Does anyone have any experience with Henry's survival rifle? It is basically the same as the old AR-7 .22 take down rifle. I'm wondering if the newly designed Henry is a significant improvement over the old model. Any comments?
Yleefox
Henry survival rifle
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bigfatdave
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They come up over at rimfirecentral fairly often.
Even if it is a turd, Henry will fix it until it works, I think they still depend on magazines more than the average rifle would, though.
I got excited about getting one from Henry, then I handled one and the ergonomics just don't work for me at all. I've been wanting a folding or takedown rimfire though, but the others are just a bit too pricey, I suppose I'll have to find a floating case for my KelTec sub2000 and make do with a handgun for rimfire survival needs.
Even if it is a turd, Henry will fix it until it works, I think they still depend on magazines more than the average rifle would, though.
I got excited about getting one from Henry, then I handled one and the ergonomics just don't work for me at all. I've been wanting a folding or takedown rimfire though, but the others are just a bit too pricey, I suppose I'll have to find a floating case for my KelTec sub2000 and make do with a handgun for rimfire survival needs.
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Pete D.
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survival rifle
I had one of the old AR7s - when they were being made/sold by Charter Arms. It worked. My son has it now; keeps it on his sailboat.
I opted for a Springfield Armory M6.
Pete
I opted for a Springfield Armory M6.
Pete
"Only hunting and mountain climbing are sports. The rest are just games." - R.Ruark
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Pete D.
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M6
Ylee: Correct. SA seems to go through long periods during which the M6 is not available. Then they have a run made.
I waited some years for them to become available.
The last one that I saw retail was bought by a friend of mine about five years ago.
Pete
I waited some years for them to become available.
The last one that I saw retail was bought by a friend of mine about five years ago.
Pete
Last edited by Pete D. on Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Only hunting and mountain climbing are sports. The rest are just games." - R.Ruark
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bigfatdave
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If you're OK with a single-shot break action, Rossi makes affordable modular guns, theoretically you could have a single stock/fire control assembly and a bunch of barrels in rimfire, centerfire, shotgun, whatever
I've shot a .22LR / 20gauge set, recoil was brisk in the 20gauge but the .22 was pretty nice.
http://www.rossiusa.com/product-list.cfm?category=3
They're no M6, but they are light and pretty damn simple, not a lot to break down.
I've shot a .22LR / 20gauge set, recoil was brisk in the 20gauge but the .22 was pretty nice.
http://www.rossiusa.com/product-list.cfm?category=3
They're no M6, but they are light and pretty damn simple, not a lot to break down.
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bigfatdave
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arizona-hermit
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Re: Henry survival rifle
I have one of the new Henry survival rifles. While it is 'nice', I prefer the Ruger MK-10 far, far more. The peep sight on the Henry is cheap and very, very basic. Out of the box, the rifle will not feed anything reliably. To fix this you need to take a dremel tool and make a 'slight' depression (ramp) into the breech, since it is a 90 degree angle originally. This will make it feed reliably, but be sure not to take too much away or you can have case explosions (not good trust me). The old, original AR-7s were a fantastic little tool, the new Henry's get a pass from me.Yleefox wrote:Does anyone have any experience with Henry's survival rifle? It is basically the same as the old AR-7 .22 take down rifle. I'm wondering if the newly designed Henry is a significant improvement over the old model. Any comments?
Yleefox
While my Ruger MK-10 will not float if accidentally dropped into water, it will certainly shoot rings around the Henry any day of the week.
And I bought 20 mags for the Henry too (what a joke). Oh well, live and learn.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain. [1 COR 15:10a - NASB]
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arizona-hermit
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AR7 Feed Fix
I'll see if I can get my photobug better half to take a picture for me.Yleefox wrote:AH
Interesting fix for the feeding issues. Could you possibly post a pic of that mod?
Y
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain. [1 COR 15:10a - NASB]
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arizona-hermit
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Oh Well
The wife cannot get a clear enough picture to actually show the mod I made, but here is an article from another fella that solved the common problem another way.
http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/ar7gm32.htm
*The Infamous AR7*
(How I made the dang thing work)
By: GM3
03 November 2003
Ah, enter the AR7, the original brain child of the great Eugene Stoner, designed and produced in 1958....We have all probably heard of it, the little black rifle that disassembles and fits into its' own stock that floats, .22 long rifle semi auto.....Ah the memories, 20 years ago I was a poor starving College student and used part of my GSL to buy a Charter Arms AR7. I was beginning to get serious about survivalism and this was my first really "big" purchase. I look back on this time in my life as fond memories and that crummy little Charter Arms AR7 was a part of it......Really cool little rifle I thought. Bought some .22's, went out in the woods, loaded it.....Bang, jam, bang, jam, bang, bang, jam, jam, bang, jam.
And so it went, disappointed I asked around and received many answers, "Total piece of junk" was typical. The "sights" consisted of a cheap flat stamped out piece of sheet metal in the rear and a pot metal blade on the front, when it did shoot it did not hit where aimed. The barrel appeared to be warped slightly and if you held it next to your eye outward you would swear it was . I mounted a scope on it, purchased a 30 round magazine for it, polished the internal parts and had it working good sometimes but adding a scope ruined the original purpose of the take down little carbine. I fought the Charter Arms offering for about a year then bought a Ruger 10/22, that was 19 years ago...
Years later, when my firearms collection began to grow, I read an article in the July 1999 American Survival Guide,. I was assembling a "BOB" and thought this carbine might be worth another try as it was now made by Henry....The article described in detail how to solve the jamming problem and the author could get 3/4" .groups at 25 yards with it. I ordered one and discovered it only weighed 2 1/2 pounds and now incorporated a copolymer barrel with a steel insert that was a straight as a new Easton arrow. I was amazed how light this was...Please note the size of the AR7 as compared to a Colt AR15 Target Sporter in the photograph below.
Henry now calls itself "Survival Arms" which seems appropriate. The original AR7 concept was to issue aircrewman a light weight workable carbine of small caliber to use if stranded (Shot-down) on foreign soil. Armalite made the original model but the civilian version was named the "Explorer" and they are now a semi-collectors item. I spotted a pristine model at a local gun show last year and the dealer ask for and received $250.00 for it! The Armalite had a reputation for a good working firearm and the company made a tidy profit from brisk sales....Somewhere along the trail Charter Arms acquired the AR7 and produced a pistol version and did a poor job in manufacturing and quality control. Survival Arms is a much better version but still had the feeding problem, which luckily is fairly easy to fix. Choat used to make a "peep" sight for the rear, I still had one from my Charter Arms and it fit on the Survival Arms AR7, it is a vast improvement over the stock offerings. The Henry AR7 incorporates an extra well in the stock to accommodate and extra magazine, which is included, another improvement over Armilite and Charter Arms.
The feed problem encountered is an easy fix and I probably could have done it on the Charter Arms crummy AR7. The chamber needs a very slight chamfer on the receiving end so the bullet does not hang up while being fed from the magazine on the sharp corner. I used a .30 FMJ bullet dipped in lapping compound and slowly and gently twisted it on the chamber, slowly and a little at a time. I would work the chamfer job then reassemble the rifle and go in the back and test fire a full magazine, 8 rounds, in my fire barrel. I repeated this process until the rifle did not jam any more EXTREME care must be taken not to chamfer too much, you will wreck the accuracy if you do. It works now and never jams and the accuracy was not effected. I use CCI mini mags in most of my .22s' and the AR7 likes this ammo also. . The take down features on this little rifle are clever and unique. The barrel, receiver and spare magazine all fit into the stock and held in place tightly by the plastic butt-plate. Assembly is straight forward and simple. Remove the receiver, place it on the front of the stock, screw the self aligning thumb bolt into receiver, remove barrel, line up barrel lug to receiver notch and screw on the barrel collar. Disassembly is in reverse order. I leave a loaded magazine in the receiver so I can pull back the bolt and jack a round in quickly. With a little practice this entire process can be accomplished in 20 seconds. The AR7 when disassembled fits nicely in a small ALICE pack and at only 2.5 pounds it is not too much of a burden.
It ain't the most accurate little carbine, nor the prettiest but the take down feature, the floating capabilities, the .22 lr semi auto function and the modest price of 125.00 (Wholesale in Shot Gun News) makes it a handy and affordable tool. I finally have one I like and trust and have sold many for the Henry Survival Arms Company. I take the AR7 out when shooting with friends, they try it, like it, buy it, happy shooting and as always, Semper Paratus
gm3
http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/ar7gm32.htm
*The Infamous AR7*
(How I made the dang thing work)
By: GM3
03 November 2003
Ah, enter the AR7, the original brain child of the great Eugene Stoner, designed and produced in 1958....We have all probably heard of it, the little black rifle that disassembles and fits into its' own stock that floats, .22 long rifle semi auto.....Ah the memories, 20 years ago I was a poor starving College student and used part of my GSL to buy a Charter Arms AR7. I was beginning to get serious about survivalism and this was my first really "big" purchase. I look back on this time in my life as fond memories and that crummy little Charter Arms AR7 was a part of it......Really cool little rifle I thought. Bought some .22's, went out in the woods, loaded it.....Bang, jam, bang, jam, bang, bang, jam, jam, bang, jam.
