Years ago I owned AR7’s made by Armalite and Charter Arms. Mine were purchased used and were well worn. I am interested in buying a new one for my grandson’s upcoming birthday. If you have recent experience with one of these please voice your opinion of these new Henry rifles. Thank you.

I had one for a while. Interesting concept, but in reality, it just feels awkward to shoot.
Decent rifle, acceptable accuracy. The trigger sucked. Heavy and gritty. Fortunately, its a very simple mechanism and a bit of stoning improved it greatly.
The biggest problem is the plastic front sight. Its meant to be windage adjustable side to side, but it doesn't take much of a bump to move it. Its easily knocked out of zero.
Frankly, I'd buy the grandson something better.

I have one. It surprised me how well it shot, but the trigger could be better. I ran across a deal on it and couldn't resist.

I had one, fun but not really practical.

Looking gimmicky/different, M6 Scout.
Looking right of passage, 10/22.

I have two, neither is a Henry. One is a Charter and it shoots tighter groups. It is sold as a survival rifle, and that is its highest and best use. I would not buy one for a kid as starter gun. There are far better .22 rifles for that purpose available. I'd look for a good condition used bolt action or pump .22. I am partial to Remingtons but there are lots of Savage and Mossburgs out there.

Saddle up Cowboy and ride on over to a Winchester 9422,
or head in that direction.
Bolts, Pump, Ruger 10/22, proper stock size, maybe adjustable
or any rifle that he won't have to be on the inside of the barn
to hit it.

Pic of grandson's birth gift.
Now almost seven.
Archery?
Was required before using firearms.

Passed on an AR7 long ago.
Worth saving for/buying something better, new/used
at today's price.

G&A '81 pic
They do float.

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Have Fun/Stay Safe

The Henry I bought had poor accuracy, a very easily knocked-off front sight, an awful trigger, and showed a lot of wear after not that many rounds. I also went through a couple stock back-caps because they would crack. Plus funky ergonomics. Cool to have a "Bond Gun" on the cheap and might have utility as a survival gun, but total pass on a first .22. You can't go wrong with the 10/22, but for me a nice vintage Marlin does a lot of good shooting for very little money.

Unless you need the ability to load it into the stock and it still float (and who would?) there are much better options.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

I had one. I actually liked it pretty well, but not enough to keep it when I needed funds for a different toy.

Trigger was rough. Started out horrible, but improved throughout a thousand rounds or so.

It was fairly reliable, as long as I didn't mix up mags from my Charter Arms. They ain't messing around when they say to use Henry mags only!

Accuracy was quite acceptable for a gun like that. ergonomics were a little funky, but manageable. I considered it a silly, fun little plinker and it filled that role quite well.

Depending on age either a chipmunk, lever or a CZ bolt. I dislike the idea of an auto for a first gun.

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Front sight and squeeze

Have one Henry survival rifle: crude, clumsy, maybe OK for a survival rifle.
Not at all suitable for a kids rifle, IMHO.

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Science plus Art

OP makes no mention of this being a first rifle. His grandson could be 30 yrs old. We don’t know. I think they are pretty cool. They accurate enough to hunt with. And work great as a survival rifle in backpack or saddle bag. Which is their intended use. I intend to buy one this winter and play around with it. The one I shot recently had no front sight looseness and trigger was acceptable.

My first rifle was a 10/22 which I still have. Dad issued one round at a time early on, and Ruger actually makes a single shot mag adaptor. The Henry is cool because it is a survival rifle, and when I was younger I was all in for that "living off the land in an emergency". A Prince Albert tin housed my survival kit for every hunting trip. For that it is great fun and not expensive. A gimmick gun? Maybe, but as a kid I really got into it.

I would look into a Ruger American compact in 22 L.R. or 22 magnum instead. Synthetic stock and 18 inch barrel makes for a good survival and hunting/target rifle.

An amusing review of the Henry AR7: The Rimfire Report: A Henry AR-7 Cautionary ReviewThe Firearm Blog

A couple of things I noticed as opposed to the earlier Charter Arms produced AR7 is that this latest iteration has a rail atop the receiver and there's provision in the stock to stow two extra magazines instead of just one.

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

The AR7 is more costly than I imagined. I am no fan of the Ruger 10/22, as I have owned a half dozen and never had one that worked properly. The Ruger American, if available in a youth model, threaded barrel, .22 magnum might work for him. I could also put together a AR-15 in 300 Blackout for him, as I have 1/3 of the parts lying around.

A bolt action .22 Hornet would be nice to find.

I had the original Armalite model with the marbled looking stock. It was a supremely cool rifle, and actually surprisingly reliable and easy to shoot with. The packing into a stock bit ruled, and the floating part seemed really cool. It was also just limited. No good way to mount optics (the current henrys have a rail, but cant stuff the optic into the stock), no good way to mount a can, and the thing is just too damn bulky in its stowed form to bring along on backpacking trips. These days the AR7 is for the cool factor, and if I was a kid I'd love that, but the takedown .22 game is dominated by the Ruger 10/22 backpacker if weight/space isnt a concern, or the one I personally love, the Chiappa lil' badger, which I absolutely take hiking/backpacking frequently. Cheap, light, compact, accurate, great trigger, easy to mount a can. If the portability of the AR7 is one of the driving factors, this beats it.

My college buddy had one in the 1970s, whatever manufacturer it was then. The floating stock was cool, the absence of a forearm made it a little tricky to shoot. Survival rifle ? Not much good against anything bigger than a chipmunk, a squirrel, a bullfrog.

