Tokarev SVT-40

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Birdmang

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Anyone have one of these?

Ever since shooting a Mosin M44 in 7.62x54R I have wanted the semi-auto version, the SVT 40. I picked one up today complete with all wood, sling, bayonet, magazine and cleaning rod; all matching numbers except magazine. I'm pretty excited to get out and shoot it, but am reluctant to shoot corrosive surplus ammo from it because cleaning the gas system every time after use is probably more tricky and intense than the ease of cleaning a Mosin bore and barrel after using corrosive ammo.

Anyways just looking for some experiences and what to expect to get out of it, other than fun.


Thanks.
 
You can get 150-grain Wolf Gold, PRVI Partizan, or 148-grain regular Wolf for it. Non-corrosive. Both Wolf and PRVI both do occasional runs of light ball 7.62x54R (Wolf Gold is actually PRVI relabeled and marked up).
 
Sounds like a fun gun to have.
Where did you get it?
How much was it?
When you do get ammo for it please do try it out and tell us how well it runs and how accurate it is.
Brown bear makes 7.62x54r ammo, seams to be more accurate than wolf at least from my MN.
So get both and see which one does better in the SVT?
 
Welcome to the SVT Club, Birdmang!

They are, indeed, fun! ... and a bit addictive to some; I have 7, the last of which I built-up around a barrelled-receiver that I found. ;)

You will want to get an SVT Wrench so that you can easily adjust the gas port. Here is something that I captured from a post on Gunboards in, like, 2003:

SVT wrench is $14.95 delivered .Check or MO to:
Black River Gunsmithing, Inc.
13566 Indian Hollow Road
Grafton, Ohio 44044
Or call 440-458-5396 M-F 10AM-6PM Eastern for card orders.(you may get the
machine).
Thanks! Jim
Click to expand...

I would be surprised if Jim did not have a website by now, you might want to do a search. I have seen recently, somewhere, mention that he still has the same offer in effect.

I have several of his wrenches, they are excellent repros.

After I post this I will see if I can find the Real vs Repro comparison pic that I made long ago.
 
Found it ...

Top: Original
Bottom: Repro

SVTTools.jpg

BTW, I have shot quite a bit of chlorate-primered ammo thru a couple of these SVTs. For me, the key to making the extra cleanup a cinch is having a sight vise in which I can mount the rifle for quick & easy (dis)(re)assembly (after you do it a few times).

If you are concerned about potassium chloride hiding in the bore, you can always make a rack like mine so that you can really flood the bore.

CorrosiveCleaningRig2.jpg

O'course, that rack really only works well on bolt guns ... with the muzzle in the water solution, you can use a patch in a slot holder to draw the water column all the way up to the throat.
 
OOPS!

Almost forgot to show you what I call The Cartridge Trick ... something that I tumbled to one day years ago when my fingers were getting eaten up while working on my SVTs receivers.

SVTCartridgeTrick.jpg

With that cartridge in-place, the cover can be easily move off & on. You will notice that the rear end of the spring rod is concave so that the bullet tip is captured ... which strongly suggests to me that it is a undocumented design feature.

Enjoy!
 
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Haha that is great! Thanks for the info!


Any more value to a 1940 SVT than others, or are they all pretty standard?
 
I've been shooting a lot of corrosive Yugo M67 (7.62x39) in the AK and SKS. The key to avoiding rust is to clean quickly and use water. Water dissolves the salt residue from the corrosive primers.

I just use a brush to apply soapy water to everywhere there is gas fouling. Dry, and then oil. No problems with rust and I've actually done this while it was raining on me (and getting even more water in the rifle).

BSW
 
I would be sure to check headspace before firing. Those type of actions are prone to having the headspace come out of spec. I forget what type of receiver/bolt machanism they call those, I think same type as a Hakim.
However, I had one. It was a blast to shoot. It has quite a report. Also I found the surplus ammo to be terrible for accuracy. Handloaded ammo was the way to go getting 100 yrd groups to about 2.5 inch.
All surplus ammo is corrosive to the best of my knowledge.
 
I found out this one has the slots for the scope. Does this add significant value or does only having the scope to go with really help? I would like to buy a scope mount and put on a modern scope. Is that possible?
 
I would like to buy a scope mount and put on a modern scope. Is that possible?
Click to expand...

Given enough time and money, most anything is possible.

Probably going to be a custom job and won't be cheap.

BSW
 
I found out this one has the slots for the scope. Does this add significant value or does only having the scope to go with really help? I would like to buy a scope mount and put on a modern scope. Is that possible?
Click to expand...

The grooves milled into the sides of the receiver do not add to the rifle's value as a LOT of them were produced that way.

IIRC, most of the SVT-40s produced during about the first half of their production life were produced with the grooves. Groups were taken out periodically and tested for accuracy. Those that passed the test merely had to have a notch milled in the top rear of the receiver for the scope mount to lock on. After they decided that the SVT-40 did not represent a reliable sniper platform, they saved production resources and stopped milling the grooves in all of the rifles.

The existence of "The Notch", if authentic, on an SVT-40 does increase the value significantly.

I have read that B-Square used to produce a scope mount that would utilize those grooves without requiring the existence of a Notch. You might start by checking on GunBroker periodically for one ... or just Google the thing and maybe you'll get lucky. :)
 
Corrosive ammo users: clean with Montana Xtreme bore cleaner and there's no reason to use water or any extra steps. It's also copper solvent!
 
A range buddy of mine has a couple of SVT-40s. The rifles are really accurate at 100m (never shot them at a longer distance) and a lot of fun to shoot, especially since the ammo is very cheap. I can't tell you in numbers what kind of groups we're shooting, I never measured that, but it rarely takes more that 5 rounds to hit the € coin taped to the X-ring at 100 meters :D I suppose I don't have to tell you about reliability here, it's Russian after all... Cleaning it is a b&/%? according to this guy, so he rarely does and it still works like a charm.
 
Do yourself a big favor and don't fire corrosive primers. If you like military surplus bullets better than what's available in commercially loaded ammunition, pull and load them into inexpensive non-corrosive primed cases. Your rifle will thank you for it. The same procedure works with custom bullets as well...I have found 150 and 174 grain Sierra .311 diameter to be very accurate in the SVT.

I can't comment on the popularity or value of Finnish-capture marked specimens, but an all-matching original without importation marks would command a hefty premium. A marine style stock would add even greater value.
 
Or you can use milsurp ammo and just clean with an appropriate solution like Montana Xtreme. Smells a bit, but no extra steps needed!
 
Someone's got to know more about these markings than I do! Which is only the star means Tula.
 
Check out MN.net or 7.62x54R for arsenal markings
the import mark should be either on the receiver or barrel, I have a gun that must have 1pt font used for the billboard, written on a funny turn of the receiver that literally if you don't know where to look, you won't see it.
 
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