U.S. Survival AR-7

jason · 01-30-2012, 11:31 AM

Anyone seen this "survival" gun before? Henry Repeating Arms | Fine Rifles Made in America and Priced Right

Grandpa · 01-30-2012, 11:37 AM

Yes, wal-mart had one but as soon as I saw it I shut my eyes and walked away

oldsarge · 01-30-2012, 11:50 AM

I owned two of them back in the 70's, one black and one was like a marble looking finish. Not like the cammo pattern they have now. They are great little rifles and reliable, believe it or not. I will be picking up another one to replace the ones I had. I actually made a scope mount for one of mine. I had to sell them off due to hard times. I will get another one some day.

Pathfinder1 · 01-30-2012, 02:54 PM

Hi...

I don't know if it is the same maker (although Arma-Lite seems to ring a bell), but I've seen that rifle advertised a few decades ago. Don't have any idea how popular it got, but it was essentially the same as the one mentioned...minus the camo, of course.

And it sure is a handy gadget, though...and would make a really nice sweepstakes prize.

oldsarge · 01-30-2012, 03:03 PM

Your correct Pathfinder, it was called the Arma-Lite AR7 explorer. The one pictured here is like the first one I had. AR-7 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pathfinder1 · 01-30-2012, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldsarge

Your correct Pathfinder, it was called the Arma-Lite AR7 explorer. The one pictured here is like the first one I had. AR-7 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks, (not so) oldsarge...!!

Grandpa · 01-30-2012, 03:59 PM

Yes, I wanted the Arma-lite but was broke at the time. Now I'm not broke but grandma has spent all my money so I still have to wait.

oldsarge · 01-30-2012, 05:40 PM

They made it in a pistol too!

wvbreamfisherman · 01-30-2012, 06:35 PM

I have an AR-7, and it's not terribly reliable, although mine is a lot better since I polished the chamber and relieved the feed ramp a bit. Mine has a rather crappy peep rear sight, but you could probably pot a squirrel or rabbit out to 50-75 yards with a little practice.

I don't see any particular reason you couldn't rig up a grooved adapter to mount a scope on it, but not sure it's worth the effort.

Not awful for a survival rifle that will rarely be used, provided in large quantities by a low bidder, but not exactly a highly functional weapon either.

oldsarge · 01-31-2012, 04:57 AM

Yes the old ones did need a little work. I did the same thing to mine when I had it them. My buddy owns a gun shop and say that since they are being made by Henry now the quality is much better. For a survival weapon that come apart and floats, it's a pretty neat little package. The scope mount I made mounted on the side using the side plate screw, two tabs that arched over the receiver held it as close to zero as possible when removing and mounting took place. If I would have had a machinist make this it would have turned out much better.

There were other saying that the barrel warped also, I don't know how many rounds you had to put through this to create that much heat to warp a barrel. or did some one run enough rounds through it to get it hot and then get it wet, who knows.