I always wanted one to stow in the wooden box I had in the back of my Jeep, with things like a sterno stove, some canned food and such in case I was ever stranded in the wilds of central Virginia, where I might have to hike a half mile or so to a hard surface road or a phone (pre-cell phone days) to call for help. Never knew how long I might be "stranded" out there.

Never did get one...or get stranded.

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John 3:16 .

Except, IIRC, it was described as being .25 by Q; I never did understand that.

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Richard

I agree.......I never saw their usefulness.

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S&W Accumulator

My dad got one of the Armalite guns around 1960 or '61. Fun to shoot and functioned perfectly as I recall, and not as awkward as it looked. I think it was reasonably accurate. After about forty or so years, the plastic stock suffered a long, big crack while the gun resided in a closet.

People fantasize about a "survival" rifle like they do about the big gunfight, but a "real" .22 rifle offers advantages over something like the AR 7 even if it doesn't come apart and float. When was the last time you truly wished for a floating gun?

How much room does a non-takedown .22 really take up in your car? Be realistic, but certainly buy the AR7 if that's what you want.

I have one and replaced the factory barrel with a custom stainless threaded barrel that fits in the stock also.. I throw it in the pontoon boat, kayak or backpack. I smoothed out the trigger. I prefer one of my 10-22s but they didn't make the take-down or backpacker when I got those rifles. They are lightweigth. I kinda like it and so does my nine year old grand son.

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SWCA 3417 HF 642 NRA-TC

We could say the same for half the guns in our safes. They are designed to be stowed away and forgotten about until needed. Their usefulness is as a survival tool. Another post said a regular 22 rifle won’t take up much more room. But you’re not gonna leave the other rifle under the seat in your boat. Or hidden in your vehicle. You’re surly not going to head out on ATV with your 10/22 slung over your shoulder for a day on the trails. Look at it as an EDC rifle. They were designed for a purpose. They do it well.

I have one of the original ArmaLite ones that interestingly enough came in a Charter Arms box that was nevertheless correctly numbered to the gun.

One intriguing offshoot of the AR7 family is the Explorer II pistol. See: Curious Relics #005: Charter Arms Explorer II - The AR7 Pistol!

Also worth the quick read: Curious Relics #004: ArmaLite AR7 The Design Survives!

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

I have one of the older Charter Arms versions. It rides in the box in the back of my RZR when going on trails, rock crawling and river runs. It also rides in the boat when we go fishing. It's no gunfighter, nor very accurate, but it's good enough for a handy camp rifle. It's nice to have and it fits in my rig and will serve it's purpose better than my takedown 10/22. I don't have anything else I would care to beat on like that.

I have the Charter Arms version and had completely forgotten about it until I read this post. It was one of my impulse/novelty purchases. As I remember it was not all that accurate.

I've owned three AR-7s—a Henry, a Charter Arms, and an original Armalite.

They've all gone "bang" when I've pulled the trigger and accuracy was as good as can be expected from this gun. Being able to stow everything in the stock is a neat gimmick, and if I was flying 1950s vintage aircraft I might even carry one as a survival rifle.

I also have a Ruger 10/22 Takedown rifle, and I'd take the Ruger over the AR-7 any day of the week. The Ruger is tack-drivingly accurate, reliable as the day is long, and there's a buoyant supply of parts and accessories for it.

Mike

No offense to anyone, but to me those things always seemed like a solution looking for a problem… Personally I’d also look for a take-down Ruger 10-22 as an alternative.

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NRA Life Member

I kept a Charter Arms AR-7 in the baggage compartment of my airplane with a small survival bag, when Ruger brought out the take down 10-22 I bought one to replace the AR. The Ruger is easier to shoot well but weighed more than twice as much so the Charter Arms stayed in the airplane, and the Ruger went in the truck.

I have one. It is one of those things that is not good at anything, but it is ok at everything.
Perfect for tossing in the kayak or toolbox of a truck or whatever, to be able to say "oh yeah, I guess I have a gun in the boat".
I used mine to put down a hurt deer on the side of the road, and to kill a raccoon under my friend's porch. Both tasks would have been better or just as well served by a pistol. I was in an area each time where a pistol would be a felony.
I have found all aftermarket magazines to fail. But Henry branded mags, sold typically in 2-packs for about $40, to function perfectly.
The front sight will not stay put, so I marked it where it would need to be to get coke-can accuracy. The rear sight is "ok".
The trigger on mine is pretty good actually. No complaints.
I added an O-ring to the bolt handle, just to make it a little easier to pull out for manipulation. The O-ring in this case prevents the bolt handle from sliding all the way into the bolt, which was always hard to slide out for use, for me. No impact on any function.
An aftermarket threaded barrel WITH A FRONT SIGHT is desperately needed in this design. I have seen many aftermarket threaded barrels, but not one with a sight installed. That would be worth the seemingly high prices for a new barrel.
The length of pull is way too long for a kid's rifle. I got my boys CZ452 and CZ457 carbines. Far superior for a learning shooter.

I'd comment that if this is to be a youngster's rifle, two factors should be considered that are tending to be overlooked in this discussion. First is that the likes of an M6 Scout or a takedown 10-22 won't come cheap. Second, they're not light. A final remark would be that as an AR7 breaks down into it's main components, it's instructive for a novice to understand what makes up a gun. It also facilitates instilling a routine of maintenance and cleaning.

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

My local WalMart has one in their rifle case. Saw it today. Desert tan. No one at the counter, as usual, otherwise I was tempted to look at it.

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Heavily armed old man.

What is the going rate on the Henry?

Dad had an early Charter, But his wife said there were no guns after he died. I bet her nephew has a very nice collection of my family's guns!

Ivan