Henry is making them now. I think Armalite first came out with them. I just want a ultralight, compact .22 autoloader to put behind the seat of my pickup. Do they work consistently without jamming? Are they reasonably accurate?
I have a Charter and a Henry. While the Henry is certainly better than the Charter, it's still a compromise. Poor sights. Accuracy is fine for plinking/hunting. More reliable than my Charter, but not perfect. Definitely go with some good quality CCI Mini Mags. The butt plate doesn't stay on the stock real well. It's almost too light. If you want a good gun, spend the extra $$ and get a Ruger 10/22 TD. It's light years better, can be scoped, you can use higher cap mags, yada, yada.
Yeah, I know a 10/22 is pretty much the standard by which all .22 autoloaders are judged. But I want something lighter for the truck. I was thinking I'd do away with the original stock and put an aluminum tube stock on it. It shouldn't weigh much of nothing outfitted like that. I've carried about every type of rifle you can imagine in my truck, but most are too cumbersome to manipulate around inside of the cab.
Henry is making them now. I think Armalite first came out with them. I just want a ultralight, compact .22 autoloader to put behind the seat of my pickup. Do they work consistently without jamming? Are they reasonably accurate?
Yes, the one I had back in the 1970s and 1980s was quite reliable and accurate. They cannot withstand heavy use, however, as mine experienced an incapacitating part breakage after just a few thousand rounds.
There’s definitely better options and I’m not sure why you’d need a lightweight .22 for a truck gun? If you were backpacking or had a private plane where you wanted to save weight an AR7 might be an ok option but for a truck gun a 10/22 in a synthetic stock shouldn’t be too heavy, at least not heavy enough for your truck to notice. 😉
Ho Chi Minh (Ralph White) had one of those when I was a lad in the 70's in Longreach, Queensland...it wasn't much of a rifle then and I cannot see them improving.
There’s definitely better options and I’m not sure why you’d need a lightweight .22 for a truck gun? If you were backpacking or had a private plane where you wanted to save weight an AR7 might be an ok option but for a truck gun a 10/22 in a synthetic stock shouldn’t be too heavy, at least not heavy enough for your truck to notice. 😉
There’s definitely better options and I’m not sure why you’d need a lightweight .22 for a truck gun? If you were backpacking or had a private plane where you wanted to save weight an AR7 might be an ok option but for a truck gun a 10/22 in a synthetic stock shouldn’t be too heavy, at least not heavy enough for your truck to notice. 😉
I'm fond of compact, lightweight rifles of any type. I've got an AR15 with a collapsing stock and a Kel-Tec SU-16 with a folding stock,...both in .223. But I want a .22. The aftermarket has elemental collapsing aluminum tube stocks for the AR7 that should reduce it's size and weight to little more that a long barreled handgun.
I'm looking for a "minimalist" .22 autoloader. I know there's lots of higher grade .22's out there. But the AR7 would be my "Throw it behind the seat and forget about it" rifle. It would be a truck accessory,....like a flashlight.
I'd say that a Ruger 10/22 with a lightweight stock is as good as it gets. It's false economy chasing a worse-performing gun to gain a pound of weight.
By the way,..anybody who doesn't have C cleaner needs to download it. It's free. Google chrome has their own version. I clean my browser regularly to keep all the pop ups off. It's a simple procedure. Just a series of clicks.
By the way,..anybody who doesn't have C cleaner needs to download it. It's free. Google chrome has their own version. I clean my browser regularly to keep all the pop ups off. It's a simple procedure. Just a series of clicks.
Ccleaner Epic Browser Glary Utilities Peerblock PIA VPN TOR AVG Internet Security Adfender Hide Folders Pro
And a naturally suspicious nature.
I am covered.
Added; and a 16 GB Iron Key for travel and thinking of one of the external Iron Key drives for storage.
I owned an AR7 in the '70's because it could be stored in the stock and floated. I put up with the rest of the crappiness for those two reasons. I don't know if the basic rifle has improved over the years.
