ligonierbill
New member
Anyone shooting the Henry version of this little "survival" .22? In a true survival situation, I'd probably go with unsportsmanlike snare wire, but it looks interesting. Experiences, good and bad?
Henry AR-7
- Thread starter ligonierbill
- Start date
I have one that I keep in a backpack with a Keltec SU-22C and a brick of Minimags.
My lil Henry shoots fine the only problem I have is the takedown that secures the stock to receiver stripped. I secured it permanently and just take the barrel off to put it in the backpack.
I picked up some of the original AR-7 mags and found out they do not fit the Henry, oh well.
My lil Henry shoots fine the only problem I have is the takedown that secures the stock to receiver stripped. I secured it permanently and just take the barrel off to put it in the backpack.
I picked up some of the original AR-7 mags and found out they do not fit the Henry, oh well.
Rangerrich99
New member
Got one several years ago and so far it's been a good little backpacking rifle. A couple words of caution: it is mostly plastic, like B.B. Gun plastic. You can't abuse the heck out of this gun. So definitely not an everyday/every week gun. Also, the front sight is supposed to move; this is how you adjust for windage. Finally the rear peepsight pretty tiny. I opened mine up a touch to make following rabbits on the run a little easier.
Mine has been more than reasonably accurate, and hav not had any issues with it so far. I seem to be in the minority on those two things though.
About 700 rds through it now and no problems as yet.
Mine has been more than reasonably accurate, and hav not had any issues with it so far. I seem to be in the minority on those two things though.
About 700 rds through it now and no problems as yet.
bamaranger
New member
ours
We have one, though it's been well traveled, it has not been shot all that much. I toss it in the possibles basket in the trunk w/ a jar of ammo when we travel. What shooting we have done (500 rd +/-) shows it to be reliable, and accurate enough at typical .22 peep sight ranges. The trigger has a long heavy, near DA feel to it, which got better, but is still really heavy and long by any real rifle standards. Sort of feels like a Glock, but worse. The windage is adjustable by moving the front sight, which on ours, moved really easily. So much so, that I put a drop of epoxy up there to hold it in place once on target. The take down feature allows easier storage, and the butt storeage allows for two extra mags to go along. That gives a total of three, as the barrel/receiver will store with one installed as well. The stock will float, but it is not waterproof. You dunk the rifle, you will have to clean it up in the normal time frame. The AR7 has a the dovetail groves, and we have toyed with attaching a scope, and even a cheap red dot, but then you must dismount those sights for takedown, which would require a rezero, and I put the take down feature ahead of better sights for our use.
We used a .22 Cricket for the same role, as a single screw allows the single shot to take down into 2 pieces as well. But the Henry AR7, stows better, and all parts are protected within the butt stock, and the quick repeat shot can be seen as an advantage (the Cricket is a single shot).
We have one, though it's been well traveled, it has not been shot all that much. I toss it in the possibles basket in the trunk w/ a jar of ammo when we travel. What shooting we have done (500 rd +/-) shows it to be reliable, and accurate enough at typical .22 peep sight ranges. The trigger has a long heavy, near DA feel to it, which got better, but is still really heavy and long by any real rifle standards. Sort of feels like a Glock, but worse. The windage is adjustable by moving the front sight, which on ours, moved really easily. So much so, that I put a drop of epoxy up there to hold it in place once on target. The take down feature allows easier storage, and the butt storeage allows for two extra mags to go along. That gives a total of three, as the barrel/receiver will store with one installed as well. The stock will float, but it is not waterproof. You dunk the rifle, you will have to clean it up in the normal time frame. The AR7 has a the dovetail groves, and we have toyed with attaching a scope, and even a cheap red dot, but then you must dismount those sights for takedown, which would require a rezero, and I put the take down feature ahead of better sights for our use.
We used a .22 Cricket for the same role, as a single screw allows the single shot to take down into 2 pieces as well. But the Henry AR7, stows better, and all parts are protected within the butt stock, and the quick repeat shot can be seen as an advantage (the Cricket is a single shot).
BlackLabsMatter
New member
In regards to the feeling of flimsiness of the stock:
The stock was designed as both a container for all the parts of the rifle AND float on water. How well this works, I've never tested. Regardless, better application of foam might make the stock feel more robust and aid in flotation.
My experience with the AR7 was with a pre-Henry model. It was neat, accuracy was acceptable but not great and it seemed reliable enough for a rimfire.
The stock was designed as both a container for all the parts of the rifle AND float on water. How well this works, I've never tested. Regardless, better application of foam might make the stock feel more robust and aid in flotation.
