Svt 40

Oh how there are times I wish I too was Canadian. Buy it and show it off to your American friends who have to pay at least 2x as much.

If you're looking to buy one of those things, check the gas system out pretty carefully. Lots of years of salt from corrosive primers can take a toll there.

I love mine, I think that if you like WWII history and soviet weapons it is a no brainer.

In my rifle I only shoot modern ammo in it....never surplus stuff...and light ball ammo as well under 150gr.

Parts are just too hard to come by to take the chance.

Start with the gas system on the lowest setting and work up from there...when you get no FTE then you got it it right.

Super fun rifles.

I can get them for $300 where I live.

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Where do you live and who is selling them? Light ball ammunition under 150 grains works well. Also, don't make the powder loads too powerful; if you damage the operating rod, good luck finding a new one ever, and those that are around are seriously expensive. The accuracy is, I don't know, probably pretty good. The SVT-40 never caught on so much as the Mosin-Nagant, so they ought to generally be in better condition. I've always wanted to get an SVT.

My bet is Canada.

The SVT never caught on for a couple of reasons, not the least of them being the rank and file soviet solider was not that well trained. Keeping a 91/30 running is pretty darn easy, keeping the SVT going is something very different. You can say that in the hands of well trained troops that know how to read it was very popular, German and Finnish troops loved the rifle.

I am by no means an expert...but I did stay at a holiday in express once

From what I have read they used the rifles as captured, the germans even issued manuals on the care of the rifles in german. Captured weapons and ammo was quite common and with these rifles they stayed in the front line, the 91/30 for the most part went back into rear units and home guard units. The german self loading rifles just could not get off the ground G43 and such just had too many problems.

As to wear, I would look at the general shape of the rifle as a whole, if the rest of it looks good you are most likely ok...I doubt whoever is selling will let you pull the thing down....they are a bit of a pain to take down.

I have only been around three SVT's and they all left the brass in re loadable shape.

Be sure to check headspace as the tilting bolt in these type rifles can get out of spec. depending on how much use and what type of ammo has been used over the years. Be sure to clean the bore before you inspect it visually. How much throat erosion, pitting and how worn the lands are tell the story.
Don't expect much in the way of accuracy if using surplus ammo and decent accuracy (2-3 MOA) with quality ammo.

I know people that shoot heavy ball surplus ammo in theirs with no problem, I have read about a guy that bent up the rec. pretty bad using heavy ball....I think it is one of those internet things where few had problems and it went crazy. I only shoot less then 150 out of my rifle...same loads as my PSL.....I know light ball is out there in surplus but it is just not worth it to me.

It has some things above the Garand, adjustable gas system, detachable 10 round mag (sorry canada), As to the G43...well it just worked better ....the other rifles you talked about are post war designs and you can't really put them in the same group.

IMHO any quality sporting rifle is going to shoot rings around the SVT. This thing was made to hit a man sized target not give sub MOA groups at 100 yards.

Down here in the states a good ball park price on these things is $1000 +- here and there for a run of the mill rifle. You can buy a much better sporting rifle for that kind of money....and there is not much smarts in turning it into a sporter (I guess in Canada they did that years ago and made them fire 303 british but can't remember what they called them) After turning a SVT into a sporter it will still not out shoot a sporting rifle and you will be out your $1000 because you killed the value.

And if you want to know why I say they will never out shoot a modern sporting rifle check out this video under the pics.

All this talk and not one pic of a SVT so here is mine. With the bear shot.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBQ5WK9sop8

Just a word to the wise, if you reload for it be sure to use military type hard primers.

An Svt-40 on full auto is no fun. Thank goodness I only loaded three rounds.

^ SVT is more accurate and powerful. I've shot neither, but I've always wanted to get my hands on an SVT.

Never watch an AK in slow-mo then. They look like a jello cube. It's the barrel that matters anyway.

My two SVT-40s are very reliable, fairly accurate (one moreso than the other) and a joy to shoot with either light or heavy ball- though they absolutely love bxn63 headstamp Czech ammo.

Get the gas nut adjustment tool, though, else you're in for an annoying time trying to adjust things with a wrong shaped tool or pliers.

Do some research on the 91/30 where people are putting new Finnish M-39 barrels on there guns and making them tack drivers. Save your money.

Don't let that video shy you away...they are great rifles, and have fantastic history...they are just not the best sniper rifle. There is a reason they stopped putting rails on them around 1942 or so. The good ole 91/30 was a more stable platform for long range sniping.

Get the SVT they are fantastic fun to shoot and will do MOW (minute of watermelon) all day. I also find them not too hard to take down after you get the hang of it.

I quite like the svt-40 - compared to Dragunov and M1 Garand. Surprisingly soft recoil and quite accurate - from what i know they were used upto 800m by snipers.
Only issue i have with them is the field strip and especially the reassembly - quite tricky if you are used to guns like vz.58.
Wrong disassembly leads to such (harmless) accidents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys-4N41boxM

I am far from wealthy enough to own an SVD, but I do own a PSL and I find them both enjoyable in their own way. I think that the PSL is a better rifle....heck it should be it was made 40 years later. That takes nothing away from the SVT they are so much fun to shoot, have mild recoil...Like a Garand, they are just differend...at least they are in the states....every dog in the joint has a M1, when you open up the case and there is a M1 eh seen one...open up the case and you have a SVT or G43 that is something different.

Bohemus I would love to see a pic of your SVD I would love to have one....or even a Tiger....but my sites are set on a G43 now and that is going to blow the firearm budget for next year.

Here is a pic of my PSL....I post these pics so you KNOW that I own the rifle and give you MY experence with MY one firearm.

Having once owned a NDM-86, I gotta say the SVT is far better made. Not as beefy as it could/should be in places, but that'd make it too heavy, considering it was designed back in the wood-and-steel days.

Vaarok said:

Having once owned a NDM-86, I gotta say the SVT is far better made. Not as beefy as it could/should be in places, but that'd make it too heavy, considering it was designed back in the wood-and-steel days.

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Those go for a pretty penny these days....I bet you regret selling that like I regret selling my 1966 mustang.

Absolutely not. I bought it two years ago, tinkered with it for about a month, and then flipped it for double what I was in it for, and thought good riddance.

They're rare. Doesn't mean they're good.

If they were imported like even Valmets, there wouldn't be this huge mystique about them. They're military soviet rifles. For every guy that says Mosins are crude and SKSes are junk and then faps to the thought of a DRAGANOF SNIPER RIFLE, I have to butt in and destroy their attempt to tie self esteem to brand recognition.

The SVD is to the SKS what the M1A is to the Mini-14. And no, not your SAGE EBR super-duper National Match Springfield Armory Deluxe Model. The big, ugly, heavy, minute-of-pieplate Vee-yet-nam era lucky-if-you-get-a-fiberglass-stock DMR rifle.

With worse ergonomics and mediocre fit-and-finish.