Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Made famous by early James Bond movies like From Russia With Love, the Armalite AR-7 was developed in the late 1950s as an aircrew survival weapon and a handy, portable rifle for hikers, fishers, boaters, pilots, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Though plagued by reliability issues throughout its long history, it continues to be produced to this day.
M4 Rifle Video: youtube.com/watch?v=j-BISiLKhN8&pp=ygURbTQgc3Vydml2YWwgcmlmbGU%3D
TIFO Expanding Bullets Video: youtube.com/watch?v=mJw0QWofEVk&pp=ygUZdG9kYXkgaSBmb3VuZCBvdXQgZHVtIGR1bQ%3D%3D
Forgotten Weapons M6 / Luftwaffe Drilling Video: youtube.com/watch?v=LnHW3-aDP30&pp=ygUSbHVmdHdhZmZlIGRyaWxsaW5n
Forgotten Weapons AR-1 Parasniper Video: youtube.com/watch?v=neyvB5I-5p8&pp=ygUPYXItMSBwYXJhc25pcGVy
Forgotten Weapon AR-17 Video: youtube.com/watch?v=67tUMc__xHc&pp=ygUFYXItMTc%3D
0:00 Intro
0:55 Early Survival Rifles
2:05 M4 Survival Rifle
2:21 M6 Survival Weapon
2:55 Armalite
4:23 AR-5
6:05 AR-7 Origins
6:22 Assembly
8:50 Markings
9:39 Early AR-7 History
10:21 James Bond
11:40 Variants and Aftermarket Parts
12:22 Charter Arms
12:51 Explorer II Pistol
14:18 Survival Arms and Henry
14:35 Reliability Issues
16:47 Shooting
18:30 Henry Improvements
19:49 Israeli Survival Rifle
20:09 Outro
SOURCES
patents.google.com/patent/USD179499
youtube.com/watch?v=neyvB5I-5p8
web.archive.org/web/20230331195956/https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-unlikely-resilience-of-the-ar-7-survival-rifle
calibremag.ca/henry-survival-rifle-the-ar-7-today
americanrifleman.org/content/a-look-back-at-the-armalite-ar-7-explorer
hwsportsman.net/AR7.php
nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/innovation,-oddities-and-competition/case-22-the-weird-and-the-wonderful/armalite-ar-7-explorer-rifle.aspx
thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/09/26/rimfire-report-charter-arms-explorer-ii-ar7-pistol-review
scribd.com/document/466017200/charter-arms-ar-7-explorer-serial-number-pdf#download
Made famous by early James Bond movies like From Russia With Love, the Armalite AR-7 was developed in the late 1950s as an aircrew survival weapon and a handy, portable rifle for hikers, fishers, boaters, pilots, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Though plagued by reliability issues throughout its long history, it continues to be produced to this day.
M4 Rifle Video: youtube.com/watch?v=j-BISiLKhN8&pp=ygURbTQgc3Vydml2YWwgcmlmbGU%3D
TIFO Expanding Bullets Video: youtube.com/watch?v=mJw0QWofEVk&pp=ygUZdG9kYXkgaSBmb3VuZCBvdXQgZHVtIGR1bQ%3D%3D
Forgotten Weapons M6 / Luftwaffe Drilling Video: youtube.com/watch?v=LnHW3-aDP30&pp=ygUSbHVmdHdhZmZlIGRyaWxsaW5n
Forgotten Weapons AR-1 Parasniper Video: youtube.com/watch?v=neyvB5I-5p8&pp=ygUPYXItMSBwYXJhc25pcGVy
Forgotten Weapon AR-17 Video: youtube.com/watch?v=67tUMc__xHc&pp=ygUFYXItMTc%3D
0:00 Intro
0:55 Early Survival Rifles
2:05 M4 Survival Rifle
2:21 M6 Survival Weapon
2:55 Armalite
4:23 AR-5
6:05 AR-7 Origins
6:22 Assembly
8:50 Markings
9:39 Early AR-7 History
10:21 James Bond
11:40 Variants and Aftermarket Parts
12:22 Charter Arms
12:51 Explorer II Pistol
14:18 Survival Arms and Henry
14:35 Reliability Issues
16:47 Shooting
18:30 Henry Improvements
19:49 Israeli Survival Rifle
20:09 Outro
SOURCES
patents.google.com/patent/USD179499
youtube.com/watch?v=neyvB5I-5p8
web.archive.org/web/20230331195956/https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-unlikely-resilience-of-the-ar-7-survival-rifle
calibremag.ca/henry-survival-rifle-the-ar-7-today
americanrifleman.org/content/a-look-back-at-the-armalite-ar-7-explorer
hwsportsman.net/AR7.php
nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/innovation,-oddities-and-competition/case-22-the-weird-and-the-wonderful/armalite-ar-7-explorer-rifle.aspx
thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/09/26/rimfire-report-charter-arms-explorer-ii-ar7-pistol-review
scribd.com/document/466017200/charter-arms-ar-7-explorer-serial-number-pdf#download
