There is no doubt Henry Repeating Arms is a quality name in the firearms industry; they are one of the top five long gun manufacturers in the United States, and their history goes back to when Benjamin Tyler Henry patented the first repeating rifle in 1860.
The Henry Repeating Arms AR-7
One of Henry’s newest generation of rifles is the Henry US Survival Rifle, otherwise known as the AR 7 takedown rifle. Recently I got my hands on one of these, and I’ve been having a lot of fun plinking stuff with it.
The rifle will shoot just about any .22lr round you can find. I have seen some reports of people saying other AR-7 brands don’t cycle right, but I’ve run a couple of thousand rounds through the Henry without having any kind of cycling problems. Henry has completely remanufactured the AR7, and it doesn’t have any of the problems or quality issues seen in other manufacturer’s versions.
Overall the rifle is pretty darn accurate and has very little recoil (although most .22s have very little recoil).
Why would you buy a Henry AR7?
The Henry Survival Rifle is modeled after the infamous U.S. Air Force AR-7. The compact and lightweight rifle is great for survival; and can easily fit into any size backpack.
The Henry U.S. Survival rifle is extremely lightweight, weighing in at only 2.5 pounds. It can be easily broken down into three pieces in a couple of seconds, and all of those pieces fit nicely inside the waterproof stock — including 24 rounds of ammo, if you have the magazines fully loaded with one in the receiver. My one real complaint about the rifle is I wish it shipped with three magazines, so you could fit the full 24 rounds in the stock. As is, the rifle ships with two magazines, allowing you to carry 16 rounds inside the stock.
The real benefit in buying one of these AR7 rifles is once broken down; it’s only 16 inches long and will fit easily inside any pack. While something like a 10/22 Ruger is a much better rifle, if you’re looking for a .22 that can easily fit into a hiking backpack or bugout bag, this will definitely do the job.
Henry AR 7 Specs
- Caliber: .22LR
- Capacity: 8
- Barrel Length: 16.1”
- Overall Length: 35”
- Weight: 3.5 lbs.
- Stock: Lightweight polymer
- Sights: Rear adjustable peep/front blade (with integrated Weaver accessory rail)
I got a chance to handle a Henry AR-7 a few weeks ago at the range. Excellent execution of a sub-standard design. Better Fit and Finish than any previous manufacturer of the AR-7 I’ve ever handled. But I wish someone would take this concept (collapsible, floatable, compact .22) and a clean sheet of paper and create a rifle that feeds a variety of ammo, has decent sights, has a mounting block for an optical sight (and a place to store said small optical sight), and doesn’t shoot itself loose in 1000 rounds (no indication that the Henry will do that, but I’ve seen and worked on several AR-7’s that were loosened up and useless!).
The AR-7 is a 50 year old design! Henry can do better!
Reasons why this rifle is made of win:
1- Plentiful Ammunition: .22’s are so ridiculously abundant worldwide, it’s not even funny.
2- Floats: You can afford to drop this rifle in the water by accident, because it floats in water for easy retrieval.
3- Low Recoil: Anyone could fire a .22 due its low recoil, allowing you to get your sights back on target after each shot.
i believe center fire long rifles have a max mag size of 5. but Rim fire rifles don’t have a max mag size. i just took my course so the knowledge is fresh. im torn between this/Papoose/10 22TD
and i just noticed this post was from 4 years ago, oh well.
You mention a newer version of the AR 7 When did that come out? Mine is at lease three years old. Just started to use it on the rabbits the get out of our free range pen. Does the Red Dot scope mount on thins
gun? thanks jerome
A good air rifle will keep you fed as well. $150 plus a few tins of pellets will keep you in good shape for a while….legal in all states, no background check required…simple
Guys the AR-7 is totally legal in Canada and is sold as a non-restricted firearm. You only need a standard (non-restricted) Possession and Acquisition License (PAL)to get one. They run around $260-$299 (from the rip-off merchants). Camo ones are more (but who the heck needs that? “Cool” will NOT keep you alive). My advice is to skip adding any optics or you won’t be able to fit the thing into its own stock. Learn to shoot with the iron sights and leave it at that. It’s only a .22 after all. As for what you gan take down with it…someone mentioned 50 pounds. I call BS on that. I have spoken to people who have taken down 1,000 pound moose with a .22. Just pop a couple of .22s through the rib cage and sit a while. Pretty soon that moose will start to feel unwell and lie down. In a few minutes it will all be over. Screw ethics…you wanna live or not? When the SHTF, all bets are off! By the way, that means Canada’s tagt-assed gun laws too, so the ARs will be coming out for sure!!!
does it come in a 17 HMR round
I have two AR7s, one by Survival Arms, now defunct, and one made a few years ago by Henry. The Survival Arms jams every few shots, mostly failure to feed, but also stove pipes and did other ugly things until I replaced the hammer and trigger.
The Henry is vastly more reliable with regular ammo, but occasionally jams with subsonic with a suppressor (and after market steel barrel). It does shoot way too low and to the left and there is no way to fix it because the sights don’t adjust far enough. So I’d say as a survival gun, it is worthless unless you plan on mounting optical sights (and consequently not storing it in the stock). I tried the Henry with two different barrels with the same shooting low and left, the original factory barrel, and an aftermarket all steel barrel (threaded for the suppressor). I don’t like the safety on the Henry. It flips to fire far too easily. I often find it on fire after walking through brush. I can probably fix that. I also have a Ruger 10/22 breakdown with a wood stock and threaded barrel. It occasionally jams, but infrequently compared to the Henry. It’s sights were dead on from the factory. If you want a gun that works and you can carry, get an ultralight 22/45 with a threaded barrel and a suppressor. Get the model that has iron sights but accepts optical sights. Mount a Fastfire III on top and a laser on the bottom. When I put either the red dot or laser on a squirrel or rabbit, I own it. With a good suppressor and subsonic ammo it is about as loud as a pellet gun.
I picked up the Henry Survival Rifle a few weeks ago, and overall I am pleased. It does have some cycling issues, but it’s fun to shoot.
Don’t expect this .22 to perform like a Ruger 10/22 or Remington 597, and don’t waste your time and money with modifications and “enhancements” (aka optics). Appreciate the gun for what it is: a simple, fold-up, small-game, short range gun :-)
Henry US Survival AR-7 Rifle is the gun for my camping.
how much?
To all,
For some onknown reason i started looking at these rifles, (i have several that are better, so why???..i have no idea). I have read several reviews of the new Henry AR-7, and did not like what I saw. (Problems with the Butt Cap not sealing properly, rifle sinking in a few minutes, and so on), and not to mention price…(For the $300.00 the Henry would cost me, i could get a 10/22, so no help there.) this whole search was for a fun gun/BOB Gun/back-up, to the back-up…) So i called the “Few” shops in my area (FYI-Academy Sports does not carry these, “Corperate” says they would not sell well, hmmm…). Found a “Old” Charter Arms for a good price, was a little worn, but works well, has an actual Metal Barrel, not a “Sleeve” covered with ABS Plastic. So far, no FTF’s, or FTE’s. Does anyone know if the “New” Henry Mags will work in this gun? Trying to find OEM Charter Mags difficult.
I love my AR-7,however, my fist choice would be a Ruger single 6 with both cylinders, hands down no question or doubt.