AG42 vs Hakim vs SAFN49 vs SVT 40

H Wally

H Wally

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Alrighty guys - cage match - which would you buy and why?
Pros and cons of any particular gun?


I already reload for all their common calibers, so that doesn't matter. I want a gun that's reliable, accurate and preferably affordable. Adjustable gas system is great so it can be dialed to match the loads being shot through it.


Edited to add the SVT 40, just because I forgot it existed :p:rolleyes:.... I really don't like the fluted chambers in SVT40's though.
 
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AG42B has no gas ajustment. It is also very hard on brass. It tends to dent them up before tossing them 40-50 feet away so it's a pain in the butt for reloaders. It is also very heavy. That being said it's one of my favorite milsurps :D
 
Do you prefer Direct Gas Impingement, or Piston?

Hakim and Ljungman are DI, and SAFN49 is Piston...

I have all the Egyptians, and I love 'em all....

SAFN49
For just plain beauty, I would go for the SAFN49, more natural to use, adjustable gas system, quicker and safer to strip, a joy to shoot, GREAT battle sights, made by FN.
Downsides are, no removable mag (only stripper or single fed), gas system is under forward handguard which has to be removed to adjust... Can be dangerous without the 2 piece firing pin.

Hakim
The Hakim is awesome in its own right, AR type gas system, adjustable gas rate (funky tool needed), funky stripper loading mech, removable magazine, give it to non shooting friends and get them to try loading it with no instruction, laugh at hilarity that ensues!! HAKIM THUMB!! :eek:
AWESOME MUZZLE BRAKE! :)
Downsides are, Funky bolt mechanism (IMHO), regular aperture sights (prefer peep style), unwieldy, Need funky gas tool to adjust system or you need to bugger up a socket, thin top handguard (easily cracked).

AG42(B)
Ljungman is the Hakims older and scrawny -er brother. Awesome caliber, fine European manufacturing, great sights, a neat piece of Swedish WW2 History!
Downsides are, no adjustable gas system (but you could drill it), funky bolt mech like the Hakim.

Overall, SAFN49 wins in my opinion, but it was my very first gun too, so i may be biased... ;)
 
i have 2 ag42's , i have never held a hakim and i want a fn49

it is not very hard to take a ag42 and make it so it has gas ajustment . pretty much making it the equal to the hakim .

between the 2 it really comes down to the cartridge ....... and the 6.5x55 is just plain ###y

now compare these 2 to the fn49 ...... the fn49 is chambered in larger more powerful rounds and i believe it is easier to mount a scope to one .

not sure which platform is lighter , but i'm pretty sure the ag42 / hakim platform has fewer parts and is less complex ( i have not actually counted the pieces so i could be wrong on this .

magazine availability ...... outside of canada it should be no problem if you own a ag42 or hakim ..... one of the old german machine guns used a mag that is easy to make work ( it is in 8mm mauser i believe ) .

anyone care to comment on fn49 mag availability ? ....... i haven't looked , but i have also never seen one for sale either . the ag42's seem to pop up once in a blue moon .

price wise it apears the fn49 goes for twice the price of the ag42 ...... the hakim seems to fall in the middle somewhere .
 
burnt_servo said:
i have 2 ag42's , i have never held a hakim and i want a fn49

it is not very hard to take a ag42 and make it so it has gas ajustment . pretty much making it the equal to the hakim .

between the 2 it really comes down to the cartridge ....... and the 6.5x55 is just plain ###y

now compare these 2 to the fn49 ...... the fn49 is chambered in larger more powerful rounds and i believe it is easier to mount a scope to one .

not sure which platform is lighter , but i'm pretty sure the ag42 / hakim platform has fewer parts and is less complex ( i have not actually counted the pieces so i could be wrong on this .

magazine availability ...... outside of canada it should be no problem if you own a ag42 or hakim ..... one of the old german machine guns used a mag that is easy to make work ( it is in 8mm mauser i believe ) .

anyone care to comment on fn49 mag availability ? ....... i haven't looked , but i have also never seen one for sale either . the ag42's seem to pop up once in a blue moon .

price wise it apears the fn49 goes for twice the price of the ag42 ...... the hakim seems to fall in the middle somewhere .
Click to expand...

