"...magazines which cause loading problems..."

The magazine is the root of all evil in most semi-auto misfeeds, which is why you should always have at least one spare readily available. And if we are talking a self defense weapon, practice rapid reloads...

It seems to me that firearms using the simple .22 are a finicky lot, at least usually. After a "break in" period of about 200 to 500 rounds they mellow out quite a bit. When I first purchased my ruger MK II with a bull barrel for about 1/2 the retail cost I was overjoyed. Then to my dismay it didn't like anything I put in it. Fired 2 or 3 times and a jam. I finally lucked out and found a round it liked (sorry can't remember what it was) and finally got it to run about 95% of the time. After 250 (5 boxes) rounds of the stuff it runs all the time with no problems aside from ammo related issues. I tend to buy 500 round bulk "milk cartons" now so sometimes the heads get a little bent and cause feed issues or I will have one that the primer has gone to hell and won't go off.
Be patient, if the first batch won't shoot reliable, try a different one. Play around with what the bullets actually are i.e., round nose, flat nose, hard lead, soft lead, jacketed, hollow point. Also try different bullet weights and grain charges. Keep a list of what doesn't work and what does. I suspect in time it will be able to handle most, if not all of what is out there given time to break in. Patience is key.
Welcome to a fun and addicting past time Hacksaw, enjoy

-Bill Liptak

I ordered 2 extras right off the bat for a total of 4. You can get high capacity mags but they, like the scope, won't fit in the stock.

I have a Henry AR-7, while it's a fun little rifle that's been reliable, it wouldn't be my first choice if I really needed to depend on having a rifle. The build quality and design just doesn't feel that great, and I have heard enough about reliability issues to not trust it. Of course, I knew about all the issues before even buying it, but i chose to buy it anyway just becaues I liked it.

If I really needed to depend on having a rifle, rather than having to worry about questionable redundant rifles, I would try and make sure my primary rifle is as reliable as I can make it, and it's just better to start off with a more reliable base than the AR-7 than to try and modify the AR-7 into something it's not. It would be like spending tens of thousands of dollars to make a Yugo into a sports car, when for the same price or less you could have just gone out and buy one.

IMO, the only reason you'd choose the AR-7 over anything else is because of the light weight and compactness. The main selling point for most people is the ability to take down the reciever and barrel to store it in the stock. Take away that feature, and you might as well get a 10/22 with a collasible stock which is just a better rifle all around. And if you're gonna carry another barrel and reciever, you might as well just carry another rifle, it wouldn't be adding much more weight. That kinda goes back to the first argument, if you've got the space and ability to carry two rifles, why not just carry a better one to begin with?



If you having trouble with the AR-7's, a common fix would be to polish the feedramp, or chamfer the end of the barrel on the early versions without the chamfer. Ideally, everything should already work straight out of the box, but then again this is a cheap rifle with an unusual design, some people just live with the short comings just because there is currently no other option. Even thousand dollar semi custom guns sometimes have problems right out of the box that need some minor tweaking to make work, but as you go lower and lower on the price scale the problems are more common. And with the AR-7, you're basically at the very bottom of that scale.

I'm lucky that I haven't had any problems (yet), but if I did it's a pretty simple rifle to work on.

Hacksaw.

Another thing to consider is that every firearm has a "breaking in" period just like new boots or a new engine. After the first few hundred rounds you will notice that the rifle(should) work smoother and with less snags.

Solid lead ammo not only feeds less reliably in most semi-auto .22 rifles, but it fouls the hell out of them. If you use lead ammo I would suggest you get a good wire(not plastic) bore brush and some good solvent cleaner. Things like your action will gum up fairly quickly using solid lead ammo as well so a good field cleaning kit will pay off big time to aid in keeping it firing. This may be just as important as any spare part if you intend it as a survival rifle.

Just my take

Thanks priest...that's good to know.

I was actually wondering about lead fouling (is that the right term for it?) and was planning on picking up some jacketed (or similar) ammo to start out with...as well as some good cleaning supplies.

Some folks never clean their 22's and still get good accuracy.

I think it depends on the rifle.

I am new to the survival arena (outside of my military training) and looking into it on a personal level. One of the things I looked for was a weapon I could take w/ me that was light, portable, and reliable. I have a sidearm, but wanted something I could use for hunting small animals (or the occasional larger one). I looked at the AR-7 and other collapsible rifles and went w/ the Kel-Tec Su-16. It provided me w/ different models to choose from, ammunition that is readily available, and simple in its design. It is collapsible to about 21 in. and can mostly fit in a pack if desired. Being the .223 round, it packs a bit more punch than a .22. It is very accurate at the distance one might need in an emergency/survival scenario.

There is already a review here by Doug Ritter and if anyone wants to get more information, there is a user group located here . I encourage anyone interested to give it a look.

I've been looking at the Hi-Points.
http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/40_carbine.asp

My brother has a HiPoint in 9mm, loves it. Has decent accuracy. The Tampa (Florida) Police Dept. Actually ok'd them for personal purchase for agency carry 4 or 5 years ago and a LOT of officers picked them up. Personally I dislike the HiPoint brand of firearms as they tend to end up in the wrong hands (85% of gun traces at the shop I used to work at were for the HiPoints. Needless to say florida ammo traders no longer carries this firearm nor will order it. If they have one in stock its because of a trade.) The pistols are sometimes an "iffy" affair, but the carbines are surprisingly reliable.

-Bill Liptak