Traditional sporting rifles are wonderful things, often featuring a beautifully figured walnut stock, but while they’ve been around for decades let’s not get haunted by the past, because there are plenty of more modern options for the field and range – just like the Brocock BRK Ghost.

The Brocock BRK Ghost is very much a ‘black rifle’, taking its inspiration from military battle rifles and their civilian variants, and while this type of gun may be a relatively new addition to the air rifle world, it’s definitely here to stay.

This rifle is a bullpup, meaning the magazine and chamber are located behind the grip and trigger blade. This military-inspired setup means the rifle can benefit from having a longer barrel in a much shorter overall package. While long rifles definitely have their place, few people would argue that shorter ones are easier to store, carry and control, certainly where hides, vehicles and farm buildings are concerned, and especially so at night.

 

Brocock BRK Ghost – key specifications

Manufacturer: Brocock BRK (brocock.co.uk)
Model tested: Ghost Carbine
Price: £1,440
Type: Multi-shot PCP
Calibre: .177 and .22
Magazine capacity: 13 in .177 and 11 in .22
Action: Mechanical, sidelever
Overall length: 665mm
Barrel length: 430mm
Weight: 3kg
Stock: Skeletonised with polymer cheekpiece
Scope rail: Picatinny, adjustable
Length of pull: 370mm
Trigger: Two-stage, adjustable
Trigger-pull: 2lb 2oz
Muzzle energy: 11.4 ft-lb on test rifle
Supplied with rifle: Hard case, fill adapter

 

Ghost story

Before delving into the features and performance of the Ghost, let’s discuss the name of the rifle. Brocock launched this new bullpup at the same time as announcing a corporate rebrand. The idea is to eventually replace “Brocock” with “BRK”, but for now the two names will run together, so this rifle is officially a Brocock BRK Ghost.

The Brocock BRK Ghost is built around an ambidextrous titanium-coloured chassis to maximise rigidity and therefore accuracy, and uses the Brocock XR-type sidelever action.

The lever has a biathlon-style drop-down handle and can be swapped from right- to left-hand operation by the user. The butt pad is adjustable for height, and if you unscrew the two grub screws that hold the cheekpiece in place, it can be slid forwards or backwards, making it easy to find a comfortable head position. 

With the cheekpiece configured for a right-handed shooter, the rifle must be loaded from the right as it partially covers the magazine well on the left, but the cheekpiece can be removed and flipped round, making it perfectly suited for left-hand loading and shooting.

Other features include a fully adjustable, match-style trigger, a fully shrouded barrel with a ½in UNF thread for an additional silencer, a cross-bolt manual safety, an adjustable Picatinny scope rail and three additional accessory rails.

Three models of BRK Ghost are available so there’s plenty to suit both FAC and sub-12 ft-lb shooters. The High Power has a 60cm barrel and a 480cc air bottle, an overall length of 811mm and weighs 3.3kg. The Plus has a 43cm barrel and 480cc air bottle, is 731mm long and weighs 3.1kg. (See our list here for the best FAC rated air rifles)

The Carbine on test here also has a 43cm barrel, but this time is fitted with a super-short shroud and a smaller 300cc air bottle. The Carbine has an overall length of 661mm and weighs 3kg. The BRK Ghost Carbine has a recommended retail price of £1,440, while it’s £1,500 for the Plus and £1,600 for the High Power.

I was lucky to get my hands on two Ghost Carbines to test, one in .177 and one in .22, although most of my shooting was done with the smaller calibre version. Both were sent to me equipped with moderators from Brocock BRK’s sister company, 0dB, although these are optional extras. 

Brocock has teamed up with custom parts supplier PRS to offer some alternative parts including butt pads, grips and rails. There’s also a cheekpiece riser which allows two magnetic magazines to be inserted back to back, effectively doubling the number of instantly available shots. This feature could be especially useful for fast-fire situations such as ratting.

