Gemtech ?

[seb5]

I'm planning on purchasing a Gemtech for 5.56 this week. I was fingerprinting them yesterday and have narrowed it down. Can anyone tell me if there is any advantage one way or the other of the G5 vs. the Halo? Thanks in advance.

[SteyrAUG]

I prefer the Halo simply because I have a lot of rifles with a Nato profile flash hider.

One can, no dedicated mounts and can be installed without tools.

The G5 is a fine can as well, just not as versatile.

[Ziptie]

That HALO mount has been redesigned to be able to work with the Smith Vortex now as well as the standard birdcage. Food for thought.

[shooter521]

I'm planning on purchasing a Gemtech for 5.56 this week. I was fingerprinting them yesterday and have narrowed it down. Can anyone tell me if there is any advantage one way or the other of the G5 vs. the Halo? Thanks in advance.

A buddy of mine has a G5 that I've shot quite a bit, but when it came time to put my money down, I went with the HALO. Why? I'm a big believer in getting the most bang (or "thwack" as the case might be) for my tax stamp buck. The HALO will fit every AR I've got with the exception of my dedicated 9mm (that's 5 guns), and with a 3rd party adapter (which I already have), will fit all of my 5.45 and 5.56 AKs, as well (3 more guns). If I wanted the same capability with the G5, I'd have had to buy (5) Bi-Lock flash hiders @ $100 apiece, and the AKs wouldn't even be an option.

Add to that the fact that the 2009 HALO is pretty close to the G5 in terms of weight, as well as being a couple hundred bucks cheaper, and for me it's a no-brainer; I'll gladly trade a bit of length and weight for versatility and economic savings. I haven't tested it yet, but I'm betting the difference in sound reduction/quality between the G5 and HALO will be "minute" to say the least.

My $.02.

[Zhurdan]

I've got a G5 and I like it, but I also don't have any others to compare it to. I bought it for two guns. The G5 came with a Bi-lock adapter when I bought it, so I only had to buy one adapter for the PS90. It's fun to shoot, but I've yet to put it thru anything really tougher than a couple hundred rounds at a time. (semi-auto).

The only thing I can think would be a small comfort is when removing it. You pretty much have to have a good thick glove on to remove them after a string of fire, and the Halo looks like you can remove it without having your hand on it for quite as long. The G5 takes a good bit of effort(time with your hand on the suppressor) to grab, depress and rotate. That's nit picky, but trying to remove it with thin shooting gloves isn't advisable.

Here's a short vid comparing how it sounds.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r127/Zhurdan/th_AR15wsuppressor.jpg (http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r127/Zhurdan/?action=view&current=AR15wsuppressor.flv)

Price may be a more convincing motivator as well. The G5 rounded out at near $1k including stamp. The only other reason I went with the G5 was because of the PS90. They have to have a special flash hider and I didn't know until much later that there are a few other flash hiders out there that would work with the PS90 and a suppressor. Live and learn I guess, but after a while the cost really doesn't sting anymore. NFA items aren't really for the short of wallet most times.

[GIFFMANN]

I had this same discussion with Kel a few weeks ago. The big benefit of the G5 over the Halo is the repeatability that the attachment method adds to the can. You will maintain your zero with the can using the G5. It is possible with the Halo to have your zero "wander" since the attach method is not as easily repeatable.

I'm adding a Gem Tech to the quiver sometime in the near future, and based on the discussion with Kel, I will be going the G5 route.

[seb5]

Thanks for the replies guys! I was able speak with Kel last night via PM over on Lightfighter about this as well. I only have A-2's and Vortex's on my AR's so could go either way but am leaning towards the HALO. My dealer has a G-5 in stock but would have to order the HALO. No big deal as he states the stamps are currently taking 4-6 weeks. I sure wish my SBR paperwork was that quick.