The AG42 rifle/egyptian Hakim&Rasheed

svt1940

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Introduction

One of the most overlooked military rifle avalaible on the surplus market is the swedish Automatgevär m/42 (semi automatic rifle model 42) simply called AG42 chambered for the 6.5x55mm round.

History

Before WW2, only 2 majors army were issued semi automatic battle rifle in large amount, the USA with the M1 Garand and the Soviet Union with the SVT 38 and soon after the SVT 40. Another country showing interest in semi automatic rifle was Sweden. Manys contractors were working on various design begining in 1938. The first attempt was a conversion of a bolt action rifle made by Eric Wallberg from the Kungliga Armetygförvaltningen factory at Stockholm but remain only as prototype. Another rifle,recoil operated was designed by finnish Captain Pelo. The system was reliable but too heavy. Finally, the winning design emerged from Erik Eklund, working at AB J.C Ljungman engineering, Eklund begin to work on his rifle in 1941 and the rifle was adopted in 1942. Considering that manys semi auto rifle from the times required many years of development, the task Eklund did with the AG42 is outstanding. Test rifles were made at Malmo but the mass production started at Eskilstuna Carl Gutaf gun factory in 1942. The bigest year of production was 1943. A total of about 30 000 AG42 were manufactured. They remain in service in swedish military until the 60's.

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AG42 rifle

Function

The AG42 is quite a long rifle with a lenght of 1217mm. Barrel is 637mm and weight empty without bayonet is 4.4 kg. Magazine is detachable with 10 rounds capacity. The AG42 is gas operated,utilizing direct gas action. In that system, no piston is used. The gas are bled from the barrel via the gas port and running in a tube, finally impacting directly against the bolt carrier to unlock the breech bolt. Since less moving parts, the design help for accuracy,is very simple and clean. That system will appear later on the french MAS 49 and on the USA M16 rifle. The tilting bolt is similar to the soviet SVT 40 rifle, the rear of the bolt lock against a locking lug in the receiver. Upon firing, the gas act directly on the bolt carrier, unlocking the bolt,bolt travel rearward,ejecting spent case and recoil spring drive the bolt foward, picking up a cartridge in the magazine and locking again in the receiver. The AG42 is unique in fact that no charging handle is present. To #### the action, the rear cover is pushed foward until a small lever lock the bolt carrier with the action cover then the cover is pulled fully rearward. At the end of rearward movement, if the safety is on fire position, the bolt carrier will be unlocked and return forward quite violently, if the safety is on safe, the carrier will remain locked in the action cover. The safety is placed at the rear of the receiver, moving to the right is «safe» and moving to the left is «fire». The bolt stay open on an empty magazine. The front sight is a blade,hooded and adjustable for windage via a screw. Severals blade height were available. The rear sight is a v-notch type graduated from 100 to 700m. The elevation is set via a knob and number 1 to 7 appear in a small window on the sight base. The barrel incorporate a muzzle brake. The lack of gas port adjustment make the AG42 ammo sensitive. The rifle is better served with a fast powder to avoid malfunctions.

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AG42 bolt carrier gas receptacle detail

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AG42 muzzle brake

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Marking disc on stock. The large sector give infos on the bore mesurements. First row is the maximum bore diameter, in this case its 6.51mm. Second row is the minimum diameter,in this case its 6.49mm.
Small sector have number 1,2,3, thoses tell the bore condition. In this exemple, the bore is marked 2, mean light pitting in the grooves and lands. A bore condition marked 3 would likely have the barrel replaced. Finally, the last disc sector is the type of bullet the sight are calibrate for, in this case its for the torpedo 140gr bullet m41.

