Posted on 07/25/2012 8:12:40 AM PDT by JoeProBono
The Armalite AR-7 is a semiautomatic .22 LR detachable rifle originally developed from the AR-5 for the USAF as a lightweight survival rifle. The receiver assembly and barrel can be contained in the buttstock and and it is one of the few firearms that will float if put in water, although it is not waterproof. The receiver and magazine are made from aluminum.
Armalite began production of the AR-7 in 1959 and sold the rights to Charter Arms in 1973. From 1973 to 1980, Charter Arms built the AR-7. After 1980, Charter Arms sold the rights to Henry Repeating Arms Company. Though Henry Repeating Arms currently owns the rights to the gun, other companies have built variations of the weapon under license. Survival Arms, Cocoa, FL built the rifle under license from 1990-1997. The name of the rifle was changed in 2009 to the Henry U.S. Survival Rifle. (The Henry version has a grooved receiver for Weaver Tip-off riflescope mounts. The Charter version had a separate riflescope base as an accessory. The original Armalite AR-7 was iron sights only.)
It is still in production and has been marketed as a survival/backpack gun due to its compact size when broken down and its light weight......
(Excerpt) Read more at imfdb.org ...
http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Henry_US_Survival
I had one of the very early ones. Unlike a lot of other people’s experience, mine was totally reliable.
On the minus side it was not real accurate, not terrible but not good either. It also just never felt right to me. I didn’t even like the way it carried while stored in the stock.
I guess it would have fulfilled it’s basic purpose tho. You could store it along with some ammo in a small place.
S&W M&P 15-22 with 25 round mag. Kid loves it and we've shot over 500 rds. with only 1-2 misfires.
It’s pretty cool. I prefer the keltec SU-16 though.
I had a Charter Arms AR 7 years ago. It was actually an accurate little 22. I ended up giving it to a friend who liked it more than I did.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/MAG-4141
/johnny
Ping!
I always thought it was a good idea, generally well executed but I also thought a better idea was a full sized .22 auto or revolver, say a 4 to 6 inch barrel was a better one.
Any of the good ones, say a Colt Woodsman, S&W model 17, or any of the name brand ones which are reliable. Just as accurate, tho not as powerful, but much more compact.
The Henry is great......the Charter Arms on the other hand is basically good as a door stop.
The ArmaLite AR-7 Explorer, designed by M-16 inventor Eugene Stoner,
The new Ruger 10 22 Takedown is a nice rifle, in stainless. It is readily separated into two subassemblies, offering a convenient transport and storage option. Impact Guns is offering it for $319.99 (on backorder)
http://www.impactguns.com/ruger-1022-takedown-rifle-stainless-black-stock-11100-736676111008.aspx
I owned an AR-7 for the longest time. A handy little plinker. I had two straight clips, and found a 30-round banana clip.
Found that .22LR lead rounds deformed in the chamber and jammed the rifle. Copper rounds solved the problem.
That rifle is now at the bottom of Lake Okeechobee.
Found one at Dick’s for $239. It’s on the wish list.
***..the Charter Arms on the other hand is basically good as a door stop.****
I’ve always wanted one, but when I read a review of the Charter Arms POS I decided to stay with my trusty and very accurate Remington Nylon 66.
WALMART SE PA $200
As that big brother/sis are reading & listening to this stuff.....
I know a few people who have them & keep them ready & have had real good success with them, & never have had any troubles in shooting them. They did make 1 minor mod. to the mag. & that was open them up more by .01mm for the removal of the next round a little easier.
Other things to consider in this area - the Marlin Papoose, which is a .22lr takedown rifle that comes in a tiny pouch. I keep one in my bugout bag.
Also, Ruger lust launched a takedown version of the 10/22.
I’m not sure exactly what your post is intended to suggest; however, to clarify, I have owned a Charter Arms AR-7 for over 20 years and it is unequivicably the most unreliable “jammomatic” pile of junk that I have ever owned. It has had one trip to the factory and back and is still a lemon. There are numerous owners with similiar experiences.
Well, so much for “it floats”.....
Trivia: James Bond carried one in his attache case in “From Russian with Love”.
That was where I first saw the AR-7, and I counted myself happy I found one.
And to be fair, the rifle was stowed in a boat that capsized and sank. I tested it once in a bathtub and yes, it floated. I wouldn’t want to keep it immersed for long, though.
The problem with drum magazines, or ant magazine holding 50 or more rounds, is that jams are frequent.
Just ask the movie theater terrorist who used a 100 round drum.
IIRC, it was used in a Charles Bronson movie. I just don’t know the name of the movie.
Beretta Neos 22, I have one it is a semi auto pistol and you can add a stock and longer barrel. Mine is super accurate.
The AR-7 in popular culture
As opposed to the original hunting and survival weapon envisioned by its creators, the .22 calibre AR-7 was used as an assassination weapon in several films.
The AR-7 features prominently in From Russia With Love where Q Branch issues James Bond with one as part of his attache case. Q Branch’s AR-7 is unique in that Q said it was of .25 caliber (the cartridges appear to be .25 ACP). Bond uses the AR-7 to assassinate a Soviet agent with a suppressor and infrared telescopic sight on the weapon.[8] Bond also uses the AR-7 to shoot a crewman of an attacking helicopter causing the crewman to drop a hand grenade that destroys the helicopter. The AR-7 returns in Goldfinger being used by Tilly Masterson in unsuccessful assassination attempts. In the pre-credits sequence of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Bond has a wooden stock AR-7 in his glove compartment.[9]
In the 1972 movie “Rage”, George C. Scott uses an AR-7 in his revenge campaign against those he believes are responsible for his son’s accidental death.
Charles Bronson’s hitman character used an AR-7 in Città violenta to assassinate a person in a moving car.
In the second season of Magnum, P.I., a “sick kid” uses a scoped AR-7 in an attempt to kill his sports hero, a football quarterback, in the episode “One More Summer.”
In the 10th Episode of Season One of Boston Legal, “Hired Guns”, the character, Denny Crane wounds a hostage taker with an AR-7.
The AR-7 with various accessories such as a wooden stock, front and rear grips, and an extended barrel was used in such superspy films as The Ambushers and television shows as Get Smart. [10] The Matt Helm film Murderers’ Row features a forerunner of the Explorer II with the weapon turned into a long barreled pistol with the gimmick of only firing several seconds after the trigger has been pulled.
http://www.gunslot.com/pictures/ar-7
The AR-7 IMO, is one of those surivial thingies kept in the plane, boat, &c that one hopes they never have to use for intended prupose.
“I have owned a Charter Arms AR-7 for over 20 years and it is unequivicably the most unreliable “jammomatic” pile of junk that I have ever owned.”
I had the same problem with mine. Dad gave it to me new about 1977. It was a jammomatic then. Dad, being the machinist and fix all genius that he is, diagnosed the problem to be the plastic dual recoil spring guide.
He manufactured one from a flat washer and two steel threaded guide rods. That thing shoots reliable now, always has since the modification.
I don’t really care for it, as a shooter , due to lack of accuracy. I still have it, but is in the corner of the collection designated “fond memories”, not the go to guns.
Triple barrel combo. It's been used at least once, if not twice, to scare off real or imagined predators when extremely off course landings meant a night in the wilds.
Bump for later, ‘cause I know the search function isn’t going to work on that title.
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