The AR-7 was originally designed for the civilian market by Armalite. Earlier, they designed a bolt action 22 Hornet for the U S Air Force. The action and barrel fitted into a fiberglass stock, similiar to the storage in the current AR-7. I believe Armalite designation for the Air Force model was AR-5.
The AR-5 was given the military designation MA-1 and adopted as military standard, but was never placed into production. The Air Force appearantly decided their existing H&R built M-4 take down 22 Hornets and the M-6 22 Hornet/410 bore over & under were adequate for their needs.
With more reliable aircraft, improved search and rescue techniques and world wide communications capabilities, survival "long arms" generally are no longer carried in military survival kits.
After Charter Arms gave up the ghost, a Florida company named, as I recall, Survival Arms built the AR-7 for a while.
I have one of the old Armalite versions. While a neat and handy rifle, I find it's not as reliable as I like. It seems very sensitive to magazine feed lip configuration and will, on occasion, fail to align the round with the chamber.
Accuracy is reasonable, considering its weight and expected use. The integrel peep sight is handy, altho a scope makes it easier on my tired old eyes. Overall, I prefer my modified Savage 24C Woodsloafer Special to the AR-7 or M-6 as a "survival" woods-carry firearm.

7k7k99 the Henry is an OK weapon. Fun to shot, will give you that, but the accuracy is touch and go with them. Some folks have great, some folks wished for great. Another way to go is to get one of the very good 22 pistols out there on the market. The Rugers Mark II Gov't is what I have and it shoots 1.5 inches at 75 yards. Ruger and Smith make very good 22 revolvers that are very accurate too. I was thinking of the M6 while deciding on a survival gun, but there were more advantages with the pistols. One they are a lot smaller and easier to carry in a BOB until needed. Aftermarket parts are available from several companies so that getting extra springs and screws that might break or get lost in the field is a snap. They are just as accurate for the survival needs as a rifle. And best of all you only need ONE hand to shoot it. If anyone thinks that shooting a rifle one handed is easier than a pistol I would like to meet them. Yes you could rest the rifle, but you can also rest the pistol. I think the only drawback is that you would have to practice a little more with the pistol, but I wouldn't count that as a draw back <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Sorry for the long reponse, but that you might like to hear a thought out of the box.

I wonder if spraying it down with truck bed liner would help

Why not both a rifle and a revolver/pistol?
My kit has a .22/.22mag ruger revolver AND a Savage 24C .22/20ga. One i'm getting has .this week has both 22/20ga and .22mag/20gamag barrel sets.

I have the MkII Government Target model, and it is more accurate than any small bore rifle I have shot, other than H&R and Anschutz target rifles.
It will consistently put 9 of 10 shots in a single ragged hole at 25 feet.
Better than I can hold, usually <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Heck, I get that out of my off the shelf 10/22 at 50 feet, and can punch out the bullseye at 50 yards regularly, at least until the chamber gets too crapped up with wax. You need to find some better rifles my friend. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

As far as the Henry stocks, mine seems tough enough I don't worry much about scratches. It is a utility firearm, so I am not that concerned about finish.

I grabbed one of those Romanian bolt action 22s a while back for $50. We use them at the range for Hunter Ed qualification for prospective hunters. They are pretty darned good, though I've noticed a few models have feed problems because of loos fitting magazines. They aren't pretty or takedown, but they are rugged enough for keeping one behind the seat of your pickup truck, or the scabbard, or the gun rack or whatever.

if I am going to pack a full sized pistol around, I will take a major caliber for survival carry since it is no more heavy or bulky, probably more accurate, and darn sure more inherently lethal. Doesn't S&W make a 16 oz 357 mag now? Sure, it would be a bear to light off a full power load in it, but you could use 38 +P or reduced handloads and still have enough to disptach deer sized game at normal pistol ranges. For another 10 oz or so, you could get their 44 mag, and down load to 44 spec to tame the beast so to speak, and still have a very desirable man/predator deterrent (well, not griz or brown, but certainly black bear and cougar). That is pretty darned good in my book.

JAF said:


Well, there is also the matter that a brand-new AR-7 is about the half the price of a new MK-II. The law is also more strict on handguns in some areas.

And if you have relatives who might not be into shooting, I would also imagine that there is less change of self-injury using a rifle. If you are not there, would you rather have your SO handle a pistol or rifle?

But with that being said, I would love to add a buckmark to my collection. But I first have to grab the M6 that I saw a couple of days ago. Those things are harder to find...

Hey, my 10/22 is pretty accurate, but not as good as the MkII <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
I picked up a surplus 98 Mauser copy that is a .22 trainer (full size), think it was french or something, was told it was made on captured tooling (?).
Very accurate rifle, peep sights, incredibly fun to shoot. Recoil on an 8 or 9 pound rifle with a .22 is nonexistent!

I use a T/C Contender carbine. I got a custom 17” .22lr barrel. I put a Weaver .22, 2-7X scope on it. The Contender breaks apart at the hinge pin. You take the two forearm screws out and then you can slide the hinge pin out and the barrel lifts off. The Contender is very accurate (CCI Silhouette MiniMag 0.58” five shots at 50 yards.), has a great trigger (Mike Bellm), and is light weight. In my hunting experience you get one shot and then everything scatters. I also have a 21” .223 barrel that Mike Bellm rechambered for me. It will shoot under an inch all day long. On a good day it has shot under ½” (3 shots at 100 yards). A Contender pistol might be even better for a BOB weapon.

Your relatives shouldn't be handling your guns when you're not around, and if you're worried about it, maybe you should invest in some locks. Pistol paranoia (or any gun paranoia, for that matter) really gets my goat.

Troy