BRK airguns tend to strike a good balance between solid build quality, accurate shooting and sensible pricing. They also benefit from sharing R&D and manufacturing expertise with sister company Daystate – the maker of some the best airguns in the world.
The gun featured in this review is one of several new Ranger models unveiled at the British Shooting Show BRK (Brocock). There are no less than four different variants in the lineup, including a tricked out Tactical version. What we have here is the Compact model, which retails for £1,225. It boasts a folding stock for super-compact transportation and a host of other features, including a new fine-tuning system.
As its name implies, the BRK XR2 Compact is a very small PCP airgun. Length is variable from 700 to 780mm because of its adjustable butt stock, and it weighs under 2.7kg unscoped. Those diminutive proportions make it perfect for hunting in confined spaces – maybe in a hide or even from the cab of a truck. It’s also no burden to carry on longer roving forays.
Despite being pretty small and light, this airgun still feels very robust – something I’ve come to expect from BRK’s British made airguns over recent years. Overall styling has a distinctly tactical feel to it and now comprises a new forend, which incorporates an underside Picatinny rail with around 130mm of clamping space. The rail is very easy to remove and, without it, the forend has a flat base that’s about 25mm wide and is very stable on the bench. The forend provided a comfortable and secure purchase for my lead hand, with or without the rail fitted, and the notches on either side of the made for very effective finger grips.
The BRK Ranger XR2 has a well-designed AR-type pistol grip. It is nice and steep and does exactly what it needs to do in terms of getting you onto the trigger properly. It is well contoured, very comfortable and very grippy. You can’t really ask for more than that.
Below: The BRK Ranger XR2 features some great new features including an extended forend with Picatinny accessory rail
One of this airgun’s standout features is its folding, length-adjustable butt stock. Push the rear section up to unlock the mechanism and it folds in half, taking overall length down to just 470mm for extremely compact transportation. You can also adjust length of pull from 400mm to 480mm. Just push the button down and it snaps into five different stop points, offering a fit to suit shooters of virtually all sizes. You do sometimes get a bit of wiggle in adjustable butt stocks but the play on this one is minimal – it is one of the most secure setups I’ve used. The butt is finished with a very grippy rubber pad that feels really secure in the shoulder. There is the option to swap it out, but I can’t see any real need to.
Below: The folding stock makes for very compact transportation and also has a button-activiated length adjustment system
Scope mounting is via two sections of rail which sit either side of the magazine. They provide a decent amount of clamping space and, because they sit on a dovetail rail, you can adjust them forward and backward a little if you need to. You can choose whether you want dovetail or Picatinny attachment up top – Picatinny is featured here.
The BRK XR2 Compact has a 12-inch barrel, and you have the choice of .177, .22 and .25 calibres. That barrel sits inside quite a slim shroud that I think really suits the Ranger’s overall styling. It doesn’t provide a great deal of sound suppression but there is a half-inch UNF thread up front and, because this gun is so short, it’s still pretty compact if you fit it with the right silencer – BRK actually makes a short option that suits it very well.
Good triggers tend to be the norm on BRK airguns, and the one of the XR2 is very good indeed. The match type blade transmits plenty of feel to your finger and can be adjusted forward and backward and also for height and angle. The two-stage mechanism is also adjustable but I tested it straight out of the box on its factory setting. There was a good amount of first-stage travel before an unmissable stop point followed by a second stage break that was crisp, predicable and absolutely free from creep.
There is a paddle type safety catch positioned right in front of the trigger. I have said before that I prefer safety catches to be further from the blade but there is no denying that this setup is easy to operate – it is also very positive and pretty quiet. It is safe when it’s across to the right and you just flip it across to the left when you’re ready to shoot.
Below top: You can choose between dovetail or Picatinny scope mounting on the Ranger XR2
Below bottom: The fully adjustable trigger was excellent straight out of the box
The BRK Ranger XR2 is supplied with a multi-shot magazine and a single-shot tray. The magazine is BRK’s tried and tested gate-fronted design – I have used it on countless guns and it works brilliantly. The review gun was .177 calibre, with a 13-shot magazine capacity – the .22 holds 11 pellets or slugs and the .25 holds ten.
Rapid, dependable cocking and loading comes courtesy of an extremely reliable sidelever action with a large dropdown, biathlon type handle which provides a great grip. I’ve got this sidelever setup on several guns of my own and it has never let me down when it comes to delivering fast follow-up shots when needed.
Below: The BRK Ranger XR2's great sidelever cocking system incorporates a chunky dropdown handle
The sub-12ft/lb review gun was running at 11.5ft/lb on full output, and its Huma regulator kept power output very consistent with variation remaining within 6fps over a ten-shot string. You get two means of power adjustment on the Ranger XR2. First up you have the three-stage power dial on the side, which knocks ouput up and down in increments of around 1.5ft/lb at a time. On this newer model, you also have a 12-point power wheel for finer adjustment. This is a really useful feature and it is surprising how you can tighten up your groups just by tweaking muzzle velocity by very small increments.
Maximum fill pressure is 250bar – onboard pressure is displayed on the gauge at the front of the cylinder. From a full charge, you can expect about 60 shots at sub-12, which is pretty impressive from such a small cylinder and short barrel, and plenty for most hunting sessions. When it is time to refill, simply twist the collar at the front of the cylinder to expose the inlet and plug in with the supplied probe.
Below: The BRK Ranger XR2 has a stepped dial for power adjustment and a 12-point wheel for delicate tuning
I always say that if an airgun has a decent barrel, a good trigger and consistent power output, then it should be well on the way to shooting accurately. That is very much the case with the BRK Ranger XR2 Compact. Using Rangemaster Sovereign pellets and shooting from the support of a bench, it was single-holing very easily at 30 metres. Pushing out to 40 metres, it was still churning out ragged single-hole groups the size of my thumbnail. That performance confirms that this little airgun is more than capable of tackling live quarry over typical sub-12 ranges.
The BRK Brocock Ranger was a great airgun in its original incarnation, and the XR2 tweaks have made it even better. The Compact model is small and comparatively light, and it isn’t much bigger than a pistol when it’s butt stock is in the folded position. The new forend and fine-tuning power wheel have brought genuine improvements, and I think it would be a great choice for anyone who wants a compact, accurate and very dependable PCP for serious pest control.
MAKE: BRK (Brocock), UK
MODEL: Ranger XR2 Compact
PRICE: £1,225
LENGTH: 700 to 780mm (27.5in to 30.1in)
WEIGHT: 2.7kg (5.9lb)
BARREL LENGTH: 300mm (12in) on Compact model
MAX FILL PRESSURE: 250 bar
Article first published March 23rd 2026
