Henry Repeating Arms AR-7 For Sale

Henry AR-7 Survival Rifle Overview

First lets understand the history of this great little survival rifle. Until the 1950’s, fighter pilots who were shot down and were not captured, only had the military issue Colt 1911 .45 ACP. A good sidearm for protection, but not much for hunting. Two weapons were issued and designated for survival use, the M4 Survival Rifle and the M6 Aircrew Survival weapon. These were twin barrel, over and under, single shot survival rifles. The upper barrel was a .22 hornet and the lower was a .410 smooth bore shotgun. The guns were heavy and awkward. In 1958, at the start of the Vietnam War, ArmaLite (maker of the M16 at the time) was commissioned to come up with something better. Enter the ArmaLite AR-7. It is basically the exact same gun that is still in production today from Henry Firearms. ArmaLite held onto the patent until 1973, when it was sold to Charter Arms. Now Charter Arms makes a pretty fair weapon, but when it came to keeping up the AT-7, it was a disaster. I should know, I owned several, including 2 or 3 of the Explorer AR-7 pistols. They were temperamental to say the least. Charter held it until 1990. I swore that as long as they were making them, that I’d never own another. The little rifle bounced around between two other companies until 1997 when Henry took over. Knowing Henry’s passion, I waited a little while and bought one. I have given them away as gifts several times since then, and no one has ever complained or given them back. There are still 2 in my gun safe tonight.



So what is the fuss all about? Basically, what you have is a “take down” semi-automatic .22LR. that unscrews into three separate components. There is the barrel (16.15 in.), the semi-automatic receiver, and the buttstock. Here’s where it starts to get good. The barrel, the receiver, and two 8-round clips all fit into pre-molded holding areas in the hollow plastic stock. And then it really gets good. The entire package weighs just 2.5 pounds……...and then really gets good. Whether assembled or whether disassembled, the little rifle floats in the water!



If your not happy with just 8 rounds, there are 10, 15, 25, and 50 rounders made for it. The little gun is ammunition and clip sensitive. Use only high velocity ammunition, and if the ears on the clips get worn or bent, just buy a new one, don’t monkey with the old one. I should know.