coosbaycreep
Member
I was going to post a poll for this, but couldn't figure out how to make it work.
Anyway, I've had my hakim for awhile now, and until today, it never worked with a crap. I loosened the gas screw 1 1/4 turn from where it originally was, and out of about 70 rounds, I only had two jams. (Before I would've had 68 jams, and 2 rounds that cycled, so I'm pleased with it) I also had one dud, but that's Yugoslavia's fault, not the poor Egyptian bastards that made my hakim.
I still need to fine tune the gas adjustment a little, but I think this gun is finally going to function like it was meant to.
I've pretty much got most of the guns that I "need", with the exception of a high power long range bolt action, a .22 revolver, and a full power .30 caliber battle rifle. I've already got an AK with lots of ammo and mags, but it's a close range gun. I've got a nice AR15, but it's a heavy barrel, and I don't want something in that weak of caliber that's that heavy and expensive to shoot. I've also got an M1 garand and a bunch of ammo on order for it (I don't know what the hold up with CMP is), but it's slow and awkward to load (for me anyway), and I want something that holds more than 8 rounds.
Lately I've been planning to sell my AR or trade it for an M1A, DPMS, FAL, etc, but with all the renewed talks about another AWB, I don't think the price on that stuff is going to cool off enough that I'd be willing to buy one. But, I still really want a semi-auto with more power and range than my AK.
here's a list of pros and cons I've come up with for my hakim being my long range SHTF gun:
Pros:
-I already own it, plus I still have just over 600 rounds for it, 1 10rd mag, and 2 25 rd mags
-it's more accurate than I am, and I'd put it up against any of the M1 garands I've shot so far (I've only shot 2 though, counting my own), plus, I'll still be shooting after a Garand runs out of ammo
-it doesn't kick (but it also weighs 3 tons and the muzzle break is like having an M80 go off in your face)
-it has a bayonet lug (which isn't good for anything but looks, but that's still really important to me). I don't have a bayonet for it yet anyway, and if it weighed much more than it already does, I wouldn't be able to hold it up
-it has a scope mount, but I don't know how I would mount a scope on it, and if it would work very well
-the bolt and stuff is easy to field strip for cleaning
-it's ugly and unusual (which is what I'm into, since I'm shallow and superficial)
Cons:
-it's ugly and unusual
-it's ungodly heavy and awkward. You can see in the pics I posted, the only gun I have that's longer than the hakim is an 870 super magnum, and that has a 26 or 28" barrel on it. My garand is only a few inches shorter I think, but the garand honestly feels like a toy gun compared to the hakim
-jams are a pain to clear on it. I've had a few high pressure rounds when it wasn't ejecting right, and the dust cover was very tough to get open, and then I needed a cleaning rod (which I didn't have at the time) to get the empty shell out
-it's super loud, and the muzzle blast makes it painful to shoot. I rapid fired 10rounds through it today, and I think I closed my eyes for part of it because of the muzzle blast
-it's a rare, and basically obsolete gun, so I imagine parts are pretty tough to find if something breaks
-ammo availability is a concern too. From what I've read, 8mm surplus is pretty much drying up, and commercial ammo is suppose to be considerably weaker (plus I'd have to readjust the gas system to make it function properly), and cost prohibitive to stock up on
-all the ammo I already have is corrosive, and made in the '70s I believe, so that means lots of cleaning (which I hate), and the ammo isn't as reliable as what newer production .308 surplus most likely is
-I'd want more mags for it, and magazine availability isn't certain. I believe they take converted MG13 mags, and the only place I know of that sells them for a reasonable price is I.M.A. ($25 each). Either the mag or the gun has to be modified to work also (I don't know if my gun was modified, or if my mag was, and the other 25rounder I bought is still in the package), so that's one more thing that could be a reliability issue, plus it's doubtful that there will ever be anymore mags produced for these guns, since there isn't exactly a lot of people shooting MG13s and Hakims nowadays
-it's a hassle to field strip it down to the gas tube, port, etc., but that's not something that should need cleaned too often anyway
here's my list of pros and cons for getting a more modern gun in .308:
pros:
-most likely more reliable and accurate
-better parts availability for replacements or upgrades
-more ammo availability and variety
-lighter and smaller (unless you're talking about an M-60 or something)
-better ergonomics and more functional controls
-non-corrosive ammo
-no annoying muzzle break (depending on gun)
-I'd like to have one
Cons:
-it's highly unlikely that I could find a gun, suitable supply of mags, and the same amount of ammo that I already have for my hakim for under $2k, and some of these guns are way more expensive than that right now, if you can even find one. I've seen saiga .308s for $500-$600 lately still, but I don't know what it costs to convert them, and hi-cap mags are expensive (if you can even find them). I don't want another AK style weapon anyway.
-the price of .308 is freaking ridiculous, when you can even find it
-extra magazines are super expensive, when you can even find them
Going by my list, the main things that make me think I should just stick with the hakim is monetary. Now that it's working properly (I still want to put some more rounds through it though and get it as good as possible), my only real gripes about it is the clean-up after shooting corrosive ammo, and the muzzle blast. It's one of my favorite guns to shoot, and one of the coolest (by coolest I mean ugly and odd) looking combat rifles ever made.
I know a modern .308 would be more practical, but with the costs of stuff right now, I'd have to sell my AR and chip in some more money out of my savings, or just bite the bullet if my AR doesn't sell and cough up a massive chunk of money that I was going to use for a trip to Australia next winter. Around where I live, EBR prices seemed to have started cooling off a little finally, until today when there's more serious talk of a ban again, so I either risk overspending now, or holding off for a price drop, although they could get banned and then I'd never get one.
Regardless of whether I get a .308 or not, I'm still going to pick up a few more goodies for the hakim (it definitely needs a bayonet), but I'm still itching for a FAL or something too. Then again, I'm real tempted to get a .458winmag or something instead, so it will most likely come down to whatever I see at a shop or show that sparks my interest the most.
One of these days when we get some more good weather (probably not till July), I plan on taking out my hakim, my .30-06, AK, AR, and hopefully a .308 if I buy one or can get someone who owns one to go with me, and doing some non-scientific penetration tests against steel to see how much of a difference there is between these calibers. I imagine that .308 AP is pretty close to .30-06, but I don't know how 8mm mauser with FMJ would do, and I only have 20 rounds of 8mm AP (and it's expensive and sold out from the place I bought it).
Another thing, I really don't shoot any of my guns a whole lot, so the main problem with ammo cost is just the initial financial pain of getting enough rounds stocked up to feel comfortable. (I keep at least 1k for my AK, and will probably want at least 500 of 8mm or .308).
I originally wanted open sights on whatever I got, but now I'm thinking I'd rather have a scope instead. It seems like I've read that FALs and M1As are difficult to mount a scope on (and M1As look stupid with optics on them anyway), but I don't know if my Hakim would work with a scope. It has a weaver scope mount on the side of it, kinda like a dragunov or something:
What would I have to do to put a scope on this, and would it get in the way too much and make it too difficult to dissasemble or clear jams?
None of the places I shoot are over 100 yards, and most of the time I shoot at 40 or 50 yards. I'd like to start going to a range or something, or find a better place on BLM land than the places I generally go that would allow the opportunity to start practicing longer shots, but I don't think I would be shooting more than 200-300 yards in a SHTF situation because of the terrain around where I live anyway, so that's another consideration on which gun is more suitable for what I want as well.
So after all of that excessive information, what would you do? Stock up more for the hakim? Or look for a .308? If you think the .308 is a better option, which one would be the best for what I want?