turn SVT 40 into non semi-auto?

[lansdale]

hi guys,

i´m planning on buying and rebarreling an svt 40 for fun target shooting, not using the 7,62x54r, but dont want to get into the whole problems of making gasport and adjusting the whole system to get the semi auto function to work safe with totally different ammo like .444 marlin.

so my question is: can the svt 40 be used as a straight pull rifle if i rebarrel it with a new barrel without the gasport and gastube?

hope someone can give me some info on this.

 

[LAGS]

Hmmm
A Magazine Fed Single Shot.
I don't see why it wont work.

 

[samort457]

Why not use something other then a SVT-40 to keep it simple. It would be a lot easier and the guns are blast to shoot as they are. I guess you could but I think there would be easier guns to rebarrel and use for intended purposes.

 

[lobo9er]

heres the obvious easy route...
I get it though if you want a project. Would the bolt need to be re-worked? Have you figured that out yet? Be interesting to see it through be more interesting if you get the Gas port working properly though too... Good luck and happy new years!

 

[Jackal]

I hate being this guy:banghead:, but here it goes anyway: Please do not buy a SVT40 specifically to bastardize it. It's a piece of history that should be enjoyed/preserved as such by people that can appreciate its true value and history. Why not just buy a rifle in the caliber you want? A magazine fed, semiauto battle rifle turned single shot plinking gun doesnt sound like a good idea no matter how many adult beverages one consumes.

 

[Devonai]

Maybe they're less expensive and more readily available in Holland? I believe true Russian SVT-40s are subject to the importation ban here in the states.

 

[Vaarok]

There are numerous straight-pull mechanisms that will work much better than a SVT-40's tilting-block action.

 

[barnbwt]

Hey, now guys, he's in Europe. It's only in the US of A that SVTs aren't cheaply available (aren't they about 300$ in Canada?), and it's not like the gun in his country can get here to hold down prices anyway.

That said; making an SVT a semiauto should be as easy as closing the gas valve, I'd think (bearing in mind whether that's possible on the gun or legal where you live). However, IF the larger diameter barrel a 444 would require doesn't interfere with the gas tube assembly, it may be easier to do this as a semi-auto than you think. 444 has lower pressures than 7.62R, but is moving more slowly; this means the gas pressure you have to work with is probably more consistent, and less finicky than a peaky pressure wave.

The original guns were capable of damaging themselves and their stocks if over-gassed, so you'd have to start small when sizing the gas port. Since 444 may kick more than the original chambering, the weak stock may be a limiting factor regardless. I share your dream of a straight-pull big bore brush cannon; I'm rechambering a Steyr M95 to 50 Alaskan

TCB

 

[AethelstanAegen]

I don't understand if this is an attempt at trolling or just a very ill thought out plan. Why in the world would you go out and specifically buy an SVT in order to rebarrel and it make it a straight pull action? Why not just find a rifle in the chambering you want and work with that? It's like asking if it would be possible to buy a vintage Harley Davidson motorcycle, remove the engine and turn it into a bicycle. If you want a bolt action in .444 Marlin, why not just buy a bolt action in .444 Marlin?

 

[dprice3844444]

http://www.ar-10-rifles.com/index.php ar10 in 450 marlin if you want the big bore

 

[lansdale]

thanks for all the replies sofar.

because i´m in europe there are many limitations to which rifles and calibers are available. in europe we aren´t allowed to buy most nice guns

to own a customised large bore svt 40 i actually have to join a gun club in an other country that allows non residents to have a gun license, apply for a license there, and store the weapon at a registered person in that country. (yes thats how problematic things can be here)

svt 40 is very cheap here, there are so many of them from surplus stocks that they are very hard to sell, just like the bolt action mosins. most of them get turned into "no license needed" welded up wallhangers by gun dealers just to make it easier to get rid of them.

i like straigt pull rifles very much, the russian and german biathlon .22 rifles which are ridiculously expensive, and the swiss schmidt rubin rifles. because both of these are a lot harder to get and the swiss ammo is hard to get there´s only one option left, the svt 40. and because of the hassle involved with all the rules it´ll have to be exactly how i want it to be.

i know many people dont like an svt being "customised" but please dont be angry, i would like to lift the US import ban just as much as you.

 

[Gtscotty]

Given the number of hoops you are going to have to jump through just to have this beast, have you considered having some sort of adjustable gas block made? If something like that could be fabricated, it might help you tune your gas flow to the .444 marlin, or, when you want to, turn the gas all the way off for the manual straight pull effect.

 

[dvdcrr]

Shoot corrosive ammo through it for a couple years and never clean the gas system. It will turn itself into a single shot.

 

[Adam123]

People do it with other semi-autos. I am sure it can be done with a SVT-40. Just don't drill a gas port in your new barrel.

 

[fpgt72]

I see where you are coming from, but here in the states it is a bit different....I would suggest that you talk to some folks in the club you joined I am sure they know of someone first hand that has been down this road....here a bad SVT will go for around $1000 and a SVT 38 is well north of that, they have real value here so finding someone in the US that has done this....well I doubt you will find it. I know that in Canada they had someone up there years ago that converted them to 303 british (badly I might add)...might do a little research on that.

This just goes to show how different things are in other parts of the world.

I did quite a bit of leg work on seeing just what it would take to get a handful of rifles from Canada into the US. We are talking about 5 or less rifles...the rifles I was looking at are a few different models of SSD or Sport system dittrich. First I will tell you that yes it could be done....second I would say it would be much more inexpensive and faster to buy your first NFA gun.

 

[Jackal]

svt 40 is very cheap here, there are so many of them from surplus stocks that they are very hard to sell, just like the bolt action mosins. most of them get turned into "no license needed" welded up wallhangers by gun dealers just to make it easier to get rid of them.

You sir, just made me cry....