"Babe" is my Hakim sniper and is working its' way up to be something awesome indeed.
I have an all original Hakim with bayonet in perfect shape I intend to keep milspec. On a good day, it shoots 3" groups at 200yds with iron sights and the occasional flyer.
"Babe" was a find on Gunbroker.com where it sat for a week with no bids. Undoubtedly, the "bubba" attempt at putting a scope on it scared everyone off. It looked otherwise very clean so I threw the $400 bid on it at the last minute and got it.
The bore was crisp and shiny with distinct rifling. The metal all over was excellent. The stock, despite some light sanding and oiling work is in exceptional condition and a nice looking hunk of wood. It had a little cosmo still hiding in the deep recesses and the bolt and firing pin had never been taken apart and cleaned. Lack of powder residue said she wasn't fired much as it was cleaner than expected.
Bubba did a very nice detailed job of inletting the stock on the left of the receiver and mounting a 4"x6" plate of aircraft aluminum to the receiver. It was very carefully machined for the Weaver scope rings and very fine quality workmanship. It had a nice anodized black finish.
Unfortunately, all good intentions aside, Bubba had no grasp on what he was doing!
The scope that came on it was $50 crap. 9X is useless compared to iron sights at anything under 250yds anyway. The rings were cheap.
The four carefully countersunk hex head 4x32 screws holding it to the frame immediately worked loose every ten rounds. The half pound of lead he filled the cleaning kit holes in the stock with did little more than make it heavy. It shot groups as good as my other one with iron sights but wouldn't hold zero worth diddly with the scope.
I proved her out with iron sights and was satisfied the bore and all function was good to very good.
Bound and determined to make a good sniper out of it just for shits and giggles, I started the process of making changes.
A very healthy dose of locktight cured the problem with the mounting plate. It required a torch to heat them up again to get them off.
The mount plate has not moved a hair since and the pins I intended for that may be unnecessary.
Next was choosing a quality scope that suited me for my 200 yard range (240 to the berm).
Borrowed my neighbors 8x26 Barska Swat scope and I was impressed.
It still wasn't what I wanted but I liked the scope.
A little web surfing and I found the 8x32 Barska Swat Tactical scope with rangefinder focus and illuminated reticle cheaper than what he paid for his! Anything more powerful would have been far more than I was prepared to invest and at $199, the Barska seemed up to the task. 32 power is strong enough to easily see the holes in the target at 200 yds.
Being a much larger scope, and with the additional turret on the left side, it didn't fit on the mount. I had to have my machinist mill out a 1.5" hole to accommodate the left rangefinder knob.
With that and the 30mm tube, the high profile rings that came with it ended up placing the center of the scope 3/4" offset to the right, a parallax problem indeed. Test firing of that showed a considerable adjustment was needed left to right for a 50yd range difference.
The thumb screw Weaver style Barska rings just wouldn't stay tight on the mount. If they loosened up just slightly, elevation would change by a foot or more.
Seeing how critical this was, I ordered the lowest profile rings they had (a paltry $8.95) The thumb screw problem was even worse with that set and they refused to stay tight through ten rounds.
Back to the machinist. I calculated 3mm of offset to center the vertical line of the scope dead center with the bore. It worked out just right milling a 3mm slot for each ring blade into the mount and milling off the tab on the rings to make them flat and remove the screw clamps entirely. They were then welded onto the mount. The vertical line is now perfectly dead center with the bore and the bottom of the scope clears the slide by a half inch. It certainly isn't going anywhere.
Another problem showed up with brass dinging the bottom of the scope. A 3" galvanized steel deflector plate screwed to the mount under the scope cured that.
A Harris adjustable bi pod fits perfectly using a longer bolt to attach it to the front where the spring for the front clamp/bayonet lug attaches. I had to grind down the bolt a little to keep it from touching the barrel after going through the nut in the stock. The single bolt seems to be enough to keep it in place. It sets up just right on the bench but bounces a bit. With the legs extended and laying prone in the sand, gun no move! She slides back gently and stays right on target, enough for a quick second, third, forth shot... In fact, you can pump out about a shot a second with very little movement. A slightly better bi pod may be in order as my son had laid claim to this one and wants it on the other Hakim. Since mounting does no damage and makes no physical changes, he can have it.