My experience with the AR7 was with a pre-Henry model. It was neat, accuracy was acceptable but not great and it seemed reliable enough for a rimfire.
ligonierbill
New member
Well, Cabela's had them on sale, and I had some "points", so I took one home. Seems pretty well made for what it is. We'll see how she shoots next week.
I have not used it in a true survival situation, but I have used it a few times during squirrel season. Just like any 22lr, using the right ammo (lead or copper plated round nose) and you can harvest game easily. Gets the job done very well and as you already know, is very lite.
I had a nice squirrel dinner one outing and the other times I made squirrel jerky. I like it, it's a good gun. It's not an MOA shooter but it puts meat in the pot. Mine stays in the trunk of my car with other items 24/7. I went hunting with it those few times so I would be confident of it in a situation where I needed it.
But mostly, I grab it out of the trunk when I want to do some impromptu 22LR shooting. Happens more than you would think.
Also, it's such an easy rifle to carry, setup, and breakdown, that I use it at the range to confirm that I have my chronograph setup correctly. Beats shooting high priced ammo and bullets just to see the ERROR message from the chrono.
I had a nice squirrel dinner one outing and the other times I made squirrel jerky. I like it, it's a good gun. It's not an MOA shooter but it puts meat in the pot. Mine stays in the trunk of my car with other items 24/7. I went hunting with it those few times so I would be confident of it in a situation where I needed it.
But mostly, I grab it out of the trunk when I want to do some impromptu 22LR shooting. Happens more than you would think.
Also, it's such an easy rifle to carry, setup, and breakdown, that I use it at the range to confirm that I have my chronograph setup correctly. Beats shooting high priced ammo and bullets just to see the ERROR message from the chrono.
I haven't, but I imagine it would be better than no rifle.
In most survival situations, if you were smart enough to tell someone where you went, and when you plan to be back, or carry a GPS beacon, you are best off just staying put and waiting, you can go 21 days without food. Snares can hunt while you sit rather than burning calories actively hunting. .22 still has its uses as means of taking small game while you wait, and as a means of signaling needing help with 3 shots.
A .22 has a lot more usefulness when you are expecting no help to come looking for you, and your best hope for rescue is walking out, the necessity of moving decreases the usefulness of snares.
Following water being a good policy, you could probably get as much or more food by concentrating on fishing as you walk out than you would from hunting with less weight to carry. There's more important gear in a survival situation than a rifle. Hypothermia can kill you in a few hours, dehydration can kill you in a few days, starving to death takes at least a few weeks. I've spent days in the woods and not seen so much as a squirrel, but I can usually catch enough fish to feed myself. So as long as I can keep myself hydrated, warm and dry, food is nice but starvation takes a long time to kill.
In most survival situations, if you were smart enough to tell someone where you went, and when you plan to be back, or carry a GPS beacon, you are best off just staying put and waiting, you can go 21 days without food. Snares can hunt while you sit rather than burning calories actively hunting. .22 still has its uses as means of taking small game while you wait, and as a means of signaling needing help with 3 shots.
A .22 has a lot more usefulness when you are expecting no help to come looking for you, and your best hope for rescue is walking out, the necessity of moving decreases the usefulness of snares.
Following water being a good policy, you could probably get as much or more food by concentrating on fishing as you walk out than you would from hunting with less weight to carry. There's more important gear in a survival situation than a rifle. Hypothermia can kill you in a few hours, dehydration can kill you in a few days, starving to death takes at least a few weeks. I've spent days in the woods and not seen so much as a squirrel, but I can usually catch enough fish to feed myself. So as long as I can keep myself hydrated, warm and dry, food is nice but starvation takes a long time to kill.
One more thing... I have not found a 22LR Hollow point round that it likes 100% of the time. I gave up looking 1) because I dont like HPs on game and 2) It worked so well with LRN and CPRN. Blazer and CCI (who makes blazer) do the best in my rifle. Probably to do with that very light waxing they put on the bullets. Thunderbolts do very good too, probably 3k TBs has gone through mine at least. TBs are a tad less accurate than the CPRN mini mags.
Closest HP that works most of the time is CCI mini Mag CPHP.
Closest HP that works most of the time is CCI mini Mag CPHP.
ligonierbill
New member
I have the horrible trigger slot covered with an IMC (International Mechanical of Cugir) .22. Had one guy try it at the range, and he was asking how to release the safety (it was off). "Survival" is in quotes because I would never allocate 3 lb. of precious weight to a firearm in that situation. Cliff bars, yes. No, this is a throw it in the duffel bag, interesting, and hopefully fun rifle. I appreciate you all sharing your experience. Now we'll see how I do with it.