In addition to the standard .177 and .22 calibres, Ghosts are also available in .25 and .30, offering power up to 100 ft-lb, depending on the particular model. Magazine capacity is 13 for .177, 11 for .22, 10 for .25 and eight shots for the big .30. The rifle offers an interchangeable barrel system, so the calibre can be swapped in a matter of minutes. 

Power can be adjusted by turning a dial at the back of the action. There are no fewer than 20 settings, providing multiple power levels for various types and weights of ammo, be that pellets or slugs. 

Additionally, models set over 12 ft-lb have another finger-adjustable dial to fine-tune the BRK Ghost’s regulator pressure. Variable power is extremely useful for FAC shooters, but having so many levels may make it easier to fine-tune power output to match a particular pellet at sub-12 levels too. 

Having said that, I didn’t make any power adjustments to either of the rifles that I was sent, getting excellent results (more on that later) with power set to maximum.

 

A skeletonised stock

The standard of fit, finish and overall engineering is very high indeed, with the ghost grey titanium-coloured chassis offering a contrast to the pure black components and the carbon-fibre shroud. The Brocock BRK Ghost is very well thought-out and constructed.

As I mentioned earlier, the butt pad and cheekpiece can be adjusted, and so too can the scope rail. The Picatinny rail offers around 16cm of scope-clamping surface, but if this isn’t enough the Picatinny rail can be loosened and slid along the dovetail rail beneath to reposition it closer to or further away from the shooter’s face. The adjustable cheekpiece is nothing to be sneezed at either, as relocating this component to suit you better makes a real difference to gun fit. Length of pull is a little longer than usual at around 37cm, which is great news for larger shooters, or those with longer arms.

Sections of Picatinny rail are provided not only underneath the forend for bipod attachment, but underneath the butt for monopod attachment too. 

If you are buying one specially for the Ghost, such as Accu-Shot’s Precision Rail Monopod, then make sure it has the correct Picatinny fixture, as some are designed to be attached to sling swivel studs. 

I like the idea of a monopod because as well as raising the butt to the correct height and keeping the rifle steady and supported, it also acts as a handle for the non-shooting hand when you are shooting prone or off the bench.

While the Brocock BRK Ghost can be shot from a bipod, the bullpup nature of the design lends itself even better to stalking, and it’s easy to adopt a stable hold with this platform. 

Despite the skeletonised nature of the stock and its angled edges, the Ghost is surprisingly comfortable to hold and to shoulder. 

The leading hand, for example, can adopt an easy hold thanks to the base of the trigger guard, fill port and forend rail, all of which form one continuous flat surface, or if you prefer to extend your hand even further, you can get a good grip round the carbon fibre air bottle.

 

Mounting up

Due to the adjustable nature of the scope rail, as well as the fact that the magazine is nowhere near any sighting system you might choose to mount, the BRK Ghost can be equipped with everything from an ultra-short prismatic scope right up to a long telescopic sight with a large objective bell, and anything in between. But while the Ghost Carbine is capable of taking a large scope, a smaller optic is more in keeping with this little bullpup. 

I had the good fortune to specify what type of optic the review rifles would be supplied with, and I chose the SWAT Prismatic from MTC. This particular sight comes pre-fitted in its own mounts, but if you are using a regular scope then don’t forget to grab ones with a Picatinny fitting.

The ergonomics of the rifle extend to more than the location of the scope, however, as the magazine is inserted into the well at the rear of the rifle, while the drop-down cocking handle is similarly situated well out of the way of the scope, this time just above and slightly in front of the AK-style pistol grip. This puts it in a more natural position for cocking and cycling the action.

With this scope attached and no bipod fitted, the rifle’s point of balance was bang on the pistol grip, the absolutely perfect position for a do-it-all rifle such as this.

Filling is straightforward, thanks to the recessed Foster fill valve that is protected by a dust cover that’s held in place by a magnet. We’ve seen this type of feature before, and it’s a very neat touch. With the cover removed, the supplied connector can then be snapped over the valve. It’s just as easy to take off too. 

Removing a connector after filling can sometimes be tricky with a recessed valve, but this connector is longer than usual, making it easier to grab hold of the knurled outer sleeve and then pull it back to release it.

