On Screen and at Auction — Bond, the Star Wars Blaster That Was an AR-7, Values, and the Law

7.1 From Russia with Love

The AR-7’s first and best-known screen role is in From Russia with Love (1963). Knupp describes the scene: “Sean Connery’s James Bond pulls a brown-stocked AR-7 out of his tuxedo jacket and conveniently assembles it for the camera. In the movie’s climax, Bond uses the rifle to dispatch a pesky helicopter.” He adds that ArmaLite “actively marketed the AR-7’s first big-screen appearance, which caused an up-tick in sales.”¹

The Internet Movie Firearms Database, which catalogues guns on screen with frame captures, lists the rifle with a telescopic sight, in the hands of both Bond and his ally Kerim Bey, and notes that the film “erroneously” describes it as using “.25 ACP ammo.”² It appears again the next year in Goldfinger (1964), fitted with a scope and carried by Tilly Masterson, and in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), “seen in Bond’s car.”²

No still from the films is reproduced here; they are not freely licensed.

7.2 Every Appearance on Record

The list below is IMFDB’s, as read through its interface on 19 September 2026, grouped by the gun. It is a record of what the database’s contributors have identified, not an exhaustive filmography.²

Table 1 — Every Appearance on Record

Gun	Title (year)	Who carries it, as IMFDB records
ArmaLite AR-7	From Russia with Love (1963)	James Bond; Kerim Bey — with scope
	Goldfinger (1964)	Tilly Masterson — with scope
	On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)	seen in Bond’s car
	Violent City (1970)	Charles Bronson’s character — scope and suppressor
	Rage (1972)	George C. Scott’s character
	The Killer Elite (1975)	Robert Duvall’s character
	Futureworld (1976)	Peter Fonda’s character — “pistol based on AR-7 rifle”
	Colt 38 Special Squad (1976)	scope and suppressor
	Umbrella Coup (1980)	“custom short-barreled version”
	Firestarter (1984)	as a tranquilliser-dart gun
	Malibu Express (1985) and later Andy Sidaris films to 1998	two-toned, with barrel cover, grip and synthetic stock
	Assassin in Love (2007)	scope and suppressor
	Television: Get Smart (1965–70, a T-62), Kojak (1976), Hawaii Five-O (1978–79), Strike Force (1981), Magnum, P.I., Sledge Hammer! (1986–88), JAG (1997), Boston Legal (2004)
Hy Hunter “Bolomauser”	Murderers’ Row (1966)	Dean Martin’s Matt Helm and others
T-62 Civilian Defense Weapon	The Ambushers (1967); The Green Berets (1968)
Preetz Model 65 (German AR-7 copy)	Angels of Terror (1971)
Charter Explorer II	Spy Hard (1996)
Henry U.S. Survival	The Interpreter (2005); Lord of War (2005); Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2008)

IMFDB also records AR-7s and the Explorer II in video games, including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and San Andreas and Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades.² Most of the list is assassins, spies and science fiction — the roles the rifle’s takedown suits (Volume 6).

7.3 Star Wars: the Claim, Tested

The research brief for this dive recorded that Star Wars prop builders use the Charter Explorer II as a base for blasters, and asked for it to be verified. The claim traces, in the sources located, to one sentence. Sam S., writing on the Explorer II for AllOutdoor in 2021:

“These days the Explorer II has a following as an affordable clunky pistol that can be made to look like something out of Star Wars rather than going through the shameful effort of bastardizing an old Mauser C96.”³

That is a remark about how the pistol looks, and a fair one: it has the C96’s layout (Volume 6), and the C96 is the base of Han Solo’s DL-44, which the hub documents in its DL-44 dive. But no documented Explorer II blaster build was found: the fan-wiki Wookieepedia has no reference to the Charter Explorer II, Charter Arms or the AR-7 among its real-world notes, and IMFDB lists no Star Wars appearance of an Explorer II.⁴² The prop-builder community’s own forums could not be searched for this dive. The claim that builders use the Explorer II is therefore unconfirmed, and is not stated here as fact.

The search turned up something better documented.

7.4 The DL-21: a Screen Blaster Made From an AR-7

IMFDB identifies a blaster used across the original Star Wars trilogy as a cut-down ArmaLite AR-7 rifle in pistol form — not an Explorer II. The prop is known as the DL-21; Wookieepedia’s in-universe article confirms the DL-21 blaster pistol by that name and places it in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (and in later productions), with “a scope on the top and a finned muzzle that is removable.”²⁴

IMFDB’s account, by film:²

• Star Wars (1977). “The ‘DL-21 Blaster Pistol’ is a chopped down ArmaLite AR-7 in pistol form with the tail section from a British 2 inch mortar shell fitted to the muzzle.” It was carried by Ponda Baba in the Mos Eisley cantina, but IMFDB doubts it appears in the released film: its only clear shot was in the severed hand, and that shot was reworked. In this first form it had no true grip, only “a simple rubberised tube, possibly a bicycle handle grip,” and a telescopic sight.
• The Empire Strikes Back (1980). The DL-21 “makes its first definitive appearance.” The tube grip was replaced “with a modified Sterling SMG pistol grip” and the gun was fitted with a Singlepoint OEG sight. It is carried by Rebel troopers at Echo Base on Hoth and by the bounty hunter Dengar.
• Return of the Jedi (1983). A “snub nosed version” without the finned muzzle device was carried by Imperial officers on Endor, “most notably Colonel Dyer (Ben Burtt, who was also the sound designer of the film) and Commander Renz.”

Wookieepedia’s in-universe history agrees on the carriers: Dengar in the Empire period, and the Tempest Force officers Colonel Dyer and Commander Renz with versions that “lacked the finned muzzle.”⁴

Three things follow for this dive.

The chronology excludes the Explorer II. Star Wars was shot in 1976 and The Empire Strikes Back in 1979; the Explorer II was introduced in 1980 (Volume 3). The DL-21 in the first two films cannot have been built on an Explorer II, and IMFDB says it was built on a rifle.

The DL-21 ties the AR-7 to both of the hub’s blaster dives. In Empire it wore a Sterling submachine-gun pistol grip — the same Sterling the Stormtrooper’s E-11 was built on, which the hub documents in its E-11 dive — and a Singlepoint OEG sight, which the E-11 dive also discusses. The Explorer II, meanwhile, shares the layout of the C96 behind the DL-44. The AR-7 family sits between the two most famous blaster donors in the films.

The identification is IMFDB’s, drawn from its contributors’ examination of production photographs and screen captures, and has not been confirmed from a Lucasfilm or prop-maker source for this dive. It is well specified — the mortar-bomb tail, the Sterling grip, the named sight — and the brief’s own suspicion that the AR-7 family fed Star Wars blasters is correct, but through the rifle rather than the pistol.

7.5 Why a Builder Would Choose the Explorer II Today

The difference between the DL-21 and an Explorer II matters to anyone building a replica with a real firearm, and it is legal rather than visual.

The DL-21 was made by cutting down an AR-7 rifle. Under the National Firearms Act, a “firearm” includes “a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length” (26 U.S.C. § 5845(a)(4)); a “made from a rifle” clause was already in the 1960 amendment that set the 16-inch line.⁵⁶ A rifle cut down to pistol form, as the DL-21 was, is an NFA firearm that must be registered before it is made. Public Law 119-21 set the making tax for short-barrelled rifles to $0 from 1 January 2026 but left the registration requirement in place; the hub’s Ruger 10/22 dive and Suppressor Law dive set out the current position.

The Explorer II was made as a pistol from the start: its frame was never a rifle, and Charter made its barrels unable to fit the rifle (Volume 3). As a base for a blaster-shaped pistol it avoids the “made from a rifle” problem entirely, so long as no shoulder stock is ever attached to it. That is a sound reason for a builder to prefer it — the reason Sam S.’s remark implies — and it is a matter of law, not of looks.

A prop that is not a firearm at all — a cast, resin or non-firing replica — raises none of this; the hub’s DL-44 and E-11 dives deal with those paths.

7.6 Collecting: What Sells, and for How Much

The auction record below is Rock Island Auction Company’s, from lot pages found through the Internet Archive’s index and read on 19 September 2026. Figures are hammer prices, before RIA’s buyer’s premium (17.5 % on the lots checked for the hub’s Wolverine dive), and estimates are RIA’s. Multi-gun lots are marked. Lot descriptions are RIA’s.⁷

ArmaLite (Costa Mesa) rifles

Table 2 — ArmaLite (Costa Mesa) rifles

Sale date	Lot	Description	Estimate	Hammer
2017-03-23	2013/388	ArmaLite AR-7 parts without receiver, with box	$300–500	$225
2018-01-11	2016/627	with box (rough), two extra magazines; swirled stock	$200–300	$400
2019-07-18	2024/434	brown stock	$300–400	$400
2021-12-15	2053/766	with matching box and papers; swirled stock	$200–400	$425
2023-04-05	2072/635	three carbines: one brown stock, two black	$600–1,000	$650
2023-09-13	2077/886	two carbines	$350–550	$425
2024-10-16	2095/609	two “survival rifles with boxes,” catalogued as ArmaLite; one is an AR-7 in a folding-stock configuration, the other a different make	$700–1,100	$750
2025-04-06	5009/1044	”manufactured circa 1970”	$250–450	$300
2025-08-17	5018/748	ArmaLite-marked, “manufactured in 1998-2004,” with box	$250–400	$325

Charter Arms rifles

Table 3 — Charter Arms rifles

Sale date	Lot	Description	Estimate	Hammer
2017-08-10	2014/226	Charter AR-7 with two Springfield M6 survival guns	$800–1,200	$1,400
2019-01-03	2021/689	silver-and-black	$250–450	$200
2020-11-18	2037/469	with matching box and manual	$250–350	$350
2021-12-15	2053/769	with soft case, extra barrel and extra stock	$400–600	$450
2022-01-12	2054/781	—	$250–450	$325
2023-06-07	2074/597	with box, shipping box and pamphlet	$350–550	$200
2024-11-29	5002/113	with box and papers	$300–500	$275
2024-12-27	5003/96	—	$200–450	$225
2025-04-20	5010/1091	—	$150–250	$120

Charter Explorer II pistols

Table 4 — Charter Explorer II pistols

Sale date	Lot	Description	Estimate	Hammer
2018-03-29	2017/460	silver, with box and manual	$150–250	$225
2020-12-29	2038/930	two pistols, one with box	$400–600	$350
2023-06-07	2074/598	10 in barrel, with Tasco scope, extra barrel, two extra magazines	$100–200	$325
2025-04-20	5010/1033	8 in barrel	$150–250	$200
2025-06-22	5014/1277	6 in barrel, with box and extra 8 in barrel	$200–400	$375
2025-10-19	5021/528	two pistols, with box	$400–700	$275
2026-02-01	5027/773	6 in barrel, silver and black, Bushnell scope	$70–200	$425

Henry U.S. Survival rifles

Table 5 — Henry U.S. Survival rifles

Sale date	Lot	Description	Estimate	Hammer
2022-12-20	2067/670	two, camouflage, with boxes	$450–650	$475
2023-02-01	2069/423	two, camouflage, with boxes	$400–600	$425
2024-10-24	5001/70	black, with box and extra magazine	$300–500	$250

For comparison, the Air Force’s own survival guns

Table 6 — For comparison, the Air Force's own survival guns

Sale date	Lot	Description	Estimate	Hammer
2020-06-06	79/1500	H&R M4, barrel lengthened	$1,400–2,250	$1,900
2022-08-28	86/3322	H&R M4, with case	$2,250–3,500	$5,500
2024-12-08	4093/3355	H&R M4, U.S. property marked	$2,500–4,000	$3,250
2020-09-13	80/3455	Ithaca M6, 14 in, registered “AOW”	$3,500–5,500	$8,000

Other dated figures from the sources:

• Campbell (American Rifleman, undated): new or lightly used AR-7s “for as little as $250”; “Original and mint ArmaLite AR-7s can fetch over $800.”⁸
• Sam S. (The Firearm Blog, September 2022): an Explorer II’s “average street price for a used one is around $300”; accessory barrels, mounts and parts “scarce and pricey.”⁹
• Henry’s suggested retail prices on 19 September 2026: $360 black, $440 camouflage.¹⁰

7.7 What Drives the Price

From the table, and stated as observations about these lots rather than a market study:

• Most AR-7s of every maker sell for a few hundred dollars. Single ArmaLite rifles in these lots brought $300 to $425 hammer; single Charter rifles $120 to $450; single Explorer IIs $200 to $425. A used AR-7 costs about what a new Henry lists for.
• ArmaLite rifles hold a modest premium over Charter rifles, and none of the ArmaLite lots here approaches Campbell’s “over $800” for a mint original; a boxed, papered swirl-stock rifle brought $425 in 2021.
• Boxes, papers and accessories add value to the pistol more than the rifle. The two highest single Explorer II results both came with scopes, one with extra barrels.
• Estimates are unreliable guides. Explorer IIs estimated at $100–200 and $70–200 brought $325 and $425; Charter rifles estimated at $350–550 brought $200.
• The Air Force originals are a different market. A single M4 or M6 brings five to twenty times an AR-7, which is the collector market’s verdict on the difference between the issued survival rifles and the civilian one sold on their reputation.

No sale of an original AR-5, a Survival Arms rifle, an ArmaLite Custom in wood or an Israeli AR-7 was found in the lots indexed.

7.8 A Buyer’s Checklist

1. Identify the maker from the receiver, not the listing (Volume 3): roundel and markings, smooth or grooved top, barrel construction, stock.
2. Check the magazines before the gun. Look at the lips and ramp of every magazine; ask which magazines the gun was tested with. A rifle with good magazines is a different rifle from the same rifle with bad ones (Volume 4).
3. Check the barrel fit. Assemble it; the nut should draw the barrel up tight, and the lug should seat in its slot. On an Explorer II, the lug is on the bottom.
4. Look for the parts that are hard to replace: the ArmaLite stock in its original colour, the Explorer II’s rear-sight blade and screws, the Explorer II’s alternative barrels and scope mount.
5. Check the stock for stowage: does the butt cap fit, and do barrel, action and magazine all go in?
6. For an Explorer II, check for a shoulder stock among any accessories offered with it, and do not buy the two together without understanding the law below.

7.9 The Law

Federal classification. The AR-7 rifle, of any maker, is a Title I rifle: a semi-automatic .22 with a 16 in barrel and no features the National Firearms Act regulates.⁶ The Explorer II is a Title I pistol.

Curio and relic status. Under 27 CFR 478.11, firearms “manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date” qualify as curios or relics; the hub’s M1 Garand dive sets out what that status does and does not do. Every ArmaLite AR-7 made at Costa Mesa (1959–73) is now old enough, and Charter rifles become eligible year by year from those made in 1973 and 1974. No Explorer II (1980–86) is yet old enough.

Rifle, pistol and short-barrelled rifle. Three lines matter:

• Explorer II plus a shoulder stock is a short-barrelled rifle, subject to NFA registration before it is made. Charter designed the pistol to prevent this (Volume 3).
• An AR-7 rifle cut down, or fitted with a pistol barrel, or made into a pistol is a weapon “made from a rifle” with a barrel under 16 in or an overall length under 26 in: an NFA firearm (above).⁵
• Parts for both in one owner’s hands. The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Thompson/Center Arms Co. (1992) held that a pistol sold with a kit that could also make a long-barrelled rifle had not been “made” into a short-barrelled rifle, but that parts which could be assembled only into an NFA firearm were. The hub’s SIG P320 dive quotes the decision and applies it; Wikipedia’s AR-7 article applies it to the Explorer II and rifle parts. Anyone owning an Explorer II and a rifle stock should read the decision, not a summary of it.¹¹

Michigan. An Explorer II is a pistol, and Michigan’s pistol purchase and registration rules apply; the hub’s XP-100 dive sets them out for another pistol that does not look like one. The AR-7 rifle is an ordinary .22 rifle under Michigan law.

Other states. Rock Island’s recent AR-7 and Explorer II lots carry the note that the item “is restricted under various state-level assault weapons bans and cannot be sold or transferred to residents of” California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Washington.⁷ That is the auction house’s compliance note, not a legal analysis, and it is recorded here only as a warning that the rifle’s detachable-magazine semi-automatic design falls within some states’ definitions.

References

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah Knupp, “The Unlikely Resilience of the AR-7 Survival Rifle”, American Rifleman, 27 December 2016, https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-unlikely-resilience-of-the-ar-7-survival-rifle/ , retrieved 2026-09-19. ↩

2. Internet Movie Firearms Database, pages “ArmaLite AR-7” (with sections for the Hy Hunter Bolomauser, T-62, Preetz Model 65, Charter Explorer and Henry), “Star Wars (1977)”, “The Empire Strikes Back”, “Return of the Jedi” and “Ben Burtt”, read through https://www.imfdb.org/api.php on 2026-09-19. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Sam S., “Curious Relics #005: Charter Arms Explorer II”, AllOutdoor, 27 January 2021, https://www.alloutdoor.com/2021/01/27/curious-relics-charter-arms-explorer-ii/ , retrieved 2026-09-19. ↩

4. Wookieepedia, “DL-21 blaster pistol”, read through https://starwars.fandom.com/api.php on 2026-09-19; searches of the same interface for “Charter Arms”, “AR-7”, “Explorer II” and “Armalite” returned no real-world reference to the firearms. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a)(3)–(4), Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/5845 , retrieved 2026-09-19. ↩ ↩²

6. Public Law 86-478, 1 June 1960, § 3, 74 Stat. 149 (definition of “firearm,” including “any weapon made from a rifle or shotgun … if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches”), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-74/pdf/STATUTE-74-Pg149.pdf , retrieved 2026-09-19. ↩ ↩²

7. Rock Island Auction Company, lot pages at https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/{auction}/{lot}/ for the lots tabulated, retrieved 2026-09-19 through the shared fetch engine; sale dates, estimates and hammer prices from each page’s data. ↩ ↩²

8. Dave Campbell, “A Look Back at the ArmaLite AR-7 Explorer”, American Rifleman (undated), https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/a-look-back-at-the-armalite-ar-7-explorer/ , retrieved 2026-09-19. ↩

9. Sam S., “The Rimfire Report: Charter Arms Explorer II AR7 Pistol Review”, The Firearm Blog, 26 September 2022, https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/09/26/rimfire-report-charter-arms-explorer-ii-ar7-pistol-review/ , retrieved 2026-09-19. ↩

10. Henry Repeating Arms, “U.S. Survival Rifle” product page, https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/u-s-survival-ar-7/ , retrieved 2026-09-19. ↩

11. Wikipedia, “ArmaLite AR-7” (revision 1357130734, 31 May 2026), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArmaLite_AR-7 , consulted 2026-09-19 as a pointer. ↩