SVT40 Receiver Cover Mods

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Rayleigh_Scattering

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Under the arch
A while back I mounted a home-made picatinny rail to the top of my receiver cover. The joint between the cover and the rail is great, the one between the cover and the receiver slots not so much. I knew it was loose, but I figured that for a red dot sight within 100m it would be good enough.

It wasn't. Not even close.

Looking around I saw some elegant options for mounting a scope, but a quick check of my wallet told me they weren't on the horizon yet.

So I took a look at the interface between the cover and the receiver to see if it could be tightened up. As before I was reluctant to do anything that would irreversibly change the metalwork (although not as much as before).

What I ended up doing (similar to the magazine feed lips) is to attach blobs of solder to the receiver cover in 3 locations on each side, and then file them down so that they just filled up the clearance between the cover and the receiver.

Instructions_zps22ayyxsm.png


The sketch is misleading, as the actual remaining thickness of the lead is very small (maybe 0.010") or less.

The finished object looks like this:

Mounted_zpsnko34ezy.jpg


I left the recently-acquired scope attached for the photo, mostly because there's no reason to take it off.

The best close-up I was able to get through improvised lensing is:

Close-up_zpsdu1kgiwg.png


Now the cover is a snug sliding fit on the receiver, and there is no detectable free play between the two (which probably limits it to <0.002" as I could likely detect that).

Once the mother-in-law arrives for the holidays I'll head out to the range to try it out. I am hopeful.

Also, I like the way it looks, boogery fuel tank sealant and all.

IMG_1285_zpsgbafklqm.jpg


The consistent pattern of horizontal lines works well with the shaping of the receiver.

Not as cool as the OEM mount, but cheaper, and it gives me more flexibility about what optics I want to mount.

Also, note the single wrap of electrical tape that stopped the magazine from wobbling side-to-side.
 
Hate to be Debbie downer, but I think you find your POI will vary from shot to shot. The recoil spring from the bolt directly attaches to the cover. Any movement for a scope mount is not ideal.
 
I give you a A+ for effort! let us know how she performs. Like the SKS, a receiver cover mount that is made tight, may hold zero good enough to compliment a red dot. But ive never witnessed them work out precision wise when it comes to scopes.
 
Dyspnea said:
Hate to be Debbie downer, but I think you find your POI will vary from shot to shot. The recoil spring from the bolt directly attaches to the cover. Any movement for a scope mount is not ideal.
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Ditto. Yeah, after seeing the hard work I have to admire the OP's effort but I can't see that holding zero from shot to shot. The godless Soviets side-mounted for a reason.
 
If that fails I highly recommend the rail Corwin arms sells as you have the rails on your reciever, it's rock solid and retains zero when removed for cleaning. It's worth every penny imho.
 
Butcherbill said:
If that fails I highly recommend the rail Corwin arms sells as you have the rails on your reciever, it's rock solid and retains zero when removed for cleaning. It's worth every penny imho.
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Pretty much this. Why re-invent the wheel when a good pic-rail system, that works, already exists? And doesn't involve any permanent mods to a historical rifle?
 
Y'alls were right. It came loose after a few dozen rounds.

Looks like the extra weight on the receiver cover caused it to slide back and forth during recoil, which then planed off the lead shims.

On the bright side, before that happened I got some very pretty groupings, which convinced me that the rifle itself is capable of consistently hitting the same thing repeatedly (within reasonable expectations).

IMG_1301_zpsvrbbxzxy.jpg


The five circled were all intended to hit the cross. Their dispersion and accuracy correspond pretty much to what I believe is my ability to point the thing (while laying in the snow, squeezing the looooong trigger, with the front propped up on a folded-in-half soft case).

One of my favourite "back in school" jokes is when I tell people I graduated with a GPA of 3.56, then pause, and then mention that this was on a 9 point scale. It's interesting to watch their face/body language change as they figure it out.

Similarly, I'll disclose that the above pattern was at 25m, not 100m. My logic was that as long as the bullets are going down-range point first, the dispersion will scale linearly with distance. I correct for drop based on an assumed 730m/s muzzle velocity.

Subsequent groups got progressively worse. The next 5 were good, then worse, then awful.

So the SVT itself, once I figure out how to mount the scope, can do what I want it to. Now I just have to save up for, or clever out, a better scope mount.

Also, 2 misfires. In both cases the primer fired on the second strike. They may not like -20C.

And now Homestead is closed. *Sigh*
 
Sorry to hear it failed, grab one of Corwin Arms picatinany rails. It's the best mount, easy to install and remover for cleaning. Well worth the money and you don't have to permanently alter the rifle, easy to return to original.
 
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