This Egyptian Hakim rifle is in very good condition. The rifle is chambered in 8mm Mauser (7.97x57mm Mauser) and was manufactured in 1958 by Ministry of Military Production, Factory 54 (Maadi). The stock is in good condition with normal dings and scratches. There is blackening at butt plate and along lower hand guard. The stock has no cracks. The rifle’s finish is worn with some scratching and some signs of prior pitting. The barrel is good but the muzzle break shows signs of substantial pitting. The bore is good ,3/5, with crisp rifling but some evidence of pitting and some fouling. The receiver is good and the action strong as is famous for the Hakim. The bolt is good. All hardware is present including, screws, sling mounts, and shell deflector. The magazine shows some pitting. This rifle includes bayonet and scabbard.

The Hakim Rifle is an Egyptian manufactured gas operated semi-automatic rifle chambered in 8mm Mauser (7.97x57mm Mauser). Its development began following the end of WWII as Egypt found itself, like the rest of the world, turning to auto-loading rifles as the way of the future. The political landscape changed dramatically in Egypt post WWII as the British rule would end, the new King would be ousted in a coup in 1952, and the Republic of Egypt would be established. The Egyptians wanted a new rifle that would be Egyptian made and chambered in 8mm Mauser as the country had massive stockpiles of the ammunition left behind by the Germans after the war.

To meet these requirements Egypt would choose to license a Swedish rifle design; the Automatgevär M42 (aka the AG-42 or Ljungman). The AG-42 was designed by Erik Eklund for Sweden in the mid-1940s as the war raged through Europe. It has a unique design and is a direct gas-impingement auto-loading rifle. Why Egypt was so interested in this design is unclear, but they chose to license from Sweden not only the design but the machinery, tooling, and engineering to manufacture in Egypt.

Though the Hakim is a licensed copy of a Swedish design there were a few changes that had to be made to suit Egypt’s needs. First the caliber was changed from the 6.5×55mm Swede of the AG-42 to the 8mm Mauser that was abundant in Egypt. Second, to compensate for the more powerful caliber a large permanent muzzle brake was added. Third, they added an adjustable gas control valve to the direct impingement gas tube. This would allow the rifle to be tuned to the ammunition used as much of the surplus was of varying quality and power. Lastly, they would add a shell deflector to throw spent cases forward as well as grooves into the dust cover to improve charging the rifle.

With the needed changes in place the Hakims began production in the mid-1950s but use as a service rifle was rather limited. Egypt already had FN-49s acquired while the Hakim was in development as well as VZ.52s from Czechoslovakia and SKS rifles from Russia. As a result the Hakim would find its way to other regional conflicts but its use in Egypt was short. Best estimates put the number of Hakims made between 60-80,000 rifles total. It would be replaced by the Rasheed rifle in 1960 which itself would be quickly replaced by the Egyptian licensed AK-47, the Maadi.

Crescent Moon & 3 Stars – on front of grip and in front of trigger guard

Arabic writing on front left on receiver – translates to 1958 over 13303 (original serial number)