In terms of weight to food gathering benefit, I'd invest in a tenkara rod. Basically a reel-less fly fishing rod, there are carbon models that weigh only 1.1-2 ounces and are good for fish weighing about a pound or two. Catch a few fish and you've got more food than the thing required to catch them weighs, light enough to gather you more calories than a similar amount of food.
How many squirrels would you need to shoot to provide the nutrition of 3.5 pounds of extra food you could carry instead of a rifle? Good dry backpacking food is more than 100 calories per ounce, at 125 calories per ounce, the weight of the rifle even at 3.5 pounds could be replaced by 7000 calories.
How much squirrel would you have to kill to supply 7000 calories? At 35 calories per ounce, a pound of squirrel will provide 560 calories. You would need to shoot enough squirrel to get 12.5 pounds of meat if you burned no calories walking around hunting to get them and you won't so let's tack on 3000 calories for that, so you'd be looking at gathering more than 17 pounds of squirrels when you could just carry 3.5 pounds of food instead.
How many squirrels would you need to shoot to provide the nutrition of 3.5 pounds of extra food you could carry instead of a rifle? Good dry backpacking food is more than 100 calories per ounce, at 125 calories per ounce, the weight of the rifle even at 3.5 pounds could be replaced by 7000 calories.
How much squirrel would you have to kill to supply 7000 calories? At 35 calories per ounce, a pound of squirrel will provide 560 calories. You would need to shoot enough squirrel to get 12.5 pounds of meat if you burned no calories walking around hunting to get them and you won't so let's tack on 3000 calories for that, so you'd be looking at gathering more than 17 pounds of squirrels when you could just carry 3.5 pounds of food instead.
I have a Henry AR-7. Mine is a good little rifle. I think it just fine for what it is. It's a good little rifle to have around if you need a little rifle.
I've used mine to hunt both squirrels and rabbits and it did a good job for both.
You know, Alex, some fellows just like squirrel. Fried squirrel with rice and gravy and biscuits. Squirrel and dumplings. That's good eating where I grew up.
I've used mine to hunt both squirrels and rabbits and it did a good job for both.
You know, Alex, some fellows just like squirrel. Fried squirrel with rice and gravy and biscuits. Squirrel and dumplings. That's good eating where I grew up.
ligonierbill
New member
Tad_T, it was squirrel pot pie where I grew up. Where are you getting squirrels in Idaho? I lived in SE Idaho for quite awhile, and all I remember are those chirpy little pine squirrels.
Bill,
You can still eat those, it just takes twice as many.
They taste the same.
I usually hunt over in the Island Park area. We have a place over there. The best squirrels in Idaho all live in town where you can't hunt them. Everyone up here looks at you like you're crazy when you say something about squirrel hunting.
I grew up in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana and Ashley County, Arkansas. We did a lot of squirrel hunting.
You can still eat those, it just takes twice as many.
They taste the same.I usually hunt over in the Island Park area. We have a place over there. The best squirrels in Idaho all live in town where you can't hunt them. Everyone up here looks at you like you're crazy when you say something about squirrel hunting.
I grew up in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana and Ashley County, Arkansas. We did a lot of squirrel hunting.
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ligonierbill
New member
Yeah, but they also have the dumbest grouse in the world out there. Excellent eating!
alaskabushman
New member
I have an AR-7 from back when they were made by Survival Arms. I've heard that they Henry quality is better now. I got mine for $50, and I figured any gun that fires and functions is worth that. The stock was broken so I replaced it with a pistol grip stock from AR-7.com. I also dropped a .22 casing in the charging handle hole then cut it to size to still allow the charging handle to fit. This simply keeps the charging peg from collapsing into the bolt. I also taped a chunk of foam pipe insulation around the stock so that it would still float. Or at least sink slowly.
Its a fun gun but honestly I still use my 10/22 more often.
Its a fun gun but honestly I still use my 10/22 more often.
Blindstitch
New member
Don't forget the jumbo masked squirrel.
Oh I love eating squirrel just not many calories in them, mostly lean protein like rabbit. Even if you could kill enough to sustain yourself, protein poisoning would eventually occur. Just not enough fat in them to sustain a person.
For the weight in a "wait for rescue" survival situation id take 3.5 extra pounds of lightweight fat/carb rich food, some snares, and an ultralight fishing pole over an ar-7.
For the weight in a "wait for rescue" survival situation id take 3.5 extra pounds of lightweight fat/carb rich food, some snares, and an ultralight fishing pole over an ar-7.