Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Survival Arms AR-7 emergency/"survival" .22 reclamation project.

Anyone else here have or had one of these odd looking little 22's?

While I have never heard of anyone 'surviving' because they had one of these, it is my understanding that they were at least at some point in time an issue firearm for pilots or some other military folks. Can anyone here chime in on this being true or not? The guy I bought the rifle from is a long time veteran (19 years, Navy) who might have had this gun "accidentally fall" into his duffle bag at one point in his career, and when all packaged up in its stock/carrier, it does not look or feel like a gun.

When I managed a gun department for an old school hardware store that was owned by gun enthusiasts a couple of decades ago we sold the Charter Arms Version of these. I think this Survival arms made version is the older and maybe original maker of these but I am hoping for some help on this here.

I was also told that these jam up pretty often and the finish will rust easily. the jamming and rusting part is how this one came to me for $50 last week. The guy was straight up about not liking the gun for these reasons and thus the price point.

I figured for $50, cannot go too wrong and it might become a shooter with some gentle upgrading and cleaning etc. so it came home with us.

Watched some unplated lead bullets work their way through the gun, colored the tips on a couple of them and noted where they were hitting on steel then went to work, slowly. If we count my man hours invested I paid too much for the gun perhaps, but that is beside the point for a rifle looney and happy gun tinkerer (aka "Bubba" )

Looked to me like if I were to gently chamfer the chamber mouth and make an ever so slight feed ramp into the very bottom of the chamber (and then NEVER run Stingers or Aguilla hot rod ammo through it) the feeding issue might be remedied. Some extra fine grit polishing cloth and 0000 steel wool to finish plus some good light gun oil with PTFE and Lithium in it plus a thourough cleaning and polishing of everything I could get to was phase 1 of the reclamation attempt. Sherri and I took it out shooting last Saturday to see how (IF!) it would run. Also needed to make sure the sight were set properly as they are not adjustable at all, drift or otherwise.

Well what fun this odd looking gun was and is! This little take down folds into its own stock and allegedly floats while so ensconched and now it runs perfectly! With either plain lead and JHP or better stated plated hollow point ammo. And to my happy surprise my first shots offhand at a target 25 yards out printed exactly to point of aim, about a 2 inch group, with the plated HP Fiocchi ammo I ran in it first. From then out I shot it at plinking targets and just had a blast shooting this odd looking little rifle.

Anyone else get such a sense of satisfaction from fixing up and make run a cheap little gun like I do? This one is a long term keeper and might find a home once I get some good rust preservative on it (might even cerrakote it!) in the locked diamond plate tool box behind my truck cab with a brick or so of the Fiocchi plated HP ammo it likes the best alongside but in a plastic waterproof ammo container.

Heck, even with the time I spent on it, I think I have a kind of a find here, and both of us like this ugly duckling .22 of ours. A compact apx 3lb 22 semi auto is hard to not like at $50 cash, when it works like it should.

Sorry that I don't have any pictures up regarding this one, got busy fixing it and did not think to take any. I can take and post some of the newly re shaped chamber mouth and miniscule feeding ramp if anyone is interested.

I see that Henry rifle co is making these now, knowing them they probably worked out the feeding geometry on this model before setting it out to market with the Henry name on it. Kind of a cool little fun piece. Who has one or knows anything of the history of them?

I used to be fascinated with this little rifle as a youth. I dreamed of owning one while thumbing through issues of "Boys Life" magazine In the 70's. There was always an ad for them in the back. A couple of years ago I picked up one of the Henry versions for around $200 I think. It's fun to shoot and semi accurate enough to put a rabbit or squirrel on the fire if you found yourself in a "survival situation"!

Always thought it would be neat to have and always keep behind the seat of the truck... Never go around to buying one....

Also, always thought it would be a good idea for them to make a place to put a 50 rnd box of 22s in the stock as well...

Nothing but junk in my opinion. I have owned four of these and never keep one any longer than it took me to sell or trade it, But James Bond did shoot down a Helicopter with one.

No he didn't. He shot a guy on the SHOULDER whilst said guy was holding a grenade with the pin pulled (but spoon still on), said guy dropped the grenade in the cockpit and it detonated, bringing the helo down. It was also a .25 caliber, which as usual, it's Hollywood Poetic License, unless of course M-I-6 had one chambered in one...

Helicopters are fair game...

I think a guy would be better served with a breakdown .410 and mix of slugs and shot to put meat in the pot. But I wouldn't try shooting a helicopter down with one .

That is a nice one! Much more polished than mine, plus two magazines in the stock. Me likey

I just read a pretty in depth article on these which I found in an internet search after I posted this, and it seems as though the USAF has been buying and issuing these since 1959.

And my fix of chamferring the chamber is a fairly common remedy for one that is not 100% reliable.

I was wrong about the year of manufacure for mine, also. Survival arms made mine in the early 90's. This would fit in with the original owners years of military service. Fits well with my "OOPS! looky what fell into my dufflebag!" theory

I don't know for a fact but if it had ever been official U.S. Military property I would think it would probably have markings of some kind identifying it as such somewhere on it.

USAF fits (ed) them in the seat pan of ejection seats if memory serves..

That would be a good role for them, so long as the USAF Also included some ammunition!

I believe the USAF originally stowed something similar in there that was a .22 Hornet.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/08/gun-test-the-ar-7-survival-gun/

I read about that one late last night (I hate Prednisone!) while researching the AR-7. They had or have a 22Hornet /410 combo gun and a 22 Hornet bolt action at different times. I could perhaps dig on a 22 Hornet.410 some day as a toolbox gun. So long as there was a way to keep it and the ammo together. I think I saw an M-6 (I think this is the Military designation for it) with a cartridge carrier strapped in between the stock wires and several rounds of each type of ammo stuffed into the canvas carrier. Not a bad option.

I would think that if it did, and it were acquired the way that safariman posted it, he'd likely be in possession of stolen gov't property and probably shouldn't be saying anything at all.

joken2, thanks for the link. Good article even though they missed a couple of manufacturers including Survival arms co.

No military markings on mine, but there are lots of once military property guns and ammo floating around out there as war or service trophies. I wonder how many US M-1 carbines, markings and all, came home in duffel bags.

A quick check on "Survival Arms, Co." shows they existed from 1984 to 1995. I believe that those dates put their manufacture of these guns outside the time frame of the U.S. military use/issuance of the firearms to air crews. I.e., it's most likely just a civilian sold version and has no military history at all, save being designed like the ones used for a short time by air crews.