The Hakim has little recoil anyway but since this is a shits and giggles project, I just had to buy a mercury filled recoil suppressor for the stock: http://www.precisionreloading.com/recoilsuppressors.htm
The MR100345 10oz 3/4x5" was my choice.
As the existing holes, which happen to be 3/4" converged on the wrong angle (thought I would get away without drilling) I filled the holes with epoxy based wood filler and let it harden. I then concocted a jig to drill a 3/4x 5 3/4" hole parallel to the bottom of the stock and slid the tube into place.
OH YEAH! This DOES make a real difference! It has no "crack" to the recoil, just a gentle push. Bare shoulder shooting is a total pleasure.
It's a little more than a .22 but not so much as you can even notice it.
I'm still looking for the right gel pad for the butt plate just to keep it from sliding on the shoulder. The metal plate just wants to slip a bit.
Wed afternoon, time for the first test run with the current evolution.
It was absolutely dead calm with no wind at all when we got there and a slight overcast. I threw 5 clay birds onto the berm when we set up the targets at 200yds.
Lining up the scope with the iron sights, I was about 6" high but hit the left/right dead center on the first adjustment. A couple turns on the elevation dial brought it down and the first clay shattered.
I marched it right across taking each one in turn with one shot including the one laying flat with only the side exposed!
They clays were no match! One shot, one clay!
I could see the guy in the next booth watching with a keen eye so I invited him to try it. He was beside himself when his first shot hit a 2" rock out on the berm. He nailed a couple more in succession burning off a magazine. It proved she was dead on and I wasn't just getting lucky.
I commenced to working on the remnants of the busted clays.
A half of a clay was a one shot kill and half of that was another.
That is roughly the size of a 50 cent piece at 240 yds! I keep shooting the pieces until there was nothing left to shoot at and hitting them consistently. Golf balls at 240 yds? Wouldn't have been a problem!
I took a felt pen and marked off the settings on the scope dials.
I started working on a nice 2" group on paper at 200yds. Slight change in elevation and it had to come down 3". By then, a breeze started stirring with the usual right drift this range often gets when the breeze deflects off the left berm.
The major problem I have on this range is wind. It plays hell with 8mm, far more so than 7.62x54. 8mm seems to ride the surf and the least little gust of wind blows them all over the map. I no sooner had the 6" right drift accounted for and it changed again. We had to give up as the wind increased and the group spread. There is just no holding any kind of group or predictable impact point with the least little wind and impossible to calculate as it is different at the target than at the booth. Yugo 7.62x54 heavy ball seems to plow through it a lot better. It must have something to do with the shape of the bullet and the sharp taper of the 8mm must be a factor.
Fri. afternoon. The breeze seemed calm and I just had to have another go at it. Walking the targets out, I quickly realized that it was as strong as Wed with unpredictable little gusts. There is a bad hole on this range at about 180 yds where smoke will swirl in all directions with the least little wind and I promptly found just that. Hold your breath for the wind to calm and take the shot is about all you can do.
One little puff of wind throws it a foot off.
Zero was still dead on right out of the case when I started off whacking dirt clumps on the berm.
I did manage to plant a couple right on the 2x2 cross drawn on the paper but the overall group and flyers made it an exercise in futility so we quit. I did put a few through the FN49 and they were not quite as tight as usual. I like the FN49 but it ain't no Hakim!
I have yet to finish a few things. I can't locktight the screws on the scope rings yet and until I do so they continue to loosen up slightly.
Since Bubba removed the wire springs from the bolts on the trigger group, they tend to get very loose very fast and require a tweak with a screw driver every 20 rounds. Forget to do that and they are at least 4-6 full turns loose! It's either make new spring wires or some kind of lock screw like a K98. Have yet to ponder that.
