Henry Survival Rifle AR7 Shoots 16-18 inches low at 25 meters

thegazelle

thegazelle

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Hi there, I tried doing a search on the forums but haven't seen anything yet on this.

Just got a Henry Survival Rifle (AR7). Was manufactured in 2022, based on the QC / QA card included. I tried shooting it this afternoon at my club for the first time. I had a 18" high target. Was shooting at a bench outside at 25 meters. Used a combination of Aguila Super Extra high velocity and CCI Blazer ammo I didn't get on paper after a number of shots, so I decided to aim about 1" above the top of the target (18" high) and that final shot hit the bottom edge of the target. So I am missing low by 17-18 inches. I thought that it was maybe me so I asked a couple of range members to come out and shoot it. They both had the exact same experience in shooting 16 rounds each. We then put up a gigantic full page target and sure enough we were missing by about 17-18" low. So that's three of us who are missing low by the same number.

We did see that there is a screw for the rear sight adjustment but it was pretty much already all the way to the top, and there is a shroud that prevents it from going any higher. It is also on the bigger hole as the other end of that piece had a smaller hole ( we didn't bother to flip it around). We did unscrew it and re-set the sight to the highest point but then it was hard to see the front sight through it. The front orange plastic sight does not appear to be adjustable.

After the adjustments, it made maybe about a 2-3" difference. We were still off (low) by at least 13-14 inches, if that.

It was suggested that I could either file down the front sight or replace it all together. I am not sure if other owners have experienced this. I suppose I could have taken it apart and put it back together again, but it's not difficult to assemble and everything was put together correctly.

Just wondering what else I can try before considering replacing things.

Thanks.
 
Hm is warranty an option? I bought one last year or the year before and it shoots everything from std velocity to hv to hypers pretty close to poa. Blazer and Rem golden bullets were easy to sight in for and same poi. My aperture plate is flush with the top of the shroud on the receiver and poi is on at 50yds.
 
I'd suggest that you check the barrel for straightness. Place it on a flat table edge witht he lock-nut orf the edge, and roll as far as the F-sight allows. A 15" inaccuracy should show up, I'd think. Are you the 2nd-ish owner ? Maybe the orig-owner bent it somehow ?
I'd stay away from files until you determine that's needed.
 
PS - My Armalite AR-7 shoots ca 1.5" Low& Right, but I haven't got a roundtoit to restore accuracy. Just the sights, Not Bent :rolleyes:
 
Buck1950 said:
I'd suggest that you check the barrel for straightness. Place it on a flat table edge witht he lock-nut orf the edge, and roll as far as the F-sight allows. A 15" inaccuracy should show up, I'd think. Are you the 2nd-ish owner ? Maybe the orig-owner bent it somehow ?
I'd stay away from files until you determine that's needed.
Click to expand...

Correct - I am second owner. First owner did not report anything wrong with the gun and said if it did not function properly or had problems he would not have sold it to me. The gun was not used very much - he bought it retail at one of the local LGS. He seems fairly organized and had the box, all the packaging, manual, labels, stickers, etc. Gun had no issues cosmetically or otherwise.

Will try the test sometime this week.
 
supernova said:
Hm is warranty an option? I bought one last year or the year before and it shoots everything from std velocity to hv to hypers pretty close to poa. Blazer and Rem golden bullets were easy to sight in for and same poi. My aperture plate is flush with the top of the shroud on the receiver and poi is on at 50yds.
Click to expand...

Warranty would be an option, but I am second owner. I do believe Henry has a lifetime warranty on their products.

HOWEVER, I also seem to recall that Grech is the warranty provider in Canada and their warranty service has been a real mixed bag based on talking to people over the years. Sending it to them would be last resort. I could reach out to Henry, but will do that after exhausting everything else. It is too bad the front orange sight is fixed and can't be adjusted for elevation. I suppose I could always replace it with a another sight like a third party one if they exist.

I am really out of adjustment on the rear peep sight (I am on the larger aperture), given the shroud that starts to cut off visibility.
 