MG13 mags can be converted to work with the Hakim (8mm), I have my MG13 mag converted to work in my G43 though... ;)

FN49 mag availability is not really important unless you are missing parts on your gun. The FN49 has a box mag that is removable for cleaning, but you cannot load it outside of the gun as the follower and spring will not stay in the mag body (like dropping the floorplate on a K98, except with more spring) Also, you need a bullet tip, or strong screwdriver to pivot the mag out of the rifle, cannot be done easily with just fingers.

AG42 - ($200 - $400)
Hakim - ($450 - $550)
SAFN49 - ($450 - $1200) depending on model
(8mm easiest to find, then 30-06, then 7mm, then .308) .308 model is only one with removable mags, almost unobtanium rifle here in Canada.

Cheers!

30-06 SAFN49 with the scope rail is the best choice IMHO, you would be looking at around $700 - $1000 for one of these....
 
Hmm - I like the fact that the SAFN can have a scope mounted, but who am I kidding... I probably am too cheap and lazy to get around to it. Plus I've never come across spare hakim or ag42 magazines, so pretty much means they're stripper clip or reload every time anyways.

I definitely like the 6.5x55 bullet, which is why I included it over the hakim. I've had a hakim before but sold it for some reason I can't remember. I remember the muzzle break lessened the recoil a ton, but also made it louder, and the whole gun was darn heavy.

I am inclined to like the AG42 because it's in 6.5x55, it's the cheapest, and I can probably make an adjustable gas system. I'm not overly fond of direct impingment, but you can't have everything I guess.
 
Well now that you have changed this to include the SVT40, you should get that one since it`s the cheapest rifle, cheaper ammo, adjustable gas system, removable mag and can be stripper loaded, spare mags can be bought for as little as $50 and can be found in Canada, and it is dripping with WW2 history!!

It is not the best rifle out there, but for the price, I think you have a winner! ;)

Easiest to scope the SVT40, but then again, the SVT is a s**tty sniper rifle... :D

Problems with the fluted chamber... :confused: are you a big baby.. :confused:

:p It works!

The SVT is so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel! :)
 
Desert_Fox said:
Well now that you have changed this to include the SVT40, you should get that one since it`s the cheapest rifle, cheaper ammo, adjustable gas system, removable mag and can be stripper loaded, spare mags can be bought for as little as $50 and can be found in Canada, and it is dripping with WW2 history!!

It is not the best rifle out there, but for the price, I think you have a winner! ;)

Easiest to scope the SVT40, but then again, the SVT is a s**tty sniper rifle... :D

Problems with the fluted chamber... :confused: are you a big baby.. :confused:

:p It works!

The SVT is so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel! :)
Click to expand...

I mainly don't like the fluted chamber because I reload (horribly cheap individual), and none of the brass that I've looked at coming out of an SVT has had much of a reloading future after meeting with a fluted chamber:p
 
H Wally said:
I mainly don't like the fluted chamber because I reload (horribly cheap individual), and none of the brass that I've looked at coming out of an SVT has had much of a reloading future after meeting with a fluted chamber:p
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You realize the cost of 7.62x54 surplus is cheaper than Baldricks Rat ò Van.... ;)

Just sell it when the surplus dries up, and then buy an AG42 and reload! :D

I wouldn't trust many rimmed cartridges to stand many reloadings anyway...
 
I have a 8mm SAFN and a SVT-40. I'd take the FN every day of the week and twice on Sunday over the SVT. Ammo cost isn't a factor as I've got a whack-load of both surplus calibers.

Now, if I could just find chargers for the SAFN........
 
While we're sitting around the pickle barrel, favourite rifles across our laps, let me throw the SVT-40 and the French MAS 49 into the conversation.

I've owned: SAFN in 8mm, AG42 in 6.5, HAKIM in 8mm, SVT-40 and both a MAS 49 and a MAS 44.

The Swede is my least favourite because of ammo availability. I have a HAKIM, but have yet to fire it. The SVT-40 is easy to shoot and very cheap to own. The SAFN is a fantastic design with a lot going for it. But notice which guns are at the positive end of the list? The French ones. Here's why:

A detachable box magazine, even if the latch is a big lever on the body of the mag.