 

Cocking and loading

Like the rest of the rifle, the drum magazine is beautifully made. It’s Brocock’s new type, which is similar to the latest one from Daystate, with the inner rotor being accessed by a fold-down loading gate that’s held in place by a small magnet. 

The magazine is loaded by opening the gate and rotating the inner rotor fully clockwise under spring tension. Once the first pellet has been inserted nose-first, the rotor will be locked in place and you can relax your fingers. You then just need to fill the remaining chambers and fold the gate closed.

With the sidelever pulled all the way back, cocking the action, the loaded magazine can be inserted into the well. Take note of the orientation of the magazine, because it’s unconventional. The magazine must be rotated so the flat face of the magazine – the bottom – is presented sideways to the magazine well. If you look at the back of the magazine you can see a recess has been cut into it, so it can only go in sideways rather than upright, but I can see some people trying to jam it in the wrong way regardless.

However, once you’ve got your head round this it’s a simple enough system, with the mag being helped into place by a spring-loaded ball bearing. Magazine capacity, as mentioned earlier, will vary depending on the calibre.

I liked the shape and size of the drop-down sidelever handle, with the weight kept to a minimum despite its chunky build due to its perforated design. This component needs to be removed and installed the other way up if the sidelever is being swapped round for left-hand use. On one of the test rifles the handle was a bit loose and needed tightening with a hex key. If this rifle was mine I’d be tempted to tack it in place with some non-permanent blue Loctite, but this is a very minor niggle.

 

Trigger time

Brocock has fitted a standard cross-bolt safety catch, which is doubly safe because it can be applied whether or not the Brocock BRK Ghost has been cocked. It’s easy enough to locate when you’re in the aim, especially if you’re right-handed, being situated just in front of the drop-down handle, and pressed from right to left from Safe to Fire.

A rifle’s accuracy can stand or fall on the strength of its trigger, and the Ghost’s did not disappoint. The blade is a post-and-shoe arrangement, and out of the box the shoe had been angled to the right, contacting the pad of my forefinger perfectly. Little details like this can really make a difference to the whole shooting experience and it’s well worth taking the time to tweak your shoe to fit.

First-stage travel is short, with a medium amount of resistance, with the second stage breaking with just a hint of creep at a measured 2lb 2oz. I’m again being ultra-picky here, as the weight is near-perfect for field use, and the trigger is very good indeed for a mechanical bullpup. 

It’s certainly one of the best I’ve ever used, and that’s straight out of the box without any adjustments being made. Unusually for a rifle of this type, the Brocock BRK Ghost can even be shot thumb-up if that’s your preferred method.

 

Spookily good performance

Pellet selection can be a very difficult and time-consuming affair, but that was not the case here. The two Ghosts I was sent, one in .177 and one in .22, both shot remarkably well with Rangemaster Sovereign pellets in their respective calibres. Due to time, weather and range availability, the smaller calibre Ghost was shot at 30yds, while the .22 variant was tested at 40yds.

Some air rifles you will never get on with while others can take a while for you to warm to them. My reaction to the Brocock BRK Ghost was neither, as this was an air rifle that I gelled with immediately. My procedure with a new rifle is to do a rough zero at 15yds, then fine-tune at 30. Luckily the SWAT scope was almost on the bull immediately, and it took me less than one magazine to achieve a perfect zero at 30yds with the .177 Ghost Carbine.

In my article on pellet-testing in this issue, I explained how I’ve found some rifles can take a while to bed in and start shooting accurately. The Ghost was grouping superbly from the outset, with five-shot groups measuring 6mm centre-to-centre. The .22 also put in sterling service, with group sizes of 34mm at 40yds and a variation in velocity of 8ft/sec over a 10-shot string.

 

Final thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Ghost Carbine, particularly the .177 variant. But BRK is offering the Ghost in so many configurations that there is something for everyone. The Brocock BRK Ghost isn’t a cheap rifle, but you get what you pay for in quality, adjustability and performance. If you’re on the lookout for a rifle of this type then get into the spirit of things and take a closer look at the Ghost.