Wipe out the barrel. Look through it. If it is warped enough to put the poi out 18" at that range, you should be able to see it.
 
tiriaq said:
Wipe out the barrel. Look through it. If it is warped enough to put the poi out 18" at that range, you should be able to see it.
Click to expand...

I just checked...there are no issues with the barrel (thank goodness). It is straight and there is no warping (as far as I can tell).

I should have disassembled and reassembled it and try again to rule out something that simple may have been the issue. Will try again next week.

My range buddy told me a number of folks at our club have owned this rifle over the years and have reported accuracy issues with their rifles. Yet the general consensus online SEEMS to be that this is relatively accurate and reliable (at least the later models are) and the common issues seem more related to feeding with older magazines. There are some posts where it is implied that people have reported the rifle shooting low, but nothing really systemic that I can see.
 
Here's a 25-yd target I shot with my Armalite last Fall. As I said, about 1.5" Low and Right, using Fed Automatch and Rem Golden which are both in the mid-1200's. The Golden was a bit more accurate - got the tight group. The FAM was FTF so I quit after 1-2. SV is not enough to cycle the reload, even tho I took a couple coils off the recoil springs. I sprayed the inside of the receiver and Bolt with Silicone Dri-slide and lube pivot points inside the action with PTFE grease.
PS - I did NOT 'cross' the trigger/hammer spring legs as was advised on AR7 website. The OEM manual specifically does NOT say to cross them, and the action runs smoother when I made that change.
Range-12-19-23-AR-7-25yds-Fam-Gold.jpg
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could you not simply file some off the front sight to bring the POI up, seems a easy adjustment, I would take more than required so the actual adjuster is not maxed out
 
As well, you can look at the barrel to receiver interface and ensure straightness there. I'd also check out the locating pin. Perhaps it or the end of the slot are out of spec and causing interference such as the pin bottoming in the slot before the tenon shoulder is squarely seated against the receiver. If we were closer I'd let you try swapping parts with mine to narrow it down. Try a barrel from a known good rifle in your receiver and try a known good receiver with your barrel. Should be able to isolate the out of spec part that way.
 
Is the shroud necessary? If the sight plate has room in the adjustment slot to go higher, can you find a proper height if the shroud was filed off?
 
supernova said:
As well, you can look at the barrel to receiver interface and ensure straightness there. I'd also check out the locating pin. Perhaps it or the end of the slot are out of spec and causing interference such as the pin bottoming in the slot before the tenon shoulder is squarely seated against the receiver. If we were closer I'd let you try swapping parts with mine to narrow it down. Try a barrel from a known good rifle in your receiver and try a known good receiver with your barrel. Should be able to isolate the out of spec part that way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought about that pin mating with the slot as well...I don't know if this makes a difference, but when I mated them I just tightened the nut till it was hand tight. It seems like some videos are suggesting you have to press the barrel down and then tighten OR pull the bolt back and then tighten - either way reducing the resistance. Now, I figured if I am tightening the nut, it will push everything back anyway - I doubt the bolt's resistance will prevent the nut from tightening any further, but all the same when I assemble it again, I will push down on the barrel and then tighten the nut. I will be surprised if that makes a difference.

When I put in the barrel before tightening, there wasn't any play in with that bead/pin in the channel...I thought about that too, but wouldn't that be more windage related. As it stands, the windage didn't require any adjustment, or it wasn't enough of an issue like the elevation was.

Unfortunately I don't really know anyone who owns one of these including the club members who had previous problems (not that I would switch it with theirs anyway since if they had accuracy problems, I didn't want to introduce another variable by using their parts).

I am still hoping that ultimately the problem is operator (me) error in the install process. Since I just got this, it's not like I had much experience putting it together - I just took a look at the manual and watched a video on youtube before going out to the club.
 
boxhitch said:
Is the shroud necessary? If the sight plate has room in the adjustment slot to go higher, can you find a proper height if the shroud was filed off?
Click to expand...

Yeah the sight plate can go higher but the arc of the shroud covers it.

