a few months back, i picked up a charter arms ar-7 at an auction. it wasn't somthing i intended to buy, but nobody else was bidding on it and i thought it would make a good birthday gift for my brother. at the price, it seemed to be an ideal beater gun for him.

i pulled it out of the safe the other day to give it a good cleaning before packing it off to him. and as i started workign with it, i came to notice that the thing was in far better shape than i had remembered from the auction. there were some scratches and stuff on the body and general handling wear, but the internals and internal surfaces looked brand new.

i wasn't finding any fouling or carbon residue. there were no scratches or distortions on the mag, bolt, or sliding surfaces that i'd equate with any type of regular use. and there was no discoloration on any of the firing areas. springs, pins, screws showed no deformation from removal or replacement. for all i know, the thing may have been pulled out of the stock and assembled every so often but that is about it.

is it possible, visually, to be sure a gun has been fired. there is no way i'd ever know the history of this, but consdiering that it may now exceed my definition of a beater gun, it may not be the best gift for him.

i'm thinking that i'd either part it out or sell it to someone who would be excited to have it. i'm already covered with a marlin papoose in this area, so it is not essential for me.

what do you think?

I'm not familiar with the gun, but I know that most people do not or cannot clean the inside of the bolt body very well and you'll find the telltale signs of powder residue there.

Any brass rings on the bolt face?  

Any powder res on the trigger assembly or mag?

Since its a 22, how about running a lead cleaning solution down the bore?  Most people cannot get it ALL out!

Given the;
NIB price of an AR-7 and the fact it is of Charter Arms, I have to ask why it being fired or unfired would make any difference.

All guns are test fired at least once.
GG

What Boomholzer said.  Because this rifle is not a collector item, what difference does it make?

Go shoot it, then you will know

You can't give your brother a gun unless it is a beater?  I don't quite understand your statement...

the question was not as specific to the ar-7 in this case as you guys are thinking. mainly, i was curious to know if there were some definitive ways to determine wear visually.

and since you asked, i think from a marketing perspective i could get more from the parts or the gun if its condition were honestly stated.

as for the gift, i have soem other things in mind and the gun is really only a good idea if it is to be a beater. if you don't know him, you'll just have to trust me.

1- Look at the face of the breech.. If there is a vertical mark at the 12o-clock position, and marks in the extractor channel at the 3o-clock positions, it's been fired/dry fired ..

2- look at the mag. Note any signs of wear on the follower, and the bullet guide toward the front of the mag.

3-with the barrel removed, pull the bolt back, and look at the surfaces inside the reciever tube. Any wear, and it's not unfired.

The Charter AR-7's are'nt bad little carbines. Just have fun with it instead of worrying about what it's value is.

Meplat-

Don't give it to your brother, keep it for yourself.  Shoot it!  Shoot it!

Quoted: the question was not as specific to the ar-7 in this case as you guys are thinking. mainly, i was curious to know if there were some definitive ways to determine wear visually. and since you asked, i think from a marketing perspective i could get more from the parts or the gun if its condition were honestly stated. as for the gift, i have soem other things in mind and the gun is really only a good idea if it is to be a beater. if you don't know him, you'll just have to trust me.

Medplat some some good points to observe.

IMHO: AR-7's come as "beaters" right out of the box. And as far as value, the difference between new and used can never exceed $150 because that is what they cost new!