Guns: Stopped by the Rep

While other consumer products can often be compared in terms of published repair history surveys (anytime Consumer Reports reviews a dishwasher, for example), the potential reliability of a gun must sometimes be gleaned from its reputation. This is a dangerous thing, because word-of-mouth, especially on the Web or even in gun stores, almost inevitably leads to shouting matches and "X brand vs. Y brand."

I was looking at a camo Henry Survival .22, the latest incarnation of the AR-7 rifle originally developed by Stoner and co. over at Armalite. It's a neat concept - a takedown .22 that fits into a compact package that floats in water. Intended as a tool to help downed pilots survive in the wilderness, it's seen a number of manufacturers over the years (including a long run by Charter Arms). The price was right, too - only a couple hundred bucks.

Only problem is that the gun has a nasty reputation - many people say it's a jammomatic and that the accuracy is not what you'd expect from a rifle, takedown or not. I'm used to semiauto .22s that are not finicky about ammo, so it's slightly unnerving when owners of the rifle defend it by saying you must use this or that kind of .22 LR. Anyway, I think I'll hold off and grab something with a better track record.