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Where to find used AR-5 survival rifle

old_man

NAXJA Forum User
I am looking for an AR-5 survival rifle used. I have had zero luck. Can anybody give me some tips on where to look? I really don't want to buy new. No problems qualifying to buy it.
 
Do you mean the .22 rifle that packs up in the plastic, floating stock? I used to have one, but I gave it to my nephew. I know you said you don't want to buy new, but it was either Jensens or Rocky Mountain Shooters Supply that had some new ones recently.
 
Sorry, I live in the Socialist Republic of California. I've never held an assault rifile. Good luck with everything. Post pics at the end.
 
you want the one that came with a .410 shot right, combined with the .22 hornet?

the AR7 is the one that was just the .22 round, IIRC.

And I have not seen one in a while. Just the 4 shot .22.
 
The AR-5 is a 22 cal only.
 
Didn't another manufacturer pick that up ? I know they vanished for a while then made a come back, they also have a pistol option if I remember right. Have not seen one in years. In fact the last time I saw one was on a James Bond rerun of 'From Russia with love' a few months ago.
 
The AR-5 is a 22 cal only.

Didn't another manufacturer pick that up ? I know they vanished for a while then made a come back, they also have a pistol option if I remember right. Have not seen one in years. In fact the last time I saw one was on a James Bond rerun of 'From Russia with love' a few months ago.

I think you're both thinking of the AR-7. As I said, I've never seen an AR-5 for sale. Armalite made the AR-7 and Henry Repeating Arms makes an improved model currently. http://www.henryrepeating.com/h002_survival.cfm

History & Design

The prototype of what would become the AR-7 was designed by Eugene Stoner at ArmaLite Inc., a division of Fairchaild Aircraft. The rifle shares some of the features of the bolt-action AR-5, another rifle designed by Stoner for ArmaLite and adopted by the United States Air Force in 1956 as the MA-1. The MA-1 was intended as to replace the M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon which was a superimposed ("over-under") twin-barrel rifle/shotgun in chambered in .22 Hornet and .410 bore, using a break-open action. The AR-5 had the advantage of rapid fire, using the same .22 Hornet cartridge used in the M6.

The AR-7 was a completely different design, using a blowback semi-automatic action in. Like the bolt-action AR-5, the AR-7 was designed as a survival rifle for shooting small game. The rifle can be disassembled into its component parts (barrel, receiver, magazine, and stock), which can be stored in the stock. The AR-7 was constructed primarily of aluminum, with plastic for the stock and buttcap. Even the barrel is aluminum or composite material, using a rifled steel liner.

The AR-7 measures 35 inches overall when assembled. It disassembles to four sections (barrel, action, stock, and magazine), with everything stowing inside the ABS stock. It measures 16 inches long when configured for storage. The rifle weighs 2.5 pounds so this is even light enough to take along backpacking. It floats in water, as did the previous AR-5/MA-1 design. The rear sight is a peep sight, which comes on a flat metal blade with two different size apertures. It is adjustable for elevation (up-down). The front sight is adjustable for windage (side-side). Accuracy is sufficient for hunting small game at ranges to 50 yards.
 
Quote:

The AR-5 was the basis of the MA-1 aircrew survival rifle, adopted by the USAF in 1956, as a replacement for the M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon, a superposed ("over-under") combination weapon which has a .22 Hornet rifle barrel over a .410 shotgun barrel. While there is an advantage to such a combination, the AR-5 had the advantage of rapid fire, using the same .22 Hornet cartridge used in the M6. The AR-5 was developed by ArmaLite, a division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. ArmaLite's website [1] notes the AR-5 was submitted in response to an Air Force request shortly after the division was established on October 1, 1954.

The MA-1 is a four-shot, bolt-action rifle, chambered for the .22 Hornet cartridge. Parenthetically, the .22 Hornet is somewhat heavier than the common .22 Long Rifle cartridge, with a higher velocity and range, yet with a relatively light, controllable recoil.

Designed to be stowed in cramped aircraft cockpits, the rifle was made from lightweight plastics and aluminum alloys. The MA-1 was unique for being able to be disassembled, and all working parts stored within the stock. When stowed in this manner, the rifle was able to float[2]. The MA-1 established ArmaLite as a firearms company to be reckoned with, leading to several other rifles of varying success. However, the USAF never received funding to buy more than the original 12 test models.

Of note in this context is the AR-7, an eight-shot semi-automatic rifle chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. Released in 1959[1] as a civilian survival weapon, the AR-7 is related to the AR-5 in terms of its overall design, retaining the same modular takedown, storage in stock, and the ability to float.
 
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