Charter Arms AR-7

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RMC51

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I have a Charter Arms AR-7 made in the 70's. Who is good and works on these, its having feeding problems. Is there someone that specialize in these old units?
 
I had one of them. I found mine to be VERY ammo picky. Try some different brands of premium .22 LR like CCI mini mags and such. The cheap stuff did not feed worth a hoot in mine. Mine also liked to be lubed up fairly heavy.
 
Another thought I had is CLEAN the chamber well. Cheap ammo Will crud up the chamber on a blow back action effecting extraction. Luck to you.
 
One more try

Does anyone know someone that works on these old AR-7's

Talked to Charter Arms today, they said to call AR7.com. AR7.com only makes parts for them, no repair work. Talked to Henry Arms, they will only work on their own.

going once, going twice. I'm get out the 12 pounder
 
AR7 = in case of emergency throw away gun.

Just about any competant smith should be able to work on it but when he's done it will still be an AR7 and you might of spent as much as the gun is worth.

LK
 
Have one of the same vintage shot it for years with my hand under mag with slight pressure, feeds every round.:D It's called redneck repair, well I guess i could use duct tape but then it would make it hard to change mags.;)
 
Have one of the same vintage shot it for years with my hand under mag with slight pressure, feeds every round.
I had one as well, and used the exact same technique. :)

Oh, and if you dont take the side plate off every so often and blast out the gunk, she'll start giving you "bursts" too. :D
 
I have one made by survival arms. I never had a problem feeding it anything but I did have a problem with 2 rounds going off every now and again, once when you squeeze the trigger and the other one when you release it. I got a replacement hammer and trigger and that cured the problems. It's NOT a heavy duty rifle and I can imagine bending/breaking the steel lined plastic barrel fairly easily if you fell on it or something along those lines. Then again, it was made to be light weight and that's exactly what it is! One other quirk to shooting them is that any pressure on the barrel will effect your point of impact on the target. I generally hold onto the magazine to let the barrel free-float out there without touching anything and then accuracy isn't too bad for what it is. I do disagree with the "AR7 = in case of emergency throw away gun. " statement though. Even with it's delicate nature, it's better than a sharp stick and with the ability to be broken down and stored in the stock (that will float if dropped into water BTW) it's about as compact as you are going to get with a rifle and can be stored pretty easily most anywhere.
 
Don't spend very much on repairing any AR-7. They may be handy, but are not robust and most have found reliability to be marginal. If you want an inexpensive takedown 22 SA, buy a Marlin Papoose. I've had an AR-7 and a Papoose, and the latter is far superior.
 
Mine suddenly started having failure to feed problems.
It turned out to be a very small burr on the barrel chamber, right at the entrance, due to too many inadvertent dry fires, when the mag went empty.
Using a small round file to clean it away cured it.
It wasn't much of a burr and very hard to see.
But it was there.
Hope this helps.
 
Seven High said:
How is your AR-7 malfunctioning?

It will fire the first round but will not load FTF. I have tried different magazines, ammo. I have run out of ideas. will not feed, works good as a single shoot.
 
Have you tried holding your hand under the mag, pressing up as you shoot? That made a big difference with mine.
 
In somewhat of the same vein, be sure you are not holding the gun and putting pressure at the front of the magazine, in a way that will tilt the magazine.
That can cause the rounds to hit below the barrel ramp and result in failures to feed.
 
Take it to a local gunsmith, and see what they say. Any gunsmith worth his salt can fix it. Before doing that, try buying a new magazine (or new mag spring)
 
jsimmons said:
Take it to a local gunsmith, and see what they say. Any gunsmith worth his salt can fix it. Before doing that, try buying a new magazine (or new mag spring)
Yes have done. This is why I'm asking if anyone knows someone that deals with these AR7's
 
AR-7 Worth fixing?

I understand the Henry's are better made. The rifle I had would occasionally fire a burst of 3- shots. Got rid of it. After seeing a pistol version of the AR-7 (Explorer II) do the same thing, I lost interest. I know Armalite made at least one good model of rifle but those AR-7's are not a comparable gun. Cost too much to fix. I'd be inclined to get a Henry. Have heard good things about them.
 
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