Paintball

[idkfa]

I hope this has not been done before. I am trying to bring all the Ghost owners together with some degree of community and discussion (the serial number thread is great but it would be nice to have a place to keep everything together). I am going to share some of the tweaks I have done to my Grey Ghost to rectify some annnoyances/issues I have had with it since playing with it.

I truly believe that Lapco is about a half-step away from having the finest stock class marker currently available on the market but these few lingering issues seem to be holding it back from true greatness. This could be considered an open letter to Lapco.

1. The stock barrel has been bored out for Freak inserts (courtesy of super_stanchy), specifically my brass tymcneer 0.675). I have yet to shoot paint through it but the gun was shooting poorly before due to the huge bore so I have extremely high hopes for this (necessary) upgrade. Come on Lapco, a 0.689+ barrel does not cut it anymore, even with the "gnob".

2. Had the feed tube chopped down to 12 rounds (again super_stanchy). I can't stand the length of 15 rd feeds; the 12 rd allows you to get up close and still gives you 2+1 shots if you wait to use a whole ten round tube. It is a personal preference but I have done this on both my Phantoms and my SC Sniper as well.

3. Used three pieces of cut-to-fit electrical tape (leaving some bare threads in between each piece to allow the threads to get started) on the threading of the feed tube. This seems to have completely taken away any wiggle or angle from the poorly (?) tapped feed block/feed tube threads.

4. I took a nylon washer from a Phantom (the one that rides on the pump arm and stops the spring from scratching the trigger frame) and forced it over the brass bolt, between the pump arm and the body. I believe this will keep the arm away from the body, preventing rubbing and ensuring a smooth pump stroke. I have not tested this yet, but it does seem to make the pump arm stand off a bit more from the body.

5. Used heat shrink tubing on the braided hose. It is only a cosmetic thing but I think the additional black air line makes the gun visually pop a bit more.

6. I have been testing the use of tri-flow lubricant on the metal-metal and metal-delrin contact points on my guns. I put a few drops on the barrel/spring underneath the pump handle. I don't think it was rubbing much to begin with (there were some rub marks on the barrel that may have been because of the body not being aligned properly using the valve screws from the previous owner.

Assuming the tighter control bore improves things (I can't see why it wouldn't) I think I have found the ultimate stock class shooter. I will have pictures of my Ghost soon.

[idkfa]

Reserved for pictures.

[idkfa]

Reserved for links.

[Jackson]

Owner of #310 here. I just cut down my feed tube to about 12-13 rounds as well. Used a pipe cutter and cleaned it up with files and sand paper. The only other mods I've done to the gun are weed-whacker line in the steel braided hose to devolumize a bit (for 12 gram use) and I added an ECAP front sight (personal preference).

For the price I don't think you can beat the Ghost in the Nelson pump category.

One trick I've pick up is the slider trigger NEEDS some sort of grease. I've actually found that a mixture of vaseline and air tool oil makes for a nice smooth pull.

[idkfa]

Excellent, thanks for the input!

I will add your mods/tricks to one of the reserved posts and have it as a tip section.

[Z3R0]

I've got #308, I'm it's original owner. I keep it 100% stock most of the time, but I do have a 12" J&J, JCS folding stock, and clear/silver CCI feedblock/tube setup with a silver CCI ghost ring that I occasional put on it. The J&J fits perfectly fine although the first couple of porting holes are actually covered by the pump handle, and obviously the CCI feedblock doesn't have a spot for the nubbin/detent, but you can just drill that out like I did. The CCI bolt is also a little long from what I remember and will rub against the top of the gun's bolt, so you'll have to file it down or something to get it to fit right. It doesn't interfere enough to stop the gun from working but it does make the pump stroke rougher and heavier, and obviously will leave a mark on those pretty Lapco internals

I've been considering getting the barrel bored for freaks but the efficiency is good enough as it is for me really, so I'm just planning to keep the barrel as it is until Lapco releases smaller bored barrels (if ever). I have been considering devolumizing it a bit, but again, the efficiency is good enough for me as it is. And I was going to get the feedtube cut down but I didn't want to ruin it, so I just bought the CCI stuff instead .

Oh, and as for the feedtube and using e-tape to keep it from wiggling - mine has never had that problem. I blue loctited the tube just to make sure it stays in, and also so that the lightning bolt cuts are horizontal rather than almost-vertical when it's fully screwed in, but it sounds like yours is a lot looser. And I don't really have much of a problem with my pump arm rubbing on the body either, and pump wear is fairly minimal on the barrel and what is there I think is from the return spring honestly. My internals and body bore also look great still, too... maybe mine was just a magical Ghost that got everything done right

Oh, and my favourite mix for the trigger plate is MacDev Militia + a small amount of Triflow. And as far as I know, Militia is Dow33 with some airtool oil mixed in. I find it lasts a really good long time, doesn't require very much, and really smooths it out, too. The same mixture also works great with a really thin coat on the internals. Not at all necessary of course, but it does feel a tiny bit smoother, although it could be a placebo type effect.

[nuclear zombie]

Maybe we should bug Painthappy to make a Lapco sub-forum, there are enough Lapco guns around to warrant it.

[Silver]

Those mods are what I wanted to do to my ghost, barrel boring, heat shrink wrap, and nylon washer. But, the new metadyne pump has really caught my eye...

The Grey Ghost feels amazing shouldered with a T-stock. I love the barrel and how it points.

[idkfa]

I think the barrel issue has been fixed... and with a potentially huge gain in efficiency.

The last outing with the Ghost was with the stock barrel and a 3.5 oz tank, shooting at 270 fps. Today I went out without touching the gun besides using a 0.675 insert. Same paint, same springs, and I was using a 12 gram in 9°C temperatures. I was chronoing at 350 fps. And I am using a light main spring. I am going to have to use a far heavier valve spring to get it down under 300 fps. I am pretty excited.

[russc]

One of the cool things about Ghosts is that they are almost 100% nelspot compatible. Modding the valves and internals with the goods coming out of the Leprechaun thread will be a snap. My Buzzard isn't so lucky...