True direct gas tube technology. No piston, springs or plugs.

Dog $hit simple trigger mechanism. So few moving parts, you wonder how it works.

Tilting bolt and receiver cover that the Soviets and Belgians copied. No messing with good ideas.

Aperature back sight inches from the shooter's eyeball, not halfway down the barrel.

Two-piece stock, which means the arsenal could work with smaller cuts of lumber with no wood to metal interference from swelling or pressures.

A rimless cartridge designed in 1912 that fits midway between a 7.62x51 and a 30-06.

All in all, a truly underappreciated design and technological spiral.
 
I would suggest the SAFN49. Build quality, design, durability and reliability all are there. Its built like a tank. Many of the elements of the design are found in the FAL,and we all know how that worked out!

Saying that, you really cant go wrong with any of the designs, including the French entries above, which i have shot as well.
 
I had owned an AG42 (traded it about a month ago for a NO1MK3 enfield). Anyhow, it was fun to shoot, loud, accurate, but watch your fingers. It makes the garand thumb look like a walk in the park. Very easy to field strip, I could do it in about 15 seconds. A pain to recover the brass. I was going to do the gas mod to it but ended up trading it. It's also funny when your friend is videoing you from the side and gets beat up by the gas escaping from the porting.

Another problem that I had with it was that in my area I couldn't find factory ammo cheap. The 5 closet gunshops that I frequent had limited quantities of it (under 5 boxes at each place) but it cost anywhere from $30 to $40 a box. Those prices are not so bad in a bolt or single shot, but in a semi, with the tendancy to want to keep on going until the bolt locks back, not good.

That being said, in a couple of years I might just get another.

I have wanted an SVT40 going on a year now, but I just can't justify getting one yet. I know this will probably bite me in the a$$ latter, but I am too devoted to my beloved enfields. It (the SVT) uses the same tiliting bolt as the AG, it has the adjustable gas system, robust and it should always work. It too might be a little heavy but heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work you can always hit them with it.

As for 7.62x54r, I can't see the supply drying up. The surplus might run out but there will always be new manufacture (CZ/Seller&Bellot, MFS to name a couple) for a few dollars more. (Hey there is another movie reference;))

All that being said, I would snatch any of them up if they crossed my path and the price was right.
 
I have the AG42,Hakim,FN49 and SVT40.

AG42, very good rifle,simple, accurate,no recoil and 6.5x55 is sweet.

Hakim, same as AG 42 but adjustable gas system, i only fired fews rounds with it. Its very heavy and loud as hell.

FN49 egyptian contract, i didnt have time to fire it yet. Very high quality rifle,excellent sight system,easy to take down,adjustable gas.

SVT 40, still my favorite:D In good hand, very reliable,adjustable gas system, not so difficult to field strip and clean,accurate,well balanced,i love the 7.62x54R. I have the scoped version too but didt'n have time to test yet. Somes said the sniper 1 is not really good others said that is not that bad. I guess that mount and individual rifle can vary on the result, i hope to try my SVT sniper soon to see how is it.:)
Jocelyn
 
The SAFN is heavier in the hand than the rest, but I have to admit it's still one of my favorites. The SVT has a fragile frigger mechanism, both the Hakim and AG will blow crap into your face at times, and now that someone has mentioned the MAS 49....what a horrible odd piece - heavy, ungainly, wierd ergonomics and an unusable sight in anything but bright light.
I have owned several selections of each rifle - 6 SAFN's, 3 Hakim's, 3 AG's, 2 SVT's but only 1 MAS49, as the selection in Canada is pretty sparse.
 
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DaveGP said:
The SAFN is heavier in the hand than the rest, but I have to admit it's still one of my favorites. The SVT has a fragile frigger mechanism, both the Hakim and AG will blow crap into your face at times, and now that someone has mentioned the MAS 49....what a horrible odd piece - heavy, ungainly, wierd ergonomics and an unusable sight in anything but bright light.
Click to expand...

WRT to the MAS, I would disagree about everything except for what I bolded. It may look odd, but fits well. Keep in mind that during its service life, that rifle was used extensively in Africa for the French's colonial ambitions. No lack of bright sunlight there!
 
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