Maybe next week I can get around to the stress free pillar glass bedding job with Devcon 10110 epoxy and find a way to torque those bolts down and keep them tight. I think that has much to do with accuracy as it goes to crap when they loosen up.
I still need a close examination of the muzzle brake and maybe a crown job to smooth out the business end of the barrel. That may need something done but I'm not to that point for a while yet.
There is an elevation shift as it heats up. I have yet to be able to calculate the shift until I get a sustained session with no wind where I can hold a group. I'm also not sure what effect powder residue accumulation in the barrel is causing. I do think it may be a factor as clean and cold vs. hot and dirty (300 rds later) may be spreading the group. We know the point where melted polymer and lacquer coating on the cases start to jam the case and prevent extraction (having already replaced a broken extractor on the other one). Only drilling it out with a brush soaked in lacquer thinner seems to get it out, one brush for the case area of the chamber and one for the throat area.
Sparkling clean, it's good for about 300 rds before you know it's time to quit. By 300 rounds, a chambered bullet will eject covered in black so you know there is considerable crap build up in the throat.
"Babe" is turning into quite a little project and will be well worth $1250 when I am satisfied. But then, being able to whack a golf ball at 240 yds cold out of the case makes her one mean motor scooter!
Besides, with the sun shade on the scope and the bi pod ... it sure do look awesome and gets everyone's attention on the range!
(no batteries for the camera but I will get a picture up soon)
Unfortunately, there is only one 600 yard range in the state and it is quite a drive. I do believe Babe is quite capable of some serious distance. The scope is good enough to see the eyeballs on deer at 600 yds across the field in back of my house and I could easily make a head shot on one if I knew the bullet drop.
Don't let anyone tell you a Hakim isn't a sniper! This thing has real serious potential when I work out all the bugs. Just don't let Bubba do the work for you as "critical" is measured in millimeters and single degrees to get accuracy. I'll quit tinkering when I achieve consistent 1" groups at 200 yds. ... with milsurp ammo!
I have an all original Hakim with bayonet in perfect shape I intend to keep milspec. On a good day, it shoots 3" groups at 200yds with iron sights and the occasional flyer.
"Babe" was a find on Gunbroker.com where it sat for a week with no bids. Undoubtedly, the "bubba" attempt at putting a scope on it scared everyone off. It looked otherwise very clean so I threw the $400 bid on it at the last minute and got it.
The bore was crisp and shiny with distinct rifling. The metal all over was excellent. The stock, despite some light sanding and oiling work is in exceptional condition and a nice looking hunk of wood. It had a little cosmo still hiding in the deep recesses and the bolt and firing pin had never been taken apart and cleaned. Lack of powder residue said she wasn't fired much as it was cleaner than expected.
Bubba did a very nice detailed job of inletting the stock on the left of the receiver and mounting a 4"x6" plate of aircraft aluminum to the receiver. It was very carefully machined for the Weaver scope rings and very fine quality workmanship. It had a nice anodized black finish.
Unfortunately, all good intentions aside, Bubba had no grasp on what he was doing!
The scope that came on it was $50 crap. 9X is useless compared to iron sights at anything under 250yds anyway. The rings were cheap.
The four carefully countersunk hex head 4x32 screws holding it to the frame immediately worked loose every ten rounds. The half pound of lead he filled the cleaning kit holes in the stock with did little more than make it heavy. It shot groups as good as my other one with iron sights but wouldn't hold zero worth diddly with the scope.
I proved her out with iron sights and was satisfied the bore and all function was good to very good.
Bound and determined to make a good sniper out of it just for shits and giggles, I started the process of making changes.
A very healthy dose of locktight cured the problem with the mounting plate. It required a torch to heat them up again to get them off.
The mount plate has not moved a hair since and the pins I intended for that may be unnecessary.
Next was choosing a quality scope that suited me for my 200 yard range (240 to the berm).
Borrowed my neighbors 8x26 Barska Swat scope and I was impressed.
