The firing impulse is remarkably smooth and light, as would be expected in a rifle this large and robust. The trigger is very finely adjustable, though accessing the adjustments requires the rifle to be disassembled. A crisp, clean break is easily achieved.
Anschütz put a beautiful rear sight on the Hakim. It adjusts in both directions and is calibrated for the rifle's short effective range. Whether the average conscript could use it, who knows?
Smooth firing, a crisp trigger and an Anschütz barrel give superb accuracy at the effective range of the gun, which is out to about 20 yards. It will shoot much farther than that, of course, but it was designed as a short-range target rifle to promote marksmanship.
To complement the excellent accuracy, a fully adjustable rear sight can be set to center your shots at the optimum distance of 30 to 50 feet. The front sight is a hooded square post that offers a sharp sight picture in the rear notch.
Expect groups to be covered by a dime at 20 yards, almost regardless of how many times you shoot. The gun just keeps plopping them through the same hole.
I have found RWS Superpoint pellets to be the most consistently accurate in all the Hakims I have shot. They have thin skirts that seal the gap between the loading tap and the barrel breech when the gun fires, and I think that helps keep them on track.
RWS Superpoints are the best pellet Gaylord has found so far. They seal the breech very well. Low velocity means that range is limited, but the Hakim is accurate within about 20 yards.
Oiling
Spring-piston airguns need some lubrication on their piston seals to maintain compression, and the Hakim is chief among them in this respect. Though it has a synthetic piston seal (very advanced for 1954), the loading tap can lose air unless it has adequate lubrication.
To oil the gun, you open the tap and fill it with petroleum oil. Then, rotate it closed and stand the rifle on its butt for an hour. Or, if you don't have the time to wait, rotate the tap closed and cock the rifle. The air being sucked through the tap into the compression chamber will pull the oil with it.
Popularity Grows
In the mid-1990s, Hakims began appearing at airgun shows for $75 to $100. Airgunners had bought them from Navy Arms, cleaned them up and restored them to some semblance of working order. Many shooters initially avoided them because of the rough condition of their stocks and metal, but most rifles were functional and still very good shooters. The few that weren't either got rebuilt with replacement parts from other airguns, or they became parts guns. I bought and sold about 15 more over the years and ended up keeping a few that I'm now holding on to.
Today, the trend has reversed, and the Hakim has become an item of maximum interest among savvy airgunners. The Blue Book of Airguns places them in the $200-$500 range, but I suspect that's on the conservative side. With new airgunners coming into the hobby every day, there is increased demand for the limited supply of guns. Still, the Hakim has not yet reached its full potential as a collectable, so there's still time to get yours before the top blows off the market.