The pre-Henry versions had some issues, from what I've heard. A buddy had a Charter Arms one back in the '80's but he wasn't all that happy with it and it went down the road in a trade soon after. I heard that Henry made some improvements in the design and got some of the bugs out. So in Jan. 2016 I picked up a Henry AR-7 that was barely used and had sat in a closet for a couple years before the owner decided to sell it. We've had less than 300 rounds through it but with no problems at all. Not exactly a match grade tack driver but it's still decently accurate for its intended role as a survival rifle, which is harvesting edible small game, mostly. I don't know how it would be after 20 years and a couple thousand rounds like my 10/22 but it's gonna be reserved for very occasional use and pretty much held in reserve "just in case". It's all taken down and tucked away so as not to use up any more valuable space in the gun safe. There's a lot of videos on the 'net about them being used and the take-down and assembly and whatever else you wish to know if you google around a bit. All in all I like it and if I wanna shoot .22's there's plenty around here besides the AR-7 but it would make a neat truck gun for occasional use.
The pre-Henry versions had some issues, from what I've heard. A buddy had a Charter Arms one back in the '80's but he wasn't all that happy with it and it went down the road in a trade soon after. I heard that Henry made some improvements in the design and got some of the bugs out. So in Jan. 2016 I picked up a Henry AR-7 that was barely used and had sat in a closet for a couple years before the owner decided to sell it. We've had less than 300 rounds through it but with no problems at all. Not exactly a match grade tack driver but it's still decently accurate for its intended role as a survival rifle, which is harvesting edible small game, mostly. I don't know how it would be after 20 years and a couple thousand rounds like my 10/22 but it's gonna be reserved for very occasional use and pretty much held in reserve "just in case". It's all taken down and tucked away so as not to use up any more valuable space in the gun safe. There's a lot of videos on the 'net about them being used and the take-down and assembly and whatever else you wish to know if you google around a bit. All in all I like it and if I wanna shoot .22's there's plenty around here besides the AR-7 but it would make a neat truck gun for occasional use.
Another here that thinks either a folding stock 10/22 or their takedown model is the better option
The lil Ar7 things are an interesting idea, and I’ve known lots of cub pilots here that have had them. They’re just poorly executed is all. Only thing worse than having a chitty gun is no gun at all.
For Pete’s sake you’re a machinist, you could prolly do some cool stuff with a 10/22 to make it lighter
Another here that thinks either a folding stock 10/22 or their takedown model is the better option
The lil Ar7 things are an interesting idea, and I’ve known lots of cub pilots here that have had them. They’re just poorly executed is all. Only thing worse than having a chitty gun is no gun at all.
For Pete’s sake you’re a machinist, you could prolly do some cool stuff with a 10/22 to make it lighter
Telling him it's a POS, which it is, doesn't meet with his already made up mind.
If you want a well made, compact, semi auto 22lr then you should check out the Kel-Tec SU22 c. I looks kinda like an M-4 carbine. Features: Picatinny top rail 26 round magazine Threaded muzzle Folding stock Adjustable iron sights, front and rear Open, its 34 incjes, closed about 20 Cheaper than Dirt has them, among others
That Marlin would not be bad. I know it's not what you want, but consider the 10-22 Takedown. I don't know if you know about their takedown model, but it's much better than the regular one. The two we've got are both stainless and require almost no maintenance. I gave my son his first gun last Christmas and he wanted one of them over the Winchester 94-22 I'd actually bought for him several years back. I'd bought two of the Winchesters and already gave his sister hers. I gave him his choice and the twenty-five round mags captured him. I'd bought the one he got from a local gunstore that had just got it in and I thought it was a good buy so I got it. I got the other 10-22 from a buddy who was broke and wanted to sell some stuff, so I gave him a new price for it. It's fancy with camo stock and flash hider. Both Rugers came with padded cases that they break down into and which hold some mags. I think both came with two twenty-five rounders as well as the flush-fitting ten round one. I also had some Butler Creek's from other 10-22's from years past. They like about everything except Federal Match.
Qualifies as a low power assault weapon, I suppose. Weapon of (cold) war, after all James Bond had one.
I have an Armalite. Good for what it is, a stow-away survival rifle. Accuracy not so hot and a trigger you can't do anything about and wish you could. Nice toy though. I put an old Weaver Quik Point on mine and added a LED to brighten up the fiber optic dot when shooting from shadow. Looked cool before AR 'platforms" came out. Present duty is to pop garden gophers from the back door with those Aguila Colibris. Don't think I ever had a failure to function, the damned thing is just too simple. Won't do the semi-auto thing with Colibris of course.
Henry is making them now. I think Armalite first came out with them. I just want a ultralight, compact .22 autoloader to put behind the seat of my pickup. Do they work consistently without jamming? Are they reasonably accurate?
The only thing that I could hit with my old very early model was the spiders in the barrel. Mine was an Armelite.
Pros: It did float...
Cons: Inaccurate, finicky about what ammo it would cycle
There is an aftermarket stock for the 10/22 Takedown that came out last year that makes the 10/22 a bit handier to carry. I can't remember the name, but it was chosen by the NRA as one of the best new products.
My Uncle had an AR 7 in 1980. I was way less than impressed. But hey, it floats.
Local shop has a couple of Nylon 66 on the rack this week. Now that is the original truck gun. One of them would have followed me home but I already blew several months of toy budget on fire sale Leupolds.
My Uncle had an AR 7 in 1980. I was way less than impressed. But hey, it floats.
Local shop has a couple of Nylon 66 on the rack this week. Now that is the original truck gun. One of them would have followed me home but I already blew several months of toy budget on fire sale Leupolds.
Those Nylon 66's are going for serious bucks, like $400.
I have a Charter Arms AR7 that I bought in the early 80's. I haven't shot it a ton but I can remember being happy with the accuracy that it had.
If one wants a survival type rifle or perhaps one to throw in a backpack on extended hikes it's a great little rifle. It's a lightweight, last ditch affair and that's what it was designed to be.
For a truck gun, I think I'd want something a little tougher...if it has to be a semi auto I've gotta agree with a 10/22.
An old Remington bolt action .22 that may be a little worse for ware would do the trick too.
I dearly wanted one as a kid, drooled over one every time mom would go to Gemco and I'd gravitate to the sporting goods counter. Dad bought me a 10/22 for my birthday some years later.
I just can't abide a gun that is inaccurate or unreliable. I've had my share, learned my lessons, licked my chops and in every case sent them down the road. Never did get that AR-7, I figure it's earned it's reputation and I'm willing to learn from others mistakes on this one.
Put another vote in the 10/22 folding or takedown camp.
Yep. Got one. Like it a lot. It's more for simulating an AR for training than for filling the role of a .22 rifle, but I guess it could work for that just fine.
My Uncle had an AR 7 in 1980. I was way less than impressed. But hey, it floats.
Local shop has a couple of Nylon 66 on the rack this week. Now that is the original truck gun. One of them would have followed me home but I already blew several months of toy budget on fire sale Leupolds.
Those Nylon 66's are going for serious bucks, like $400.
DF
IIRC, The brown/blue one was $299 and the black/SS was $399. But they might have been $100 higher.
for a behind the seat gun i'd want a flush magazine like the 10/22 has. i gotta believe you could find one of the cheapo 10/22's used for less than 2 bills. might be fuggly but so what.
Marlin/Glenfield mod. 60, have had a half dozen of these over the years. Always accurate, very reliable and if anything does hang up there are a ton of fix-it vids online. Easy to work on and parts available.
Used to find them at pawn shops for 80 or 90 bucks. Could rattle can them camo, black, two tone, blaze orange...real "truck" guns. Holds more bullets than the 10/22 and no mags to buy or lose.
My dad had one of the original Armalite models. This was probably in the early '60s. I shot it some, but it's been a long time ago. I seem to remember it was surprisingly accurate for what it was. Very awkward gun, too light and the huge buttstock was way out of proportion for the rest of the gun, but it had to be huge to hold the barrel, action and magazine when the gun was broken down. Plastic stock finally developed a big crack rendering it worthless.
Hickock 45 got more trouble free shots off during that video than I could get out of my AR-7 the whole time I owned it. I figured it was a survival rifle so Henry didn't want you burning up your ammo too quickly so they engineered it to be a single shot with a seven round magazine. I had trouble hitting anything with mine since the slightest bump of the plastic front sight like when taking it out of or stowing it in the stock would move it in the dovetail. I traded mine on a used Ruger Single Six and I don't miss it.
If I was only going to have one .22 rifle it wouldn't be an AR7. I've got a few .22 rifles already. One is a CZ 452 with a 3-9X32 scope on it that will shoot bugholes. But I want something cheap that I can throw behind the seat of the pickup. That ugly ass little Mossberg for $150 might be it. Or it might be the AR7 with a tube stock on it. Or it might be the Marlin.
I'm not really concerned with the take down feature. I just want something lightweight and compact,..semi auto,..and preferably cheap.
I appreciate all the input, though. I didn't know some of the rifles mentioned existed.
My dad had one of the original Armalite models. This was probably in the early '60s. I shot it some, but it's been a long time ago. I seem to remember it was surprisingly accurate for what it was. Very awkward gun, too light and the huge buttstock was way out of proportion for the rest of the gun, but it had to be huge to hold the barrel, action and magazine when the gun was broken down. Plastic stock finally developed a big crack rendering it worthless.
If memory serves, the originals were chambered in .22 Hornet.
If I was only going to have one .22 rifle it wouldn't be an AR7. I've got a few .22 rifles already. One is a CZ 452 with a 3-9X32 scope on it that will shoot bugholes. But I want something cheap that I can throw behind the seat of the pickup. That ugly ass little Mossberg for $150 might be it. Or it might be the AR7 with a tube stock on it. Or it might be the Marlin.
I'm not really concerned with the take down feature. I just want something lightweight and compact,..semi auto,..and preferably cheap.
I appreciate all the input, though. I didn't know some of the rifles mentioned existed.
Dang it, Bristoe. I've been reading/watching more on that Mossberg, and I've almost talked myself into getting it, just for the sake of beating the hell out of it. I can't bring myself to abuse an old "antique" $100 Stevens/Savage or a $150 Remington. I like old Marlin 60's, and actually prefer tube fed guns, but for a "truck" gun, it's a real hassle to keep an empty chamber when the tube is full of cartridges. After you shoot, you have to pull the tube out a bit, so it won't feed another round, then push it back in after you've cleared the chamber and the bolt is closed. With a mag fed, you just pull out the mag, jack the bolt, then stick the mag back in.
The only reason I even looked at that Blaze this morning was because it reminded me of the old Nylon 66's. After reading on them, they look like a real pain in the rear to disassemble for cleaning (they split in half after removing SIXTEEN screws!!). The designers could have come up with a better design, there. OTOH, how many folks are shooting the old Nylon 66's which have NEVER been stripped down for a "proper" cleaning??? I've always heard they are a nightmare, too, if you take them down.
I stand by my statement that the TD 10/22 is a better gun than the AR7, esp when the AR7 is going for $275 and the Ruger is $300-$325. No doubt it is better than the Mossberg. Since NEF discontinued their single shot shotguns, I even feel bad abusing those things. I feel a little guilty beating the crap out of ANYTHING that costs more than $250, for sure. Even a $180-$200 Marlin XT22 would make me feel bad. The ugly Mossberg at $135??? Pretty much guilt-free abuse on that thing, I'll post tomorrow if I get it.