It still wasn't what I wanted but I liked the scope.
A little web surfing and I found the 8x32 Barska Swat Tactical scope with rangefinder focus and illuminated reticle cheaper than what he paid for his! Anything more powerful would have been far more than I was prepared to invest and at $199, the Barska seemed up to the task. 32 power is strong enough to easily see the holes in the target at 200 yds.
Being a much larger scope, and with the additional turret on the left side, it didn't fit on the mount. I had to have my machinist mill out a 1.5" hole to accommodate the left rangefinder knob.
With that and the 30mm tube, the high profile rings that came with it ended up placing the center of the scope 3/4" offset to the right, a parallax problem indeed. Test firing of that showed a considerable adjustment was needed left to right for a 50yd range difference.
The thumb screw Weaver style Barska rings just wouldn't stay tight on the mount. If they loosened up just slightly, elevation would change by a foot or more.
Seeing how critical this was, I ordered the lowest profile rings they had (a paltry $8.95) The thumb screw problem was even worse with that set and they refused to stay tight through ten rounds.
Back to the machinist. I calculated 3mm of offset to center the vertical line of the scope dead center with the bore. It worked out just right milling a 3mm slot for each ring blade into the mount and milling off the tab on the rings to make them flat and remove the screw clamps entirely. They were then welded onto the mount. The vertical line is now perfectly dead center with the bore and the bottom of the scope clears the slide by a half inch. It certainly isn't going anywhere.
Another problem showed up with brass dinging the bottom of the scope. A 3" galvanized steel deflector plate screwed to the mount under the scope cured that.
A Harris adjustable bi pod fits perfectly using a longer bolt to attach it to the front where the spring for the front clamp/bayonet lug attaches. I had to grind down the bolt a little to keep it from touching the barrel after going through the nut in the stock. The single bolt seems to be enough to keep it in place. It sets up just right on the bench but bounces a bit. With the legs extended and laying prone in the sand, gun no move! She slides back gently and stays right on target, enough for a quick second, third, forth shot... In fact, you can pump out about a shot a second with very little movement. A slightly better bi pod may be in order as my son had laid claim to this one and wants it on the other Hakim. Since mounting does no damage and makes no physical changes, he can have it.
The Hakim has little recoil anyway but since this is a shits and giggles project, I just had to buy a mercury filled recoil suppressor for the stock: http://www.precisionreloading.com/recoilsuppressors.htm
The MR100345 10oz 3/4x5" was my choice.
As the existing holes, which happen to be 3/4" converged on the wrong angle (thought I would get away without drilling) I filled the holes with epoxy based wood filler and let it harden. I then concocted a jig to drill a 3/4x 5 3/4" hole parallel to the bottom of the stock and slid the tube into place.
OH YEAH! This DOES make a real difference! It has no "crack" to the recoil, just a gentle push. Bare shoulder shooting is a total pleasure.
It's a little more than a .22 but not so much as you can even notice it.
I'm still looking for the right gel pad for the butt plate just to keep it from sliding on the shoulder. The metal plate just wants to slip a bit.
Wed afternoon, time for the first test run with the current evolution.
It was absolutely dead calm with no wind at all when we got there and a slight overcast. I threw 5 clay birds onto the berm when we set up the targets at 200yds.
Lining up the scope with the iron sights, I was about 6" high but hit the left/right dead center on the first adjustment. A couple turns on the elevation dial brought it down and the first clay shattered.
I marched it right across taking each one in turn with one shot including the one laying flat with only the side exposed!
They clays were no match! One shot, one clay!
I could see the guy in the next booth watching with a keen eye so I invited him to try it. He was beside himself when his first shot hit a 2" rock out on the berm. He nailed a couple more in succession burning off a magazine. It proved she was dead on and I wasn't just getting lucky.
I commenced to working on the remnants of the busted clays.
A half of a clay was a one shot kill and half of that was another.
That is roughly the size of a 50 cent piece at 240 yds! I keep shooting the pieces until there was nothing left to shoot at and hitting them consistently. Golf balls at 240 yds? Wouldn't have been a problem!
I took a felt pen and marked off the settings on the scope dials.
I started working on a nice 2" group on paper at 200yds. Slight change in elevation and it had to come down 3". By then, a breeze started stirring with the usual right drift this range often gets when the breeze deflects off the left berm.
The major problem I have on this range is wind. It plays hell with 8mm, far more so than 7.62x54. 8mm seems to ride the surf and the least little gust of wind blows them all over the map. I no sooner had the 6" right drift accounted for and it changed again. We had to give up as the wind increased and the group spread. There is just no holding any kind of group or predictable impact point with the least little wind and impossible to calculate as it is different at the target than at the booth. Yugo 7.62x54 heavy ball seems to plow through it a lot better. It must have something to do with the shape of the bullet and the sharp taper of the 8mm must be a factor.
Fri. afternoon. The breeze seemed calm and I just had to have another go at it. Walking the targets out, I quickly realized that it was as strong as Wed with unpredictable little gusts. There is a bad hole on this range at about 180 yds where smoke will swirl in all directions with the least little wind and I promptly found just that. Hold your breath for the wind to calm and take the shot is about all you can do.
One little puff of wind throws it a foot off.
Zero was still dead on right out of the case when I started off whacking dirt clumps on the berm.
I did manage to plant a couple right on the 2x2 cross drawn on the paper but the overall group and flyers made it an exercise in futility so we quit. I did put a few through the FN49 and they were not quite as tight as usual. I like the FN49 but it ain't no Hakim!
I have yet to finish a few things. I can't locktight the screws on the scope rings yet and until I do so they continue to loosen up slightly.
Since Bubba removed the wire springs from the bolts on the trigger group, they tend to get very loose very fast and require a tweak with a screw driver every 20 rounds. Forget to do that and they are at least 4-6 full turns loose! It's either make new spring wires or some kind of lock screw like a K98. Have yet to ponder that.
Maybe next week I can get around to the stress free pillar glass bedding job with Devcon 10110 epoxy and find a way to torque those bolts down and keep them tight. I think that has much to do with accuracy as it goes to crap when they loosen up.
I still need a close examination of the muzzle brake and maybe a crown job to smooth out the business end of the barrel. That may need something done but I'm not to that point for a while yet.
There is an elevation shift as it heats up. I have yet to be able to calculate the shift until I get a sustained session with no wind where I can hold a group. I'm also not sure what effect powder residue accumulation in the barrel is causing. I do think it may be a factor as clean and cold vs. hot and dirty (300 rds later) may be spreading the group. We know the point where melted polymer and lacquer coating on the cases start to jam the case and prevent extraction (having already replaced a broken extractor on the other one). Only drilling it out with a brush soaked in lacquer thinner seems to get it out, one brush for the case area of the chamber and one for the throat area.
Sparkling clean, it's good for about 300 rds before you know it's time to quit. By 300 rounds, a chambered bullet will eject covered in black so you know there is considerable crap build up in the throat.
"Babe" is turning into quite a little project and will be well worth $1250 when I am satisfied. But then, being able to whack a golf ball at 240 yds cold out of the case makes her one mean motor scooter!
Besides, with the sun shade on the scope and the bi pod ... it sure do look awesome and gets everyone's attention on the range!
(no batteries for the camera but I will get a picture up soon)
Unfortunately, there is only one 600 yard range in the state and it is quite a drive. I do believe Babe is quite capable of some serious distance. The scope is good enough to see the eyeballs on deer at 600 yds across the field in back of my house and I could easily make a head shot on one if I knew the bullet drop.
Don't let anyone tell you a Hakim isn't a sniper! This thing has real serious potential when I work out all the bugs. Just don't let Bubba do the work for you as "critical" is measured in millimeters and single degrees to get accuracy. I'll quit tinkering when I achieve consistent 1" groups at 200 yds. ... with milsurp ammo!
