Today we’ll take a look at the Henry AR7 Survival Rifle with Hickok45. He begins the video by joking that all they sent him was the buttstock. For those in the know, you realize that the entire rifle fits into the buttstock, which is water and impact resistant. In addition, the stock is filled with foam, ensuring it will float should it ever dive into the water.
Run Down and Origin
All the components fit into the stock; receiver, barrel, and magazines. Each has its own groove and space to fit into. The stock is approximately 16 ½ inches long and the entire affair weighs about three and a half pounds. You don’t get too much more compact and lightweight than that!
The Survival Rifle was designed by Eugene Stoner. Originally, it was a bolt action chambered in .22 Hornet and marketed to the US Air Force. Since it was not widely used by the Air Force, Stoner redirected his sales toward the civilian market. It was once owned by Charter Arms, where it experienced some quality control issues. Henry Arms now owns the rights to the Survival Rifle, and they have improved it. Hickok stated that he couldn’t find much negative to say about the rifle and was pleased with it.
Putting the Henry AR7 Together
The receiver slides into the stock and is secured via a bolt in the stock, no tools are required! The barrel is then put in place, and the nut tightened. Presto, the rifle is assembled!
Being a survival rifle, it is designed for bush pilots, military, hikers, canoeists, and anyone who frequents the outdoors or just wants a compact rifle to have along “just in case.”
Henry AR7 Disassembled
Sights are very simple; the rear sight is of the aperture type (adjustable for elevation), and the front sight is the blade type and adjustable for windage. That front sight is plastic and bright orange in color.
The magazines are reasonably robust and appear to have a feed ramp built into them. There is also a piece of wire on the side, which seems to hold the bullets in their proper place. All in all, the magazines are of high quality.
Hickok advises that the manufacturer suggests premium ammo that is “warm” or “hot” to ensure proper functioning. As an aside, I’ve used standard velocity .22LR ammo in mine and it functioned perfectly. These are very reliable rifles.
Hickok mentions that, with a few magazines and 1,000 rounds of ammo, you’d be well equipped for survival, as the whole package does not weigh much. He elaborates that it could take small game, and even function for self-defense if needed. When it’s broken down, it fits easily into a backpack.
Hickok’s Opinion
We can tell pretty quickly that Hickok really likes this little rifle, the way he dotes on it. He comes right out and says that he needs to buy one. He proceeds to tag targets at all ranges on his shooting course, including a red plate that looks to be well over a hundred yards away, as well as 2-liter bottles of soda. Like all of his videos, Hickok does a lot of shooting in this one. I can tell you from personal experience, that this rifle is a ton of fun to shoot! And I agree that it’s a great rifle for the same reasons that Hickok is enamored with it. The compactness, reliability, lightweight, low recoil, and .22LR caliber all stack up to equal a real winner!
Personal Experience
My experience with the Survival Rifle’s accuracy has also been positive; at 50 yards, my groups were a bit over two inches, and that was not firing slowly to wring every shred of accuracy from the rifle. Instead, it is more than accurate enough to take small game, and serve for defensive purposes.
- A bit more about the “lowly” .22LR; it is a superb survival caliber.
- You can bring a lot of it along for not much weight.
- The recoil is nearly non-existent.
- It’s inexpensive, so you can buy a lot of it, which means you can practice a lot and store up a lot.
- The .22 is not very loud as far as firearms are concerned.
- It’s normally readily available wherever bullets are sold.
- Because there is very little recoil, you can rapidly put a lot of rounds into a small area.
The Survival Rifle is geared toward a specific purpose, and it does it very well. Aside from that, it is a versatile, fun rifle to use and enjoy. At the time of filming, Hickok said the price of the rifle is around $250, making it a particularly good value.
