Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 23

Thread: My Gemtech MIST 10/22 Takedown Experience

  1. #1
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Desert Southwest

    My Gemtech MIST 10/22 Takedown Experience

    This is just a thread to document my experience with a Gemtech MIST 22 integrally suppressed barrel for the 10/22 takedown.

    I received the barrel after about a 9 month wait. On reading instructions I realized I needed a Bull Barrel stock since my 10/22 TD donor was a tapered barrel. A short amount of research led me to the Magpul X22 Backpacker stock which was pretty dang cool as well as cheap. So I waited another week for that and got it installed along with the Magpul Optic mount and it makes a very nice, handy package.

    Name:  D0C6D7B4-FE6B-4BD8-9995-57B1B49F5FA5.jpeg
Views: 2133
Size:  96.2 KBName:  78C9D146-A4AE-4968-A812-72074567B69E.jpeg
Views: 1933
Size:  87.7 KB

    On initial function checking, I had a few failures to fire but generally it ran decently. The problem came when I had a failure to fire or I needed to unload a live round, the extractor would not extract the round leading to me needing to take down the rifle and flick out the round out with a knife. Closer inspection showed a clear, to me, manufacturing defect in that the extractor channel was not cut deeply enough. See photos comparing the Gemtech to the Ruger stock rifle.

    Name:  DBBB7AAC-36B8-4693-9C3C-FAEB17053FBC.jpg
Views: 1442
Size:  41.6 KBName:  9C8365E3-6035-4B57-97B0-A45422CAF3E3.jpg
Views: 1433
Size:  34.2 KB

    So contacted Gemtech. I called and talked to them by phone and followed up with an email explaining the problem with photos. 48 business hours with no response, so I called them again. They looked at my email with me on the phone and agreed the barrel needs to go back to them. Just the barrel, not the serialized part.

    Disappointingly I found out that Smith and Wesson now owns Gemtech and they will not pay return freight or issue a return label for any Gemtech product, nor will they reimburse it. I put my request for a shipping label up the chain of command and am awaiting a reply.

    So now I am faced with a dilemma: Part of me just wants to hit this thing with a file and ghetto fix it myself. Part of me wants to pay a local machine shop to cut the groove deeper. Part of me wants to suck up the shipping, ship the barrel, and wait the probable eight weeks to get it back hopefully corrected, hopefully not lost in the mail.

    Luckily the serialized "can" part is fine and does not need to be shipped back and forth.

    Needless to say this experience has soured me on Gemtech and I don't think I will be buying any more product from them. Usually with broken or defective firearms, my experiences with Smith & Wesson, Ruger, and Beretta have been exceptionally good. They send a label, fix the problem and it is back in a few weeks, always without a run around.

    I am open to opinions from forum members on how to go about fixing this or if they recommend a better barrel smith to deal with it. I would rather spend my money with someone who gives a care than on shipping to Gemtech.
    Last edited by Doc_Glock; 08-24-2021 at 05:40 PM.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter HeavyDuty's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Not very bright but does lack ambition
    *Takes Gemtech off the list*
    Ken

    BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
    revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Doc_Glock View Post
    So now I am faced with a dilemma: Part of me just wants to hit this thing with a file and ghetto fix it myself. Part of me wants to pay a local machine shop to cut the groove deeper. Part of me wanst to suck up the shipping, ship the barrel, and wait the probable eight weeks to get it back hopefully corrected, hopefully not lost in the mail.
    If you return the barrel, Doc, they'll probably do a quick barrel exchange and you'll be back in business faster than you now expect.

  4. #4
    This the kind of thing most new buyers need to be discussing rather than a pure fixation on DB levels.

    I don't know how the suppressor part attaches to the barrel but either way, knowing what I know now, I would find a good gunsmith with all the right tools and have them fix it.

    You are definitely not alone in having problems with Gemtech. If you send it back to them you are going to be waiting for a long time in basically a defunct company that may or may not fix the problem. You might not see it again, ever. It's just a roll of the dice

    If it was anyone else, particularly a company not in the situation they are in, I would say send it back. In this case, no. All it would take is one memo from the top people that lays everyone off or shuts the door indefinitely.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Dunedin, FL, USA
    This situation reminds me of when S&W purchased Thompson/Center. When T/C was standalone, the customer service was amazing and the company did custom barrel runs for the T/C Collectors Association as well as running the Fox Ridge Custom shop. All of that went away when S&W bought the company. Then the product went away.

    I would likely have my local smith deal with the barrel or work with Volquartsen on a custom barrel replacement.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter jandbj's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    SNH
    Curious to see the resolution of this... in the eyes of the ATF the “can” is your serialized tube.

    If it goes back to Gemtech, they’ll either replace all the internals with new ones with your tube on it and send it back in record time, or they’ll deepen the extractor slot on your bits. Coin toss on how they resolve it.

    I’ve been sitting on my original Gemtech sealed (2004 vintage) OB2, waffling on having the GM22 upgrade service done or having someone else do the jailbreak and recore. This my interest in seeing how something sent to them progresses.

  7. #7
    That is really a shame. Phil Dater gave me my first can back in the 90s for something I did for him. I can recall when the FN P90 was brand new and he was working on suppressors for outfits who were using them. There were 2 in the US at the time. I remember shooting one at his shop. Phil was a serious encyclopedia of knowledge when it came to anything and everything involving suppressors. Things have certainly changed.

  8. #8
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    "carbine-infested rural (and suburban) areas"
    That's a really easy fix for someone with a mill and a slotting cutter. Get it done locally and right.

    I know S&W just had the first billion-dollar year for a peacetime small arms company, but I don't understand how causing companies that don't compete with one's core product line to not exist by buying them and shutting them down is profitable. I mean, I would totally understand if they bought Taurus and then ran it into the ground. Even if they could pull it off with Ruger, I would get the motivation. But T/C and a silencer company?
    .
    -----------------------------------------
    Not another dime.

  9. #9
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Desert Southwest
    Quote Originally Posted by alamo5000 View Post
    This the kind of thing most new buyers need to be discussing rather than a pure fixation on DB levels.

    I don't know how the suppressor part attaches to the barrel but either way, knowing what I know now, I would find a good gunsmith with all the right tools and have them fix it.

    You are definitely not alone in having problems with Gemtech. If you send it back to them you are going to be waiting for a long time in basically a defunct company that may or may not fix the problem. You might not see it again, ever. It's just a roll of the dice

    If it was anyone else, particularly a company not in the situation they are in, I would say send it back. In this case, no. All it would take is one memo from the top people that lays everyone off or shuts the door indefinitely.

    Thank you very much for that. I was unaware of their situation.

  10. #10
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Desert Southwest
    I will also add that this can is extremely quiet. I can hear the action and the bullet flying downrange. I have not tried subsonic ammo yet. But it is airsoft level quiet.

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •