The AR-7 is not a bench-rest precision rifle. It was designed to be used as a get-home or last-ditch bug-out rifle, mostly intended for shooting small game. Users like the ability to store and carry in a small package.

The trigger is not particularly onerous. The take-up is a bit longer. It is a minimalist survival gun with the intended purpose of being a match-grade rifle. Truck drivers, campers, boaters, the Israeli Air Force, and bush pilots in Alaska have stowed the little guns for decades.

The rifle was initially meant to be a survival tool used by pilots. It is best suited to serve as a tool for emergency survival. The gun is supplementary gear needed in tough times such as getting lost backpacking through the sparsely populated wilderness; the car radiator explodes, or the engine fails while stranded 100 miles from home and piloting untamed landscape in a bush plane over Alaska. The Henry AR-7 is not the most capacious, modular, or powerful gun, but it is the rifle most likely to be carried when a long gun is cumbersome. It is the ideal bug-out bag, truck, or boat gun.

Original AR-7s had an aluminum barrel with a steel liner to reduce weight. Henry chose a steel barrel covered in plastic. Original metal blade sights were replaced with high-visibility, plastic, orange inserts. They are more effective than the metal blade sights, especially when shooting at sundown.

A rail was added to give the user an option to mount a scope. It is not a Picatinny rail but rather a 22 tip-off type. The ⅜-inch rail accepts red-dot sight or conventional riflescope rings. It is recommended to leave the AR-7 in its assembled position if optics are to be added instead of taking it down. Zero will be lost. The threaded barrel of the 21st-century version adds a lightweight rimfire suppressor.

The original had three stock options - black, swirly camo, and brown/orange. It was first on the market in 1959. The design for the AR-7 was sold to Charter Arms in 1973. The rifle was produced until the mid-90s.

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The black colored stock remained, and hard chrome plated, and woodland camo were added. Survival Arms of Cocoa, FL have manufactured the rifle; AR-7 Industries, LLC of Meriden, CT; and Henry Repeating Arms Co. of New York.

In 2004, Armalite, supposedly, bought out AR-7 Industries but did not manufacture a new AR-7. There have been been changes made to the original AR-7 design. The stock underwent the most significant change.

It has a hollow stock. Rather than a slick, fiberglass design, a textured matte finish having grip area grooves was added. The change offered improved handling characteristics. The redesign included storing three magazines inside instead of one. There is no room for an optic on the inside of the stock.

The starter kit pack can be stowed in an RV, aircraft, UTV, boat, truck or car. It weighs about one-third the weight of a floor jack and takes up approximately the same amount of space. Disassembled it measures 16½ inches and weighs 3½ pounds. The compact rifle package fits in a backpack or a vehicle’s storage compartment.

Recently, Henry embellished what it offers to include a ‘Survival Pack’ with other crisis suited implements. It comes with an Allen nylon bag that stores the broken rifle and a starter survival kit. Included is a green 100-foot MIL-C-5040H camo paracord.

An emergency Datrex 1000-calorie food packet that contains four, all-natural, 250-calorie bars is also included. It is certified to stay fresh for at least five years. The pack is sealed in a package made of polymer foil.

The Datrex bars are a novelty. Henry has also added a Life Straw Water Filter to the Survival Pack. It is rated to remove nearly all waterborne protozoan parasites and bacteria from as much as 264 gallons of water.

Other items in the kit are an ESEE Fire Steel and an H & H Myler Emergency Hypothermia Blanket with the dimensions of 84 inches long and 56 inches wide. A Buck Rival blade that measures 2.75 inches, with one-handed thumb stud opening, a pocket clip, and a black nylon handle is also included.

It may not be one’s first choice, but it easily clips inside and is there if needed. The knife is separate from the typical EDC knife needed to skin game. In case of emergency, Henry included a SWAT-T tourniquet that stretches, wraps, and tucks that can double as an elastic covering wrap and a pressure bandage. It is pack-friendly and lightweight. The survival kit provides protection and an ability to find food until rescued or out of danger.

Testers tried three types of ammo - CCI Mini-Mag High-Velocity Landy, Gemtech Sonic, and CCI High Velocity. All functioned flawlessly in the Henry AR-7. Accuracy is another story. The AR-7 shoots big groups.

They are over 3½ inches at 50 yards and 2¾ inches at 25 yards. A heavy trigger, a 40+-year-old barrel, and poor ergonomics are the culprits. The best group was shot with the CCI HV. Three eight-shot groups measured between 1.25 and 2.45 inches from a distance of 50 yards. A U.S. Marine tells us the AR-7 is very accurate. When the right rounds are found, the rifle is reliable.

