AR-7 ammunition jam fix

[GeneralTJWillys]

Hey all,

Some of us got into a discussion about how the AR-7's frequently jam. It was kind of a hijack of Yankytrash's thread, to be honest, and Yankytrash, I do apologize for that.

But It was suggested that a new, dedicated thread be made so people would more readily find this info, so here goes....


I have a Charter Arms version of the AR-7 and it too, would regularly jam with many different styles of ammo. It didn't seem to be prejudicial! So we (my father and I) started looking at it more closely and we found that the clip has a rather sloppy fit.

I decided to use a toothpick as a shim, placing it between the trigger guard and the clip.

This netted instant results, in my case. As long as the toothpick stayed in place, I had no problems with any ammo.

I shot it like this for a while, then decided to make it a more permanent fix, meaning, I finally got tired of losing the toothpicks....

We got a chunk of aluminum and epoxied it to the trigger guard, as shown below.

I do suggest, however, that before doing this, that you thoroughly clean your AR-7 and make sure that any other commonly known reasons why it may be malfunctioning, are eliminated first.
Also, once you're ready, try the toothpick trick first. See if that indeed helps your rifle, before you take the time to do this.

On my rifle, the clip now goes in with a very SLIGHT interference fit! Be careful not too make it too tight! It should be just enough to hold the clip forward and keep it from "rattling around".

Using aluminum makes it easy to shave some, should you need to.






Mine is an admittedly crude fix, but then, I wasn't going for aesthetics, just proper function, as this gun gets shot pretty much every time I go out.

Good luck and HAPPY SHOOTING!!

 

[GeneralTJWillys]

BTW, here's the link to Yankytrash's original thread;

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=6704524#post6704524

 

[Quentin]

Thanks a lot for that fix, GeneralTJWillys! I need to give it a try on my AR-7.

 

[thunder173]

Good work General.......this could benefit a lot of us AR-7 junkies out there that are frustrated with the reliability of there rifles.

 

[GeneralTJWillys]

Ladies and Gents,
Keep me posted and let me know how it goes with your AR-7's. Thanks.

Tracy

 

[GeneralTJWillys]

I have found some more information regarding the problems that some AR-7's have had in feeding ammo.

As soon as I get time (it's kinda lengthy), I will post what I've found in a manual I have about these problems, so, If the above trick does not work for you, the next bits of info might, although they are a bit more involved.

STAY TUNED to this thread..............

 

[kcatton]

still waiting for for the post to come on this????

 

[GeneralTJWillys]

AAGGHH! Yep....got seriously distracted with other issues around here and completely forgot the update. Look for it tomorrow.

Sorry for the wait!

 

[kcatton]

thank you....

I am looking forward to this....

 

[kcatton]

any word on this yet???? please.... I have an ar-7 that is down for the count.... thank you very much in advance.....

 

[carborfi]

Wow, I've had one that has been stashed away for 20 some years because it wouldn't feed at all. I think I even sent it back to the factory and it still didn't work. It worked fine for the first 200 rounds then became a single shot rifle. Yes, I've tried a bunch of different mags.:banghead:

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I performed basically the same mod on mine useing a flat piece of thick plastic from a 5 gal bucket lid. definitely helped.

 

[GunDungeon]

Dam... and here i was banging my head on how to fix this problem years ago. I had to smack the backside of the mag to get it to feed at all.

 

[GeneralTJWillys]

Further fixes for AR-7 feeding issues.

OK, Let the flaming begin.......because I realize that it's been ages since I last posted that I would get it done "tomorrow". In my defense, what little I have, my "manual", which is "The AR-7 Advanced Weapons System", copyright 1990 by Paladin Press, which I've had for eons, was misplaced and could not be found. My apologies for taking SO pathetically long.

But....enough with the lame excuses. On with the show.