My dad had one of the original Armalite models. This was probably in the early '60s. I shot it some, but it's been a long time ago. I seem to remember it was surprisingly accurate for what it was. Very awkward gun, too light and the huge buttstock was way out of proportion for the rest of the gun, but it had to be huge to hold the barrel, action and magazine when the gun was broken down. Plastic stock finally developed a big crack rendering it worthless.
If memory serves, the originals were chambered in .22 Hornet.
Was there ever a day in history when you weren't a dumbf*ck?
My dad had one of the original Armalite models. This was probably in the early '60s. I shot it some, but it's been a long time ago. I seem to remember it was surprisingly accurate for what it was. Very awkward gun, too light and the huge buttstock was way out of proportion for the rest of the gun, but it had to be huge to hold the barrel, action and magazine when the gun was broken down. Plastic stock finally developed a big crack rendering it worthless.
If memory serves, the originals were chambered in .22 Hornet.
Was there ever a day in history when you weren't a dumbf*ck?
The AR-5 had the advantage of repeat fire over the then-standard M6, using the same .22 Hornet cartridge. When the AR-5 was adopted as the MA-1 but was not placed in issue due to the numbers of usable M4 and M6 survival weapons in USAF inventory, ArmaLite used the research and tooling for the AR-5 in developing the AR-7 for the civilian market.
My dad had one of the original Armalite models. This was probably in the early '60s. I shot it some, but it's been a long time ago. I seem to remember it was surprisingly accurate for what it was. Very awkward gun, too light and the huge buttstock was way out of proportion for the rest of the gun, but it had to be huge to hold the barrel, action and magazine when the gun was broken down. Plastic stock finally developed a big crack rendering it worthless.
If memory serves, the originals were chambered in .22 Hornet.
Was there ever a day in history when you weren't a dumbf*ck?
The AR-5 had the advantage of repeat fire over the then-standard M6, using the same .22 Hornet cartridge. When the AR-5 was adopted as the MA-1 but was not placed in issue due to the numbers of usable M4 and M6 survival weapons in USAF inventory, ArmaLite used the research and tooling for the AR-5 in developing the AR-7 for the civilian market.
They weren't, and I'm happy you can google as well as TRH. This thread is about the AR7, not the frigging AR5. The AR5 was a bolt action.
Following the logic, I guess we could say the first one was chambered in 30/40 Krag.
When the Chinese SKS's hit the market, I tossed one behind the seat, no case, no protection, and it rode there or in the pickup bed tool box for about a year. Didn't to seem hurt it a bit
Yep, memory didn't serve. It was indeed the predecessor design for the Air Force survival rifle that was chambered in Hornet. Last time I researched this stuff was some twenty years ago.
10/22 would be my choice..........wait, already have one.
Browning put out one that would be good, though not cheap. Never ran across one that didn't shoot well, or reliably.
Thoughts generated by experience suggest any mag other than a flush box style or tube is looking for trouble. Hanging a scabbard on the back of the seat makes for a discreet and secure storage locale. Also make for an easy grab. Carried a scoped 77/44 like that for quite a few years.
Or, if disposed toward something that shoots the S,L,LR ammo........
They only hold a week's supply of shorts and my sample of one shot remarkably well with same. Legions of cats died quietly by use of CB shorts going back near 30 years.
I think this will be it. Marlin Model 795. Basically a magazine fed Model 60 with a synthetic stock. Around $150.
I don't think it can be topped for the money. It would be nice if it was a bit more compact, but they're giving these things away for $144,....and a synthetic stock is about as ugly as it's ever going to be right out of the box,..so riding around behind the seat of my truck isn't going to diminish it too much.
It's a $160 pop gun. It might be better than a $160 rifle,..but it's going to hard to be worse.
This guy seems to like it. His videos are too long to listen to the whole things,..but the first minute or so of it shows him shooting some nice groups with it.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.minnpost.com/sites/default/files/TonkaDumpTruck_Thumb.jpg)
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