Henry AR-7 Survival Rifle

[Tom in GA]

I thought I would post a few lines on my recent purchase of a Henry AR-7 survival rifle. I got it two days ago from a local gun dealer for $239 + tax. They seem to be a little hard to find as I checked with three local dealers before I located one....the only one he had.

It is a very quick assembly for the rifle. You can do it in a minute or less. It came fairly clean, but I stripped and cleaned it anyway. There wasn't much to it as you only had to remove the bolt to expose the innards which were two springs a nd plastic spring guide. This is one simple rifle.

At the range, I wanted to try several types of .22 loads as I heard this little beast is a bit fussy about what it shoots. I shot the Federal HV bulk pack ammo to get it sighted in. I only had to add a bit of elevation and a slight windage adjustment to the front sight to shoot at 50 yards. There is a big screw that you loosen to move the aperature sight manually. The ornage front plastic sight just drifts ( be careful as I was a bit too forceful and shoved it out of the dovetail).

The Federal bulk .22 gave a reasonable group of 2-3 inches. The Federal standard velocity gave a slightly better group. The Federal HV 40 grain solid point gave about the same group as the bulk pack. The Winchester Dynapoint 40 grain load gave a group about the same as the Federal standard velocity. There were no misfeeds or failures to fire although the standard velocity showed a 'limp' ejection. The rifle seems to prefer HV loads.

Other observations included a nice crisp trigger pull. The trigger itself is serrated and after about 50 rounds my trigger finger felt a bit 'grooved'. The is a neat little plinker. Accuracy will not be its high point, but what do expect from a screw together rifle with a 16 inch barrel that weighs in a under 3 pounds. I plan to mount a scope and continue to try more types of ammo to see if I can find the best rifle / ammo combination.

[Emri]

We have sold quite a few of them and not one has been brought back with any problems. That says a lot for the Henry Arms Co. I remember the Charter Arms version and it was plagued with inherent problems.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a scope if you can see the sights and target. 2 to 3 inches at 50yds is about all one can expect from a gun like that. Actually, I think that is real good!

Glad you got a good one and are happy with it.

Emri