BORELLI CONSULTING: Recreational Equipment Reviews

Henry AR-7 .22lr "Survival" Rifle
April 2007

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, I was an 18-year-old wanna be Rambo. I knew plenty of other guys my age that would have pretty much fit the same jesting description. Here I am, some number of years later though, and some of the knowledge and equipment I picked up back then still serves me well today. One item that I'm no longer in possession of, but that I recently had the opportunity to revisit, is my AR-7 "Survival" rifle. At the grand old age of 18 I had purchased mine, justifying the purchase to myself as "necessary so that I had protection and hunting capability if I got lost hiking or camping." Of course, it was illegal for me to carry the thing anyway - especially collapsed and concealed. Revisiting with a modern sample of the rifle I found that I missed mine and may have to seek purchasing a new one.

This design of rifle has been around for some time - more than four decades. Currently Henry Rifles is making the AR-7 Survival Rifle. The rifle, although long viewed as a "gimic" gun in some circles, gained some notoriety when Sean Connery, as James Bond, used it in the movie "From Russia With Love" released in 1963. The biggest strength of the weapon is its ability to collapse completely into the stock. The stock itself is primarily a foam filled plastic material that is watertight when sealed.

The rifle brakes down quickly and easily. Making sure the weapon is unloaded you unscrew the barrel from the receiver; unscrew the receiver from the stock; take the end cap off the stock and put the barrel and receiver in their places. Put in the two magazines that come with the rifle and put the end cap back on. What you end up carrying is just the stock which measures approximately 16 inches in length. It's lightweight - about 2.5 pounds - and easy to carry on your canoe, boat, ATV, etc. Remember to obey all your local laws. My problem at 19 to 20 years of age is that I lived in Maryland and carrying a collapsed / concealed rifle was illegal.

Henry Rifles is manufacturing the weapons in a black teflon finish, a camo finish and a silver finish. Recommended retail is between $225 and $275 and the Henry Rifles website gives buying instructions as well as assistance finding a dealer.

Now, about performance... Given the nature of this weapon it shoots well and with few glitches. I learned early on with mine not to shoot soft lead ammo. The feedramp is non-existent on this weapon. If the bullet nose doesn't line up with the chamber just right, a soft lead bullet will get hung up on the chamber edge. Jacketed or Jacketed Hollow Point ammo with a small cavity are mandatory for reliable functioning. The iron sights (windage adjustable rear, fixed front blade) provide adequate accuracy out to about fifty yards for small game. For a man size target you can easily engage out to a hundred or more yards. Benchrested shots from the AR-7 I had at hand resulted in five shot groups that ranged from one inch to about one and a half inches. This isn't a "tack driver" rifle, but that's not what it was designed for. For SURVIVAL hunting and defense it's exceptional, especially in light of how portable and easily stored it is.

Standard magazines carry eight rounds. Two come with the rifle. You can get after market ten and fifteen round magazines, but remember that they will not fit in the stock for that convenient storage.

When you first handle the rifle it feels goofy because of how light the stock is making the weapon feel front heavy. You get used to it and because the overall weight is so light, once you've mounted the rifle, you don't notice the weight distribution. Recoil in the semi-automatic system is as light as you'd expect from any .22lr weapon making follow on quick shots pretty easy. Overall length assembled is 35 inches which is still very compact for a shoulder fired weapon.

With proper ammo, as described, and just a little bit of practice, any competent shooter can become comfortable and efficient with this weapon. It stores easily and floats when stored making it ideal for boats, canoes, etc. The light 2.5 pound weight makes it great to drop into or strap onto your backpack (or bug out bag). As cheap as .22lr is to shoot, this can also be one heck of a fun plinker. Due to its dimensions it's not too big for children, allowing you to use an easily stored system to train your family as necessary. Due to the nature of the design there is no real way to attach a sling, so obviously this becomes a hand carried weapon once assembled.

I encourage you to check them out. I've seen plenty at various gun shows and the links provided can help you find one through Henry Rifles.

BE SAFE!

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Don't forget to check out our Tactical Equipment Review about various bags for miscellaneous purposes from BlackHawk.

This week's Training Article, an introduction to the discussion about whether or not soldiers fighting from a politically supported position can stand up to or defeat religiously motivated enemy combatants.

For a listing of all reviews in chronological order, GO HERE.

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