AR-7 Nightmare

cyclone

cyclone

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
379   0   0
Location
Toronto, Ontario
The worst thing happened; I took apart this little plinker to see if I could get it to go semi-auto and, after the re-assembly was completed, I found an extra piece lying there on the floor!

The "extra" piece is a single rod that is 3/4 of one thickness, and then the top 1/4 is of a narrower diameter. I am not sure that this piece came from the rifle.

The spring was enough of a pain to re-fit, but I think it worked in well - I racked the bolt and things seemed okay. "Pretty sure" it is ready to fire; I re-fastened that side-plate on tight.

I'm looking for advice; I used:

http://72deuce.########.com/2005/11/ar-7-assembly-disassembly-without.html

for the take-apart job, and I followed the re-assembly to the letter.

A personal note: that spring will not break, so don't be too afraid to bend it into the suggested position. I was sweating bullets while re-fitting it, tho it seems to have worked.

Second personal note: I really don't think owners need to take apart this rifle unless they really, really want to. The step where the spring must be rested on the trigger-piece's rear pin was not fun for a first-time take-down.

By the way: All those "lapping" tips for the chamber and barrel (as well as the trick to "Dremel" a small feed path) do not require removal of the sideplate, unless I am totally wrong...

Ah, yes. To conclude: that piece I mentioned - is it part of the rifle?

Thanks all.

P.S. Maybe not the "worst" happening - after all, nothing broke (so far as I know)...
 
Canuck223 said:
Some make the argument that this gun was designed for simplicity, and semi-auto function is more of an accident than a product of design.
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to agree with Canuck223. I've owned both a rifle and pistol of this design and they were nothing but trouble. I also had a book on converting the AR7 to full auto. I always found this a bit of a hoot, since I could rarely get them to fire semiauto for more than 2 rounds.
 
You dont need to get books to convert from semi to full. all you gotta do is fire a brick of ammo through it, and the buildup of crud will do the rest for you. Twas one of the reasons the govmint wanted to get thispuppy off the market. Mossberg semi 22 were the same way as well
 
Deacon Jim said:
I'm inclined to agree with Canuck223. I've owned both a rifle and pistol of this design and they were nothing but trouble. I also had a book on converting the AR7 to full auto. I always found this a bit of a hoot, since I could rarely get them to fire semiauto for more than 2 rounds.
Click to expand...

Agreed! In fact, the first "after-market" piece I purchased for this rifle was an extended bolt-handle from Majestic Arms, as I had a sneaking suspicion that this was to become a straight-pull .22 LR. I've made this my unnoficial CB Long rifle for the meantime, seeing as how that cartridge never cycles the actions of any of my other semi-automatics...
 
The AR7 was never designed to be a high-use firearm. The majority of them that were put into service for the purpose they were intended (a compact survival rifle for military aircrew) probably never fired a shot while 'on duty' ...and those that did were only expected to down a rabbit or two for dinner while you were waiting for rescue ...nothing more. It couldn't have been that bad of a design, or else the Israeli airforce wouldn't have adopted it for the same purpose.

Quality and reliability for the commercial version no doubt suffered at times over the years, depending on which company happened to be producing them (there have been several) ...but y'gotta admit, there's just something about the AR7 - warts 'n all - that seems to draw a lot of us to owning one.

Here's mine:

tc_ar7.jpg


:cool:
 
Ive had my Henry for 2 years , got it from SIR on sale for $170 or so
It works well with the factory mags but not with the Ram-Line.Not bad for the Money.
Here is the stock I made for it with some scrap plywood,( Its just a prototype)
I plan on making a nice one soon
1.jpg

2.jpg
 
I've had one of the old Armalites since sometime in the '60s. I've fired it quite a bit and never had any problems. Used to use it as a survival gun when I was flying over pretty empty country, so I checked it pretty regularly. Never any problems. My wife liked to shoot it, and was pretty good with it. The ownership of the design has changed often enough that maybe manufacturing just isn't being done carefully enough. I played around for a while trying to make it somehow more compact and useful, but finally decided that's pretty good the way it is.
 
I've got two of these things...one was given to me by a friend who was slightly over-reacting to registration.

They seem to need to be very carefully lubricated; If you don't want to take it apart, immerse the action in a bucket of varsol for 24 hours. Shake as much liquid out as you can then immerse in Valvoline 10-30 for 30 minutes. When the oil stops dripping out and you can wipe the outside down without any further seepage you are almost at the right amount of lubrication.
 
My Henry was nothing but trouble so I wrote to the head honcho of Henry Arms in New York and they sent me an entire internal parts kits along with a new barrel! His instructions were to clean it after every 50 rounds and it should function OK. Tha parts are still in the mailing tube so I haven't had a chance to reassemble it yet.
 
I'm assuming the part you have in your hand is the spring guide.....???

Yeah, mine jams on occasion when it's dirty but if I keep it clean and fire good ammo I find it's pretty reliable and supprisingly accurate!
 
I have the Charter Arms model. A slight chamfer at the chamber of the barrel took care of 99% of my jambing problems, using quality high velocity ammo took care of the rest. A semi auto design that is very easy to disassemble and clean. Accuracy with it is dependant on chosen ammo and being able to hold it consistantly. (It is so light that it has a tendancy to flip around) A target rifle it is not, but fine to use for what it was intended for. KD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom