Almost bought this Egyptian military rifle at the gun show-Was I dumb to pass it up?

F

Futo Inu

New member
It was a semi-auto, the guy said Egyptian rifle, in 7,92 (8mm Mauser, I guess), with some Egyptian (I asssume) writing on it. It had a detachable box mag that looked to hold 10 rounds +-. The action was way funky-doodle, with a hood over the bolt that went forward and backward at times - I really don't understand how the action worked. But the rifle was in good shape, good bluing, no papers (private sale), and he was asking $295.00. Seemed like a great deal on a semi-auto rifle, but I had no clue as to the quality & reliability of these rifles. Did I miss a good one? BTW, another guy down the aisle had the exact same type rifle for $400.00.

Also, while on the subject of values of old military rifles, there were several of these Hungarian (or maybe Bulgarian) short bolt rifles with Moisin-Nagant type actions in 7.62x54mm for $99, but they didn't look in too good shape. Anyone know about these rifles?

[This message has been edited by Futo Inu (edited April 24, 2000).]
 
Futo:

Sounds like you are describing a Hakim rifle. I don't know much about them. You sure it was 7.92? I thought those were in 7.62x39.

The bolt action you described sounds like an M44. They are nice little rifle that kick like heck and flame shoots out (at night) because of the powerful 7.62x54R round in the short barrel. You can get almost new ones still in the wrapper (Russian) for under $99 so I'd pass on a beat up M44 ofr $99. I bought a Romanian one awahile ago for $70 and I like it, fun to shoot.
 
It sounds like that Egyptian rifle was a Hakim, they are known for jamming on a grain of sand (really great trait for a military rifle that was to be used in a desert environment 99% of the time) and cases sticking in the chamber when the too hard extractor cuts a chunk out of the case rim.
I don't have any firsthand experience with them, but I have heard they can be tuned into decent rifles.

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Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war.
 
Hakims were not a very good rifle, in my opinion. I know four people who have them and they're all broken and sitting in the back of their safes or closets. The extractor seems to be a very weak link. One of my friends had some made of steel and that seemed to help somewhat.
For all practical purposes these rifles make good clubs.
 
The Egyptian Hakim is a slightly modified version of the Swedish Ljungman AG 42B. It was one of the earliest rifles to use a gas tube system. The Swedish rifle was in 6.5 x55. The Hakims are in 7.92 x 57. They were made in Egypt on the old Ljungman machinery that was sold to them by Sweden. I don't think highly of either rifle, as they had too many problems, including a tendency to fire out of battery.

But, they are desireable as collector's items, and the $295 price was OK. If you ever fire either rifle, wear good shooting glasses, and keep your arm away from near the receiver and magazine well.

Jim

[This message has been edited by Jim Keenan (edited April 27, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Jim Keenan (edited April 27, 2000).]
 
Hakims had a dust cover over the action and a cork or screw cap on the tip of the barrel; beyond this fancy, they are only a collectors item. The legendary skill of the Egyptian infantry scout was only because they got British regular training and were born in the dry sand hell to begin with; carrying a Hakim does not make you a better soldier.

Old metal fatigues and ages; at 10 years, a gun barrel becomes downright dangerous. The only cure for this is to constantly overheat the barrel at least every year; this causes other problems that may be worse.

Old guns are for show only; do not use it or you may die. This is a reasonable warning.
 
Ditto the comments of earlier posters re the Hakim extractor. A friend of mine bought two of them and the extractors would consistently rip the rim off the empty cartridge. What a piece of junk. He could never fire a complete magazine w/out a torn case causing a major malfunction and total disabling of the rifle. Buy a no-wood CMP Garand for $300.

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TRAVELLER, SHOULD YOUR ROAD LEAD YOU TO SPARTA, TELL THEM THAT YOU SAW US LYING HERE AS THE LAWS WILLED IT.

-Inscritption on a Greek monument to Leonidas
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hart Industries Defense:
Old metal fatigues and ages; at 10 years, a gun barrel becomes downright dangerous. The only cure for this is to constantly overheat the barrel at least every year; this causes other problems that may be worse.

Old guns are for show only; do not use it or you may die. This is a reasonable warning.
[/quote]


Huh? Are you serious? So all those thousands of old military rifles sold every year are sold to suckers who are risking their safety by shooting them? :confused:
 
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