Mounting a rimfire scope to the rail would tighten the groups. The scope provides adequate magnification for harvesting small game or defensive use at intermediate ranges. Henry AR-7 is a joy to shoot. With the scope, range performance is excellent perfectly reliable and decent accuracy.

There is a significant amount of take in the AR-7 trigger which poses a challenge when testing for accuracy. It is somewhaton the heavy side but has a clean let-off. When lightweight lead-free bullets are used, the rifle does not perform as well.

Groups fall in a range from 1.35 inches to 3.90 inches at 50 yards. Small game can be harvested at close distance with that accuracy. The rifle returns to zero after disassembly. The inability to adjust the heavy trigger of the gun is a tester complaint.

The eight-round magazines lack a floor plate that is removable. A flat blank is folded and welded into the shape of the magazine. The practice worked well on older 1911 magazines until they got dirty. The few times that an AR-7 is used should not cause that cause.

Assembly takes under a minute. The stock has a notch for the receiver that is slightly off-center. It is not a design flaw. The off-center receiver is a smart and necessary compromise to be able to stuff all the parts inside the stock. The compromise makes the .22LR gun a bit awkward to shoulder. The offset is needed to accommodate the components inside the stock of the Henry AR-7.

The receiver is attached to the stock, and the set screw tightened until the receiver is anchored. The barrel is inserted into the receiver end. The receivers aligned with the post on the barrel top. The barrel nut is screwed until it bottoms against the receiver. Cycle the action to load a round.

Assembling and disassembling can be compared to playing with Legos. One tester described the trigger of the AR-7 as relatively stiff and narrow. Using the go pedal consistently and smoothly is challenging.

He also felt the sights were problematic. Only the rear blade sight is adjustable. The plastic sight in front is not. It is an adequate setup but not very useful for long range. At short range, the AR-7 is capable of accurate fire. It can harvest small game. The AR-7 is a better option than a defensive .223. A little animal shot with a .223 will be in no condition to become a nourishing meal.

One evaluator decided to test the rifle under adverse conditions. He described the skies as opening up with biblical force. Accuracy was a challenge — the aperture filled with water. The gun shot 350 rounds of water-logged ammunition. Rainwater had to be dumped out of the receiver multiple times.

Five failures occurred, all with Remington Thunderbolts. The shooter took responsibility for some of the misfeeds due to putting too much pressure for the follower spring to resist tension. Five out of 350 rounds is a remarkable record when the bad reputation (due to previous manufacturers) of the AR-7 is taken into consideration.

The AR-7 allows for enhanced riflescope precision. The buttstock has a slot for an additional magazine that gives the rifle greater onboard ammunition capacity than the original. The bright orange front sight insert is dovetail secured and easily picks up the peep-style aperture in the rear. The magazines, receiver, and barrel can be stored inside the watertight stock. Like Ivory soap, it floats.

The design offers protection from the elements. The receiver has a Teflon coating, and ABS polymer covered stainless steel barrel.

The MSRP is between $230 and $290. There is a multitude of accessories. Along with the items in the survival kit, an ACOG can be mounted on the sight rail. The addition impacts the price and weight of the AR-7.

* 1:16 twist rate
* 8-round capacity
* 14-inch pull length
* 16⅛-inch barrel
* 22 long caliber
* ABS plastic stock material
* Blade front sight
* Comes with two magazines
* MSRP $290
* Overall length of 35 inches
* Peep rear sight
* Rubber buttplate/pad
* Semi-automatic
* Weighs 3½ pounds
* Windage and elevation adjustable

The Henry AR-7 is a compact, useful rifle as long as it is not held to the standards of a weekly plinker or match-grade rifle. Shoot it once per year, then clean and oil it, then store it to be ready in case of emergency.

Included in the concept of the system are some practical emergency items to accompany the rifle. Those items do not include additional ammunition, a signaling device that pilots would find useful, or a small lighter.

The Henry name has been sullied in some circles due to misconceptions about its purpose and poor quality control by previous manufacturers. The inexpensive, modular rifle suits various purposes. It is a back-up rifle that is kept handy when a better option is not available. The gun fits a small niche perfectly.

When rated on a five point scale, a tester graded the gun in the following categories: Ergonomics (3½), Customization (4), Accuracy (3), Reliability (4½), Overall (5). The compact carbine is awkward at first, but the magazine release is easy to reach and can be activated from both sides.

The trigger is a bit heavy. The AR-7 functions nearly flawlessly even in heavy rainfall. The U.S. Henry AR-7 does what it is designed to do, serve as a last resort. Its price, water resistance, and weight are its best feature.