To quote from the text;

(regarding the feeding problems) "....The bullet tip usually enters halfway to the chamber at a very steep angle and jams the action with the bolt face. This causes a dent in the middle of the shell because the cartridge stops halfway out of the magazine lips." (this was my very problem).....to continue...."The cause of this malfunction is a short built-in feed ramp in the original factory 8-shot magazine. During loading when the front face of the bolt pushes the top round from the magazine, the rear end of the shell (rim) dips while the nose of the bullet follows the steep angle of the short feed ramp, causing a jam when the cartridge is not released from the magazine lips on time. The dual recoil spring and short recoil add to the problem, which to date has not been corrected by the current manufacturer." (Keep in mind, this manual is copyright 1990 and in no way should be taken to mean the NOW current manufacturer which is HENRY Repeating Arms Co. They may very well have fixed the issue, but as I have no experience with a Henry made AR-7, I cannot comment. Can anyone who has a Henry made rifle add their experience here?

Continuing....."This bug can be fixed by making one of two simple design changes. One method involves raising the position of the magazine so the lip will come closer to the bore axis." (instituting my personal fix shown earlier in this thread is related to this fix in that the shim pushes the bottom of the magazine outward, thereby raising the top front of the magazine nearer to the bore, but this also increases the angle of attack of the round as it is stripped from the mag.) continuing..... "This will position the bullet nose almost parallel to the chamber mouth, thereby enhancing the pointability of the bullet towards the chamber during loading. This ensures that-even though the rim dips during loading- the added metal will still reach it. In addition to this, the magazine's built-in feed ramp must be lengthened by .065 inch to provide better angle of feed and release timing. Substituting the Ram-Line 25-shot polymer magazine for the original one normally corrects this flaw. However, if your AR-7 still continues to have feeding problems, you should extend the feed ramp by cutting a small circular notch right below the chamber mouth using a 3/16 inch chainsaw file and polishing it with very fine emery cloth."

Detailed instructions..."Break the front end of the file (the end that has no teeth) so you can file the lower section of the chamber mouth. After cutting a small ramp (no longer than 1/16 inch) at the bottom part of the barrel, wrap the fine emery cloth around to the end of the file and remove all burrs and cutting marks. Metal removal must be done slowly and gradually to avoid over-cutting. Test fire the gun after a few cuts to see how it performs. Normally, a well-tuned AR-7 will empty a full 25 round magazine as fast as the trigger is pulled without a single malfunction. If your AR-7 can do this out of the box, you don't need to do any additional work.
You may need to buy extra magazines and experiment with various types of ammunition to find out whether you have a bad gun or not. Some ammo works well with this gun and some doesn't. A little experimentation will tell you which kind works best with yours."

"Another problem area you should check is the head space between the chamber mouth and the depth of the counterbored section of the bolt face. If the gun is fairly old and has been fired a lot, deep peenings may line the counterbore that supports the rim of the shell. If deep peening has made the counterbore too shallow, the rim will not seat fully because of the reduced diameter of the counterbore. This causes loading or extraction problems. In this case, you can order a new bolt or have a machinist re-cut the breech-face counterbore to correct the head-space depth and increase the rim support shoulder for safer operation."..........the end.

As for ordering a new bolt, this should be easily done by contacting Henry Rifles and talking to the sales rep. I've personally had experience ordering parts for my AR-7 through them and the experience was extremely pleasant and painless. Very friendly and helpful folks there, and in my particular case, I was sent my small parts free of charge. However, I'm sure they will want some $$ for something such as a new bolt.

Again let me apologize for taking so long to post this information. I hope everyone will get their respective problems taken care of and start having a blast with their "new" AR-7!!

Should you be having other problems with your AR-7 apart from this feeding problem, let me know. There is more information in this manual that I can share if need be.

Happy shooting.

 

[kcatton]

Thank you.... better late than never......

I will get to cracking on this little shooter...

thank you again....

 

[GeneralTJWillys]

So......have you?......

So has anyone tried these fixes yet? If so....how'd they come out? I've not had time to do this, but then, mine is still functioning flawlessly as is so I figure, if it's not broke.....KEEP SHOOTING!

 

[kcatton]

yes I forgot to post a reply but your fix made my little AR-7 run better than new... it chews up all ammo i throw at it...