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AG42 rear sight. The small window display the range in meter, sight is graduated from 100 to 700 m. The small triangle,left of window mean that the site are calibrated for the torpedo 140gr bullet. The calibration can be changed easily for the 156gr round nose loading. Here's how to do:


With the handguard removed, there's a small clip holding the sight knob.
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Pull and remove the retaining clip out
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remove the sight knob.
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we can see the alternate range numbers.
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The calibration piece is removed.
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The calibration piece is inversed and installed back on the sight,with the round nose bullet icon showing.
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Reinstall the range knob.
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Reinstall the retaining clip.
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The AG42b

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AG42b rifle

In 1953, somes modifications were done to the original AG42 rifle. They were*:
-original steel gas tube was replaced by a stainless steel tube to prevent rust damage.
-The 2 pieces cleaning rod was changed in favor of a one piece rod.
-Magazine was proven to easy to remove by accident so a second attaching point was added on the front of the magazine.
-Recoil spring was changed to double wires model providing extra strenght and durability.
-With only serrations, the action cover was difficult to graps under cold weather so two knobs were added on each side. Also, a rubber bumper was added to prevent brass damage during ejection.
-Trigger mechanism was improved
-Extractor was redesigned.
In all, theses changes were quite minor considering the very short time to developp the rifle. The rifle was renamed AG42b. Pretty much all AG42 were upgraded to AG42b so original, un-modified AG42 are extremely scarce.

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AG42 magazine

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AG42b magazine. Note the second lock in the front part.

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AG42b action cover with knobs and rubber shell bumper.


Accessories

Typical accessories for the AG42/AG42b include:
-Leather sling(same as the Mauser M96/M38 rifle)
-Bayonet (same bayonet as the Mauser M96/M38 rifle)
-Tool and spare parts kit
-Night sights
-Blank firing device

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Bayonet

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Tool and parts kit. We can see from left to right:
-parts kit
-combo tool
-chamber cleaning tool
-oiler
-double compartiments oiler with brush.

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part kit include:
-firing pin spring
-firing pin(missing in the kit on the picture)
-2 extractors
-2 extractor springs
-2 extractor plungers
-1 firing pin retainer
-extractor removal tool

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Low light sight

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Blank firing device.



AG42 variants

Dansk industri syndikat,Madsen from Denmark produced the AG42 but with a longer gas tube,coiled around the barrel. The Danish army never adopted the rifle so service was extremely short.
Egypt was interested in the AG42 design so around 1950, a manufacturing plan was set with the help of swedish technicians,this plan will became Madi industries Inc. The egyptian AG42 were named Hakim. They are very similar to the swedish originals minus fews differences. The Hakim is chambered for the 7.92x57 mauser, a gas regulator was included, muzzle brake is different,leaf type rear sight instead of the original AG sight and no cleaning rod under the barrel. Magazine capacity is ten rounds. About 70 000 Hakim rifles were produced. The last variant was equally made in egypt. A somewhat scaled down version of the Hakim rifle but chambered in 7.62x39 and called Rasheed. The Rasheed is similar to the Hakim, in fact somes parts interchange between the two rifle. The Rasheed have a folding bayonet almost identical to the Simonov SKS carbine,a 20 inch barrel, ten rounds magazine,same gas regulator as the Hakim and the front sight can be adjusted for windage and elevation. The Rasheed have a cocking handle. Rasheed were made in 1966,1967 and 1968. Only about 8 000 were manufactured. From this number only about 2 000 were imported in north america by Century Arms in the 1990's, this made the Rasheed quite scarce. It was said that the Rasheed carbines imported in america were captured from Egypt by Israel during the Six Days War in 1967.

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Hakim rifle

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Hakim muzzle break
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Hakim rear sight 100 to 1000 meters range
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Action cover similar to early AG42 design.
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Hakim gas regulator
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Hakim magazine latch detail


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Rasheed carbine

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Rasheed have the same gas regulator than the Hakim

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The Rasheed rear sight are graduated from 100 to 1000 meters with a battle position set at 300 meters. The front sight is adjustable for windage and elevation.

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Folding bayonet, very similar to the russian SKS bayonet.



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From top to bottom.
-AG42b 6.5x55mm
-Egyptian Hakim 7.92x57mm mauser
-Egyptian Rasheed 7.62x39mm

AG42b/Hakim rifle disassembly

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We will use the AG42b but i took somes pics with the Hakim to show small differences. First, let's make sure the rifle is unloaded and clear. To avoid any AG/Hakim thumb, the safety should be put on first.
To put the safety on, flip the safety lever to the right.
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Push the action cover foward until the cover click with the bolt carrier.
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This is the little catch that lock with the bolt carrier.
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The safety in "safe" position
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The safety in "fire" position. See the part marked with the arrow? When the safety is on "fire", if the cover and carrier are pulled rearward, the lever on the carrier will bump the step marked with the arrow on the safety then the carrier/bolt will unlock from the cover and will drive foward violently,picking a cartridge from the mag and can also bite your finger if they are in the way..... So mag in or not, keep finger away! A "Garand thumb" maybe painfull but its nothing to compare with the "AG/Hakim thumb" Happened with the previous owner of my AG.... However, the bolt will stay open with an empty mag.

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So with the safety on, pull back the cover/carrier/bolt to the rear.
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Remove the magazine. On the AG42, the mag have 2 releases that need to be pressed to pull the mag out.
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On the Hakim, unlatch and push the mag release.
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After the mag is removed, push the cover/carrier foward.
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Put the safety in middle position and pull the safety assembly straight up away from the rifle.
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Hold the cover firmly,with your thumb, push the latch to unlock the cover from the carrier then slowly let the cover move to the rear, remove the cover and recoils spring from the rifle.
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Pull the bolt/carrier from the rifle.
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Disengage the bolt from the carrier.
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To remove the extractor,with a little screwdriver or similar object, push the extractor spring rearward and remove the extractor and the extractor spring/plunger from the bolt.
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On the Hakim, pry the extractor spring and push it foward,over the extractor.
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The firing pin is removed by drifting the small pin at the rear, then the firing pin and spring can be taken out. Same for both rifles.
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Unscrew the cleaning rod on the AG42.
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Basic field strip complete.
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Further disassembly.
To remove handguard on AG42, push the band retainer and slide the band toward the muzzle and lift the handguard away.
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On the Hakim, unscrew the bayonet lug and pull the lug/front band away.
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The rear band is removed by unscrewing the band retainer then the band can slide away. Pull out the handguard.
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The gas tube can be unscrewed from the gas block.
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On the Hakim, a jam nut need to be loosen to remove the tube. Also, the tube has flat sides to facilitate removal.
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Once the gas tube clear the gas block, lift the tube a little and pull it foward,away from the gas tube bushing near the rear sight.
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The AG42 have a screw on top of the gas block but its usually stacked on pretty tight so i never removed it on mine. The Hakim have a gas regulator.
To remove:
Use a screwdriver to very gently pry the lock spring so the gas valve can be unscrew without catching the stop mark on the gas block.
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To remove stock, 3 screws need to be removed.
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There's a loose bushing under trigger guard, be sure to put it back on reassembly.
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The rear sight is removed after loosening the screw and sliding the collar foward. Hakim have 2 collars but principle is the same.
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The gas tube bushing can be unscrewed from receiver.
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On both model, the muzzle end can be unscrewed. On the AG42, the muzzle end secure a retaining pin for the front sight. To adjust the front sight, the muzzle end is loosened and the sight can be adjusted with the windage screw. The Hakim use a small set screw instead of the AG retaining pin. AG42 showing:
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Rasheed carbine disassembly

As with any firearm, first is make sure the rifle is clear and unloaded. Pulling back the charging handle
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To remove the magazine, unlatch and pushing the latch foward will drop the mag.
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Now, pull the loading handle to disengage the bolt hold open device and slowly close the bolt.
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To remove bolt:
Put safety in middle position, push the action cover foward just enough so the safety assembly can be pulled straight up.
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Now, pull the action cover and recoil springs away from the rifle.
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Next, remove the bolt and carrier from the rifle and separate the bolt from the carrier. Now, basic field strip is done.
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Bolt disassembly:
The extractor spring must be pryed and pushed foward,after the extractor can be lift out.
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After drifting the small pin at the rear of the bolt, the 2 pieces firing pin and spring can be taken out.
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Gas system

