yeah, this was the wind, groups shot around 7 o clock. I hesitate to share this, b/c it starts to get unbelievable here....29-30 fpe and MOA @ 135 yards in gusts to 25ish mph?!?!?!....

 

[Corvid_hunter]

Very nice. When you tune your Ghost do you tune so it's shooting 10% or so higher than the desired velocity on Max and then turn down the power wheel a few clicks until you get your desired velocity?

 

[Franklink]

Very nice. When you tune your Ghost do you tune so it's shooting 10% or so higher than the desired velocity on Max and then turn down the power wheel a few clicks until you get your desired velocity?

I don't.

My method is much less structured. Shoot over Chrono to see what I've got and if it's not what I want, make a change. Document the speeds produced by that configuration. Go back over the various options to see what's "best" and return to that configuration.

Current tune is reg of 125 bar and the 0.051" wire hammer spring. MAX on wheel = 910-915ish with .20/18.9gr NSA slugs and "5" on wheel for 915-920 with the .20/15.89 JSB pellet.

I'm not a big chaser of single digit extreme spreads though. Wind is always a bigger factor than if a pellet is going 908 versus 925fps. And when I say the .20/15.89 in the plinking above was going 915-920, that's the average. The couple of times that I've shot large #s of shots over the Chrono with this tune that 915-920 is the average speed, with the ES something like 905-925. This "tune" has tighter spreads with the wheel on MAX and using the .20/18.9 slugs.

It was covered in here a long time ago but my Ghost has a skeletonized hammer. It weighs less than the standard hammer used in production Ghosts now. I've played with the standard hammer and I like the lighter one because it's less wasteful of air on conservative, < 35fpe tunes than a heavy hammer. There's also less action noise from the lighter weight hammer. Caveat is that the lighter hammer would not be as good for a gun producing more fpe.

So anyway, a function of that lighter hammer and the 18inch .20 barrel is that the guns max power output is with a reg pressure of about 125bar. Increasing the reg above that actually makes the power go down. Again, because I have that lighter hammer in there. So, my "tune" with the .20 is dictated by the lighter hammer. I'm rocking the .20/18.9 NSA slug as fast as they can go with this length barrel and the light hammer. My side action, so to speak, is that it'll shoot the .20/15.89 really well here too, just with less hammer tension dialed in (via the wheel).

To summarize, my tuning method can be summed up by compromising. For a sub 35fpe .20 (and a sub 20 .177 too) I like the lighter hammer for the more subdued shot cycle and better air efficiency. The rest of the tuning revolves around that lighter hammer weight and the settings necessary to get the two .20 projectiles to the speeds at which I want to shoot them.

 

[Corvid_hunter]

Thanks for your informative reply. My only tuning experience has been with the Impact MKII, hence my question about going 10% or so over max fps and then backing off the hammer spring. My Ghost (.25cal) came with the reg set about 145-150bar. I noticed with my 33gr pellets that there wasn't much velocity change between Min and Max. with the red hammer spring from the BRK kit. It wasn't until I upped the reg pressure that I began to see a difference in the Min and Max settings. For whatever reason I've always shied away from running higher reg pressures, although they are always recommended in the forums. I guess I'll just have to change my way of thinking and find out what it likes. Maybe a change to a lighter hammer somewhere down the road will allow me to run a lower reg pressure for increased shot count. I'm sure someone will be making them eventually.

 

[Erdb]

Im shooting 13.4 for field target @ 810 fps @ 140 bar pw 6. At max it will shoot 13.4 to 935 fps and this is with the lighter hammer spring than stock. (.047). I haven’t shot my ghost much with the stock hammer spring so i cant tell you much. My setup will shoot the 13 gr ko slug to 915 fps. If you want to shoot the 20 slug id bump the reg to 150 or so but then to i don’t know what hammer spring you have.

@Solo1 - to confirm, your Ghost .177 is an HP barrel?