The prototype of what would become the AR-7 was designed by Eugene Stoner at ArmaLite Inc., a division of Fairchild Aircraft.
 The rifle shares some of the features of the bolt-action AR-5, another takedown 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 to replace the M4 Survival Rifle and the M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon which was a superposed ("over-under") twin-barrel rifle/shotgun chambered in .22 Hornet and .410 bore, using a break-open action.
The AR-5 had the advantage of repeat fire over the then-standard M6, using the same .22 Hornet cartridge.
When the AR-5 was adopted as the MA-1 but was not placed in issue due to the numbers of usable M4 and M6 survival weapons in USAF inventory, ArmaLite used the research and tooling for the AR-5 in developing the AR-7 for the civilian market.

The AR-7 uses a blowback semi-automatic action in .22 Long Rifle but retains the AR-5/MA-1 feature of storing the disassembled parts within the hollow stock, which is filled with plastic foam and capable of floating.
Like the bolt-action AR-5, the AR-7 was designed as a survival rifle for foraging small game for food.
The AR-7 is constructed primarily of aluminum, with plastic for the stock, buttcap, and recoil spring guide.
The bolt is steel.
The original barrel was aluminum using a rifled steel liner; barrels of some production models have used all steel barrels, others have used barrels made of composite materials.
The AR-7 measures 35 inches overall when assembled.
It disassembles to four sections (barrel, action, stock, and magazine), with three parts storing inside the plastic stock, measuring 16 inches long.
The rifle weighs 2.5 pounds, light enough for convenient backpacking.
The rear sight is a peep sight, which comes on a flat metal blade with an aperture (in later production two different size apertures available by removing and flipping the rear sight), and is adjustable for elevation (up-down).
The front sight is adjustable for windage (side-to-side).
Accuracy is sufficient for hunting small game at ranges to 50 yards.
The prototype of what would become the AR-7 was designed by Eugene Stoner at ArmaLite Inc., a division of Fairchild Aircraft.  The rifle shares some of the features of the bolt-action AR-5, another takedown 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 to replace the M4 Survival Rifle and the M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon which was a superposed ("over-under") twin-barrel rifle/shotgun chambered in .22 Hornet and .410 bore, using a break-open action. The AR-5 had the advantage of repeat fire over the then-standard M6, using the same .22 Hornet cartridge. When the AR-5 was adopted as the MA-1 but was not placed in issue due to the numbers of usable M4 and M6 survival weapons in USAF inventory, ArmaLite used the research and tooling for the AR-5 in developing the AR-7 for the civilian market.
The AR-7 uses a blowback semi-automatic action in .22 Long Rifle but retains the AR-5/MA-1 feature of storing the disassembled parts within the hollow stock, which is filled with plastic foam and capable of floating. Like the bolt-action AR-5, the AR-7 was designed as a survival rifle for foraging small game for food. The AR-7 is constructed primarily of aluminum, with plastic for the stock, buttcap, and recoil spring guide. The bolt is steel. The original barrel was aluminum using a rifled steel liner; barrels of some production models have used all steel barrels, others have used barrels made of composite materials. The AR-7 measures 35 inches overall when assembled. It disassembles to four sections (barrel, action, stock, and magazine), with three parts storing inside the plastic stock, measuring 16 inches long. The rifle weighs 2.5 pounds, light enough for convenient backpacking. The rear sight is a peep sight, which comes on a flat metal blade with an aperture (in later production two different size apertures available by removing and flipping the rear sight), and is adjustable for elevation (up-down). The front sight is adjustable for windage (side-to-side). Accuracy is sufficient for hunting small game at ranges to 50 yards.
ArmaLite AR-7