Certainly I think if I have to come to making modifications, filing off the front of the plastic blade sight (or replacing it with a lower one if it exists) seems to be easier than cutting out the metal of the rear shroud, or filing it down so the aperture strip goes higher. I am debating the warranty piece too but want to rule out anything that I can fix before sending it off. I am not even sure I can put in a warranty call on it as I am not the original owner (but you figure if Henry has lifetime warranty, it shouldn't matter if it is original owner or not...)
 
thegazelle said:
...I thought about that pin mating with the slot as well...
Click to expand...

I think what supernova was suggesting is that if the slot is too short that the pin will bottom out and the barrel will tip. The nut will still tighten but the barrel is tipped.
 
thegazelle said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I thought about that pin mating with the slot as well...I don't know if this makes a difference, but when I mated them I just tightened the nut till it was hand tight. It seems like some videos are suggesting you have to press the barrel down and then tighten OR pull the bolt back and then tighten - either way reducing the resistance. Now, I figured if I am tightening the nut, it will push everything back anyway - I doubt the bolt's resistance will prevent the nut from tightening any further, but all the same when I assemble it again, I will push down on the barrel and then tighten the nut. I will be surprised if that makes a difference.

When I put in the barrel before tightening, there wasn't any play in with that bead/pin in the channel...I thought about that too, but wouldn't that be more windage related. As it stands, the windage didn't require any adjustment, or it wasn't enough of an issue like the elevation was.

Unfortunately I don't really know anyone who owns one of these including the club members who had previous problems (not that I would switch it with theirs anyway since if they had accuracy problems, I didn't want to introduce another variable by using their parts).

I am still hoping that ultimately the problem is operator (me) error in the install process. Since I just got this, it's not like I had much experience putting it together - I just took a look at the manual and watched a video on youtube before going out to the club.
Click to expand...

My thoughts were more to the effect of the pin bottoming in the slot before the tenon shoulder bottoms on the receiver, which would tilt the barrel down some. As for assembling, you don't have to push the barrel in, just tighten the nut down hand tight. The barrel will push the bolt back as you go. So long as the pin is in the slot and the nut is tightened down snug its together properly. Thats how I put mine together and like I said, no poi issues. So if not the pin bottoming or a shoulder out of square I'd have to guess the barrel is either drilled off center or the barrel extension/threading is crooked. Of course those are just guesses.
 
supernova said:
My thoughts were more to the effect of the pin bottoming in the slot before the tenon shoulder bottoms on the receiver, which would tilt the barrel down some. As for assembling, you don't have to push the barrel in, just tighten the nut down hand tight. The barrel will push the bolt back as you go. So long as the pin is in the slot and the nut is tightened down snug its together properly. Thats how I put mine together and like I said, no poi issues. So if not the pin bottoming or a shoulder out of square I'd have to guess the barrel is either drilled off center or the barrel extension/threading is crooked. Of course those are just guesses.
Click to expand...

For sure, the pin is in the slot...if it wasn't, the nut wouldn't tighten all the way and you'd see the silver threads. I checked that myself and so did the range members.

I didn't think the pushing down of barrel or pulling CH back made any difference as the nut would have pushed it back anyway.

Given that long receiver screw wouldn't screw in if it wasn't aligned, I figured because I was able to tighten that, and tighten the nut that the rifle was put together properly. Honestly, it seems pretty foolproof.

I contacted Gretch Canada to inquire about opening up a warranty call on it. In the meantime I will take it back next weekend and try again but I anticipate the same issues and at that point if Gretch approves the RMA I will send it in. If not I will keep investigating. Knowing it is off by this much, no way I am going to try to sell it. Besides, I would prefer to fix things rather than just give up on it, unless the cost of doing so outweighs what the rifle (or my time) is worth. The one thing for sure I will not do is to put an optic on this. I bought this primarily for the novelty of stowing it in the stock and I found a space in my safe to put this, whereas an assembled gun would not fit in my safe.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Wow, that is quick service...Grech replied back to me and asked for my details as they want to send me another barrel.

If this solves my dilemma I will be pretty happy...
 
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