And so it went, disappointed I asked around and received many answers, "Total piece of junk" was typical. The "sights" consisted of a cheap flat stamped out piece of sheet metal in the rear and a pot metal blade on the front, when it did shoot it did not hit where aimed. The barrel appeared to be warped slightly and if you held it next to your eye outward you would swear it was . I mounted a scope on it, purchased a 30 round magazine for it, polished the internal parts and had it working good sometimes but adding a scope ruined the original purpose of the take down little carbine. I fought the Charter Arms offering for about a year then bought a Ruger 10/22, that was 19 years ago...
Years later, when my firearms collection began to grow, I read an article in the July 1999 American Survival Guide,. I was assembling a "BOB" and thought this carbine might be worth another try as it was now made by Henry....The article described in detail how to solve the jamming problem and the author could get 3/4" .groups at 25 yards with it. I ordered one and discovered it only weighed 2 1/2 pounds and now incorporated a copolymer barrel with a steel insert that was a straight as a new Easton arrow. I was amazed how light this was...Please note the size of the AR7 as compared to a Colt AR15 Target Sporter in the photograph below.
Henry now calls itself "Survival Arms" which seems appropriate. The original AR7 concept was to issue aircrewman a light weight workable carbine of small caliber to use if stranded (Shot-down) on foreign soil. Armalite made the original model but the civilian version was named the "Explorer" and they are now a semi-collectors item. I spotted a pristine model at a local gun show last year and the dealer ask for and received $250.00 for it! The Armalite had a reputation for a good working firearm and the company made a tidy profit from brisk sales....Somewhere along the trail Charter Arms acquired the AR7 and produced a pistol version and did a poor job in manufacturing and quality control. Survival Arms is a much better version but still had the feeding problem, which luckily is fairly easy to fix. Choat used to make a "peep" sight for the rear, I still had one from my Charter Arms and it fit on the Survival Arms AR7, it is a vast improvement over the stock offerings. The Henry AR7 incorporates an extra well in the stock to accommodate and extra magazine, which is included, another improvement over Armilite and Charter Arms.
The feed problem encountered is an easy fix and I probably could have done it on the Charter Arms crummy AR7. The chamber needs a very slight chamfer on the receiving end so the bullet does not hang up while being fed from the magazine on the sharp corner. I used a .30 FMJ bullet dipped in lapping compound and slowly and gently twisted it on the chamber, slowly and a little at a time. I would work the chamfer job then reassemble the rifle and go in the back and test fire a full magazine, 8 rounds, in my fire barrel. I repeated this process until the rifle did not jam any more EXTREME care must be taken not to chamfer too much, you will wreck the accuracy if you do. It works now and never jams and the accuracy was not effected. I use CCI mini mags in most of my .22s' and the AR7 likes this ammo also. . The take down features on this little rifle are clever and unique. The barrel, receiver and spare magazine all fit into the stock and held in place tightly by the plastic butt-plate. Assembly is straight forward and simple. Remove the receiver, place it on the front of the stock, screw the self aligning thumb bolt into receiver, remove barrel, line up barrel lug to receiver notch and screw on the barrel collar. Disassembly is in reverse order. I leave a loaded magazine in the receiver so I can pull back the bolt and jack a round in quickly. With a little practice this entire process can be accomplished in 20 seconds. The AR7 when disassembled fits nicely in a small ALICE pack and at only 2.5 pounds it is not too much of a burden.
It ain't the most accurate little carbine, nor the prettiest but the take down feature, the floating capabilities, the .22 lr semi auto function and the modest price of 125.00 (Wholesale in Shot Gun News) makes it a handy and affordable tool. I finally have one I like and trust and have sold many for the Henry Survival Arms Company. I take the AR7 out when shooting with friends, they try it, like it, buy it, happy shooting and as always, Semper Paratus
gm3
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain. [1 COR 15:10a - NASB]