Remove the 2 screws of the barrel band and slide away from the handguard.
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pull and lift the hanguard from the rifle
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we can see the gas regulator
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To remove the regulator, i used an adjustable wrench but plier would be ok too. I will make an adjusting tool soon using a hand socket driver.
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While unscrewing the regulator, a small screwdriver should be used to very very gently,pry the retaining spring so the pring wont catch the mark and steps on the regulator base. Again, the idea is to pry the spring tabs just enough to unscrew the valve.
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To remove the gas tube.
Loosen the jam nut
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On the tube, there's flat spot to grab the tube and uncrew it. I used Visegrip to carefully unscrew the tube but i will make a tool for that too.
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Once loose, i was able to uncrew with fingers. Once unscrewed from the gas block, remove the jam nut and slide the gas tube to the rear and out of the rifle.
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Stock removal.
To remove stock, first you need to pry the little locking device so the screw can be taken out. 3 screws need to be removed
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Trigger group
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Care must be taken to not loose that little bushing when the trigger group is lifted up.
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Stock removed from the rifle.
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Since the Rasheed needed cleaning so bad, i removed the rear sight. To remove:
Loosen theses 2 screws
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Slide the collars and remove from the sight.
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Sight and handguard ferrule can be removed from the rifle.
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Once the rear sight removed, the gas tube bushing can be uncrewed with a large screwdriver. With the screwdriver, you turn it clockwise to loosen it than from the other side, can be unscrewed by fingers counter-clockwise.
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The received can be cleaned better now.
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The collar at the muzzle is reverse threaded.
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After a meticulous cleaning and a bit of oil, the metal turned out very good.
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Reassembly is in reverse order for alls components. Basic cleaning only require the action cover,bolt and carrier out of the rifle. If shooting corrosives ammo, the gas valve should be removed for cleaning.In fact, removing the handguard and gas valve take only a min to do. The gas tube appear to be in stainless, so dont need to be removed after each shooting unless the rifle is put away for long time. Even removing the tube take only a minute.
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Hope you will like this new thread. Thankyou for looking.

Joce
 
Last edited:
The Danish had a variant called the Madson. Also, there was a prototype f/a model that was chambered in ( I believe) 7.62 NATO
 
I would add that the rear sight elevation drum cover is removable, and when flipped over reveals the alternate calibration for the round nose bullet.
 
Awesome post man.
Thanks a lot!
You put a hell of a lot of work into these mountains of information and I appreciate it very much.
Keep them coming!

The AG42 is a pretty cool rifle. The caliber is what deters me time and again however as I am no reloader :(
 
Excellent work. How I would have loved to know this back 32 years ago when I first got one. They basically handed you one off the rack, and there was no where a beginner could go for information.
 
Svt40/Joce:
Ahh c'mon, can't you actually offer something with some useful info in it??

PLEASE LAUGH! Awesome Ljungman compendium! This information really makes them that much easier to appreciate.

Echoing Grizzlypeg, I wish I'd had access to this when I bought mine 25 years ago. I still have all my fingers, but that's more luck than knowledge (I was 15 when I acquired this deerslayer).

Thank you for your efforts.
 
Svt40/Joce:
Ahh c'mon, can't you actually offer something with some useful info in it??

PLEASE LAUGH! Awesome Ljungman compendium! This information really makes them that much easier to appreciate.

Echoing Grizzlypeg, I wish I'd had access to this when I bought mine 25 years ago. I still have all my fingers, but that's more luck than knowledge (I was 15 when I acquired this deerslayer).
Thank you for your efforts.
I will try harder next time:p
PLEASE LAUGH!
Laugh2

:cheers:
Joce
 
STICKY!!!!!


Thank you so much for taking the time to put this all together!

This will come in Handy when i get some Ammo for my AG42b and fianly get to shot the damn thing!!

Thanks again

Adanac00
 
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