There is no ghost range. What you may be experiencing is this "lag" issue that seems to have cropped up. You notice it primarily with fast horses. While on the horse, you can pass someone, be several yards past them, and then suddenly your horse is dead from the guy you passed a couple seconds ago. On the ground, you experience it differently. There, you get hit before you actually see the horse get to you.
In other words, the math is all happening realtime, but what you see, well that is not.