Having just received my new Brocock BRK Ghost from Airguns of Arizona last Friday, I was eager to shoot it, and last night I got my first chance to do so. While sighting in my scope and immediately getting some very promising groups well under an inch at 50 yards, I decided I wanted to bring the velocity of the JSB 25.39 pellets down to about 960 fps with the power wheel set on Max. So, I carefully followed the Brocock BRK Ghost Official Handbook instructions and first removed the tank, then emptied the plenum by dry firing the air out of it...at which point the cocking lever jammed and would not cock. Brilliant!
So then, on the Airgun Nation forums I found this post by “ct6978” on May 10, 2023 (thank you!)…
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Chris + Shane at AoA talked me through the fix. I'm doing this from memory, so everyone help me out if you see something wrong:
Remove the cheekpiece
Remove the last 4 bolts on the rail
Loosen the nut under the magazine loading area, to the left of the 'GHOST' label on the right side, don't remove it
Undo the 2 smaller bolts holding the hammer sear cassette on the lower right side of the far rear of the frame
Be careful, there's a tiny pin connecting a brass hook/ears to the cassette, mine fell out and I almost lost it - Remove the cassette, save the pin
Slide out the back section, eyeball your stuck hammer
AoA told me to 'whack it', so I used a wooden chopstick against the hammer, hit the chopstick with a hammer a few times, then it came loose
Reassemble
Additional post by “jasperjet” in the same thread: My hammer was jamming because the hammer was buldged on both ends. Before reassembly I made sure the hammer diameter was the same for the entire length by filing it down so it wouldn’t be able to jam in the front of its runway and hold the valve open. If you don’t do this, it is likely to happen again if you empty the air.
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I have a partially paralyzed left hand that shakes, and doing something like the above is very difficult for me. I very well may not be able to do it. And my only other option is to ship my Ghost back to Airguns of Arizona to have them service my Ghost under the Brocock BRK warranty. And this after spending $2200 and attempting to change my regulator pressure for the first time within the first hour of ownership. Brilliant!
I would like to suggest that Brocock BRK make an incremental contribution to the British economy by hiring one additional employee with the job title “Do Whatever It Takes To Ensure The Cocking Lever Doesn’t Jam When Emptying The Plenum By Dry Firing The Ghost.” Brilliant!
Surely one of the brilliant Brocock BRK engineers can figure out how to eliminate this problem from happening to brand new rifles by modifying their production process. If not, I am a retired Ford Motor Company Quality Process Improvement Analyst who, for the right price, would be glad to visit the Brocock BRK production facility as a consultant to determine the process improvement necessary to eliminate the bulge at both ends of the hammer.
Come on Brocock BRK, get your act together and get rid of this problem on your end rather than expecting your customers to do it for you.
If you are considering buying a Brocock BRK Ghost, plan on the possibility of having to do the above disassembly/repair the first time you empty the plenum by dry firing the rifle to lower your regulator pressure.
A friend who was shooting with me last night and saw this happen said “That’s why they call it a Ghost...because it’s dead!” Brilliant!
