So, on Saturday I was "out a visiting" some relatives, mostly looking to get some good gopher time in, but the weather just wasn't co-operating. It was cool and overcast all day, around 8C, and wind gusting from 15-30kph. In that kind of weather, the gophers are smarter than your's truly - they stay cozy inside for the day.
But, I wasn't about to waste the trip. It wasn't raining. So I might as well pull out some IPSC cardboard and get some practice shots in. I had my SVT-40 with me, because I'm entered in a fun shoot with it at the end of June. Which was kinda cocky of me, really, for the following reasons:
I've been shooting, off and on, for about 35-37 years. BUT, it's always been basic farm style shooting. Mostly standing and off the shoulder, or off a fence-post at best. Nothing particularly disciplined. Also, I never bothered buying my own rifles or getting my permits until last year. Big extended redneck family, there was always lots of rifles kicking around when I wanted to go shooting with my cousins. Which, in a way, is both a good and bad thing. I learned to shoot whatever I got handed - open sights, peep sights, scopes, bolts, semis, levers, pumps, random calibres that someone had a box of shells kicking around... You get the idea.
As a result, I've never, as far as I can tell, shot much past 100 yards. Doing that kind of shooting, it just doesn't happen, in my world anyway. I've also developed a fairly quirky shooting style (if it can be called "style" ).
Anyway, the night before I picked up some IPSC targets because I figured I should probably get some practice in if I can, so I don't make a complete fool of myself at the fun shoot. Because the gophers were staying indoors, I had some time to get my practice in. I set up the targets in a really nice natural shooting range out at the place I was visiting, and spent some time faffing around at 100 yards, a bit of prone, a bit off hand. To be honest, I was moderately impressed with the results I was getting, knowing the limits of my own abilities, and I wasn't putting a lot of discipline into it.
Also, I was stalling, because I was bit apprehensive about even trying to hit the target at 200yards with open sights. Eventually, I got over it, and wheeled out 200yards (ish - probably somewhere between 195-205 yards, running a yard wheel across uneven ground isn't super accurate).
So, here are the technical details for anyone I haven't bored away already:
Rifle: 1940 Tula Arsenal - all matching except forced matched bolt and magazine (I double checked this rifle, everything else matches, no x's on the stock, or flat spots on the metal work where old serials were ground away).
Ammo: 1960's production PRC ammo - corrosive FMJ, 180gr, I think, dunno for sure, I don't read Mandarin. The stuff you get cheap by the crate right now at TradeEx
Weather: Cool and windy, 15 gusting to 30kph almost directly 90 degrees left to right.
The Rig: (Click to Enlarge)
The View: (Click to Enlarge)
NB: Yes, the IPSC targets are in frame, just a crappy shot with my Cel Phone. They're basically 15 or 20 feet to the right of the fencline, about 5 feet apart, at the base of where the ground rises up.
Ok, at this point, now I'm worried. The targets are invisible in the photo, but I can see them by the naked eye. If I'd been smart, I would have turned them around to put the white side against the earth-tone background. But I'm not that smart, and left the brown side facing me. I can see them, but d@mn, that's a long ways off, and they look tiny.
But, nothing for it but to do it. I fluff up my back-pack and set the magazine of the SVT on it as a bit of a stabilizing mono-pod, click the battle sight up a notch to 200, take my time, line up, and *crack*... ouch. I had my earplugs in, but did I mention I pretty much only shoot standing off-hand? The SVT's recoil isn't bad that way, but when you're prone and locked in, and that steel buttplate slams into the top of your collarbone, it friggin hurts. I drape my gunsock over my shoulder and line up again. I put the rest of the five round string into one target, reload, take my time with my shots, and put the second string into the second target.
I hope. At this range I have zero idea if I'm hitting anything but the rise in the ground behind the targets - I do see the puffs of dirt. Time to go for a walk.
I hadn't really planned on taking pics (anyone who can read the data on the enlarged pics will see the pics of the view and setup were taken AFTER these two pics), but after walking up to the targets, I just had to:
(Click to Enlarge)
and:
(Click to Enlarge)
What... the... hell...
10 for 10 on paper, and 4 in the "A Box" (I hear that's what the young cool kids call it, so we'll go with that). I was. Well, kinda shocked. The front post on the SVT practically covers the target at that distance. And this is my first time ever trying to shoot at 200 yards.
So, of course, the inevitable happened. I hurried back to my rifle to cut lose a 2nd string of 10 shots. And sucked. Hard. I think I got 5 or 6 on paper. I hadn't settled down after hurrying back, and was a bit excited and winded. Even at a fast walk, I'll need to remember to give myself a chance to settle down and catch my breath before trying to place shots at that distance. No photos of that string, but if you're paying attention and count tape marks, you can figure it out with the 3rd string. Personally, I didn't want the evidence to be too clear.
Anyway. Lesson learned. When I get back to my rifle this time I take a few minutes to have a sip of water and a smoke and settle down a bit. And then let loose two more 5 shot strings - one at each target.
(Click to Enlarge)
and
(Click to Enlarge)
Huh. At first I thought I went 9 for 10, but if you look closely at that second pic, you'll see the middle hole in the D-Ring is actually a figure 8 - two shots. Heck. I got 10 for 10 on paper. Again. This is starting to look like a good day.
So, back to my shooting spot, another sip of water, another smoke. But that only goes so far. I've walked back and forth 200 yards 3 times now, not including setup. It's starting to wear me down a bit. I'll take one more string and call it a day.
(Click to Enlarge)
and
(Click to Enlarge)
9 for 10, and still managed to drop a couple into the "A Box." I'll take it.
Conclusion:
Anyone who says the SVT-40 is an inaccurate rifle, must have got a bad one. For a 74 year old, 1st Gen Semi Auto Battle Rifle, that worked its way through the Eastern Front and then sat in cosmoline for gawd knows how long, this thing can sling them in. In the hands of someone who actually knows what they're doing, I suspect that even at this range, it could be dropping most of them into the A Box.
Keep in mind, it was kinda windy, and the shooter himself (me), has never tried shooting at these kinds of distances before. I think if you get a chance to get one with a good bore and a reasonably tight fitting stock, for the price of them right now, BUY IT. This is an awesome little rifle, and 7.62x54R is a known hard hitter.
Anyway, not that anyone is still reading at this point, but the next time I read someone griping about the SVT being inaccurate and unreliable (BTW: Gas set at "3" - and not a single failure all day, with 120 rounds total fired, including the plinking I did before and after the 200 yard shooting), I'm going to call BS and point at this post. Either they got a bad one (it happens), or they need to better learn the care and maintenance of a vintage rifle, and spend some more time working on their basics.
But, I wasn't about to waste the trip. It wasn't raining. So I might as well pull out some IPSC cardboard and get some practice shots in. I had my SVT-40 with me, because I'm entered in a fun shoot with it at the end of June. Which was kinda cocky of me, really, for the following reasons:
I've been shooting, off and on, for about 35-37 years. BUT, it's always been basic farm style shooting. Mostly standing and off the shoulder, or off a fence-post at best. Nothing particularly disciplined. Also, I never bothered buying my own rifles or getting my permits until last year. Big extended redneck family, there was always lots of rifles kicking around when I wanted to go shooting with my cousins. Which, in a way, is both a good and bad thing. I learned to shoot whatever I got handed - open sights, peep sights, scopes, bolts, semis, levers, pumps, random calibres that someone had a box of shells kicking around... You get the idea.
As a result, I've never, as far as I can tell, shot much past 100 yards. Doing that kind of shooting, it just doesn't happen, in my world anyway. I've also developed a fairly quirky shooting style (if it can be called "style" ).
Anyway, the night before I picked up some IPSC targets because I figured I should probably get some practice in if I can, so I don't make a complete fool of myself at the fun shoot. Because the gophers were staying indoors, I had some time to get my practice in. I set up the targets in a really nice natural shooting range out at the place I was visiting, and spent some time faffing around at 100 yards, a bit of prone, a bit off hand. To be honest, I was moderately impressed with the results I was getting, knowing the limits of my own abilities, and I wasn't putting a lot of discipline into it.
Also, I was stalling, because I was bit apprehensive about even trying to hit the target at 200yards with open sights. Eventually, I got over it, and wheeled out 200yards (ish - probably somewhere between 195-205 yards, running a yard wheel across uneven ground isn't super accurate).
So, here are the technical details for anyone I haven't bored away already:
Rifle: 1940 Tula Arsenal - all matching except forced matched bolt and magazine (I double checked this rifle, everything else matches, no x's on the stock, or flat spots on the metal work where old serials were ground away).
Ammo: 1960's production PRC ammo - corrosive FMJ, 180gr, I think, dunno for sure, I don't read Mandarin. The stuff you get cheap by the crate right now at TradeEx
Weather: Cool and windy, 15 gusting to 30kph almost directly 90 degrees left to right.
The Rig: (Click to Enlarge)
The View: (Click to Enlarge)
NB: Yes, the IPSC targets are in frame, just a crappy shot with my Cel Phone. They're basically 15 or 20 feet to the right of the fencline, about 5 feet apart, at the base of where the ground rises up.
Ok, at this point, now I'm worried. The targets are invisible in the photo, but I can see them by the naked eye. If I'd been smart, I would have turned them around to put the white side against the earth-tone background. But I'm not that smart, and left the brown side facing me. I can see them, but d@mn, that's a long ways off, and they look tiny.
But, nothing for it but to do it. I fluff up my back-pack and set the magazine of the SVT on it as a bit of a stabilizing mono-pod, click the battle sight up a notch to 200, take my time, line up, and *crack*... ouch. I had my earplugs in, but did I mention I pretty much only shoot standing off-hand? The SVT's recoil isn't bad that way, but when you're prone and locked in, and that steel buttplate slams into the top of your collarbone, it friggin hurts. I drape my gunsock over my shoulder and line up again. I put the rest of the five round string into one target, reload, take my time with my shots, and put the second string into the second target.
I hope. At this range I have zero idea if I'm hitting anything but the rise in the ground behind the targets - I do see the puffs of dirt. Time to go for a walk.
I hadn't really planned on taking pics (anyone who can read the data on the enlarged pics will see the pics of the view and setup were taken AFTER these two pics), but after walking up to the targets, I just had to:
(Click to Enlarge)
and:
(Click to Enlarge)
What... the... hell...
10 for 10 on paper, and 4 in the "A Box" (I hear that's what the young cool kids call it, so we'll go with that). I was. Well, kinda shocked. The front post on the SVT practically covers the target at that distance. And this is my first time ever trying to shoot at 200 yards.
So, of course, the inevitable happened. I hurried back to my rifle to cut lose a 2nd string of 10 shots. And sucked. Hard. I think I got 5 or 6 on paper. I hadn't settled down after hurrying back, and was a bit excited and winded. Even at a fast walk, I'll need to remember to give myself a chance to settle down and catch my breath before trying to place shots at that distance. No photos of that string, but if you're paying attention and count tape marks, you can figure it out with the 3rd string. Personally, I didn't want the evidence to be too clear.
Anyway. Lesson learned. When I get back to my rifle this time I take a few minutes to have a sip of water and a smoke and settle down a bit. And then let loose two more 5 shot strings - one at each target.
(Click to Enlarge)
and
(Click to Enlarge)
Huh. At first I thought I went 9 for 10, but if you look closely at that second pic, you'll see the middle hole in the D-Ring is actually a figure 8 - two shots. Heck. I got 10 for 10 on paper. Again. This is starting to look like a good day.
So, back to my shooting spot, another sip of water, another smoke. But that only goes so far. I've walked back and forth 200 yards 3 times now, not including setup. It's starting to wear me down a bit. I'll take one more string and call it a day.
(Click to Enlarge)
and
(Click to Enlarge)
9 for 10, and still managed to drop a couple into the "A Box." I'll take it.
Conclusion:
Anyone who says the SVT-40 is an inaccurate rifle, must have got a bad one. For a 74 year old, 1st Gen Semi Auto Battle Rifle, that worked its way through the Eastern Front and then sat in cosmoline for gawd knows how long, this thing can sling them in. In the hands of someone who actually knows what they're doing, I suspect that even at this range, it could be dropping most of them into the A Box.
Keep in mind, it was kinda windy, and the shooter himself (me), has never tried shooting at these kinds of distances before. I think if you get a chance to get one with a good bore and a reasonably tight fitting stock, for the price of them right now, BUY IT. This is an awesome little rifle, and 7.62x54R is a known hard hitter.
Anyway, not that anyone is still reading at this point, but the next time I read someone griping about the SVT being inaccurate and unreliable (BTW: Gas set at "3" - and not a single failure all day, with 120 rounds total fired, including the plinking I did before and after the 200 yard shooting), I'm going to call BS and point at this post. Either they got a bad one (it happens), or they need to better learn the care and maintenance of a vintage rifle, and spend some more time working on their basics.
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