Opinions please on the SVT-40

MapleSugar

MapleSugar

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For you fellows that have an SVT-40, I'm curious as to what you think of them.

A friend of mine is thinking of buying one, and I can't offer much advice on them.

How do you find them for reliability and durability?

He wants a semi-auto rifle for deer and moose hunting, and I am more inclined to advise him to buy a Polytech M14.
 
MapleSugar said:
For you fellows that have an SVT-40, I'm curious as to what you think of them.

A friend of mine is thinking of buying one, and I can't offer much advice on them.

How do you find them for reliability and durability?

He wants a semi-auto rifle for deer and moose hunting, and I am more inclined to advise him to buy a Polytech M14.
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They're not the easiest to clean. Too many parts to deal with, too hard to take apart IMHO.
I agree with your advice.
 
Use light ball 147gr non corrosive ammo and the cleaning problem goes away.

After that, they're really neat interesting rifles and can be quite accurate with hand loads. They are long, cumbersome and a bit unwieldy. Parts are sometimes hard to come by.

If you all ready have one, and understand it's limitations, by all means, use it.

If you don't have one and want a hunting rifle, then get an M14.
 
I'm a big fan of svt-40 rifle. Its true that they require proper maintenance to function properly and tey have many parts to clean, especialy if you fire corrosives ammos. But if well maintained,they function in any climates. The gas cylinder must be kept tight so the the gas adjustment valve will hold his setting. For most applications, the 1.5 setting work great. The svt-40 is quite accurate,depend of the rifle or course, and recoil is ok. Sure for hunting, the m14 in 308 is a better choice for ammo avalaibility. I know that somes fellows gunnutz wont like me but i prefer 2 russian svt than 1 chinese m14 but to be fair i never have an norc m14. I love russian made rifles anyway.:D
 
just got my svt40 a few weeks ago, shoots fine, but as for hunting with it I have a M14/M305 Norinco that I would rather use.

But then I have a good selection of modern hunting rifles to go hunting with.
 
I find it to be a very accurate and pleasant rifle to shoot.

If you plan to hunt with it, I don't see it practical for active hunting in the bush. Open country is a different story as the rifle is surprisingly light and well balanced.

Disassembly is only necessary if you shoot Corrosive ammo. These rifles prefer a 150 grain round.

I have to admit I've been spoiled by my sniper.

P1030797.jpg
 
I love my SVT-40 and the recoil is actually quite light thanks to that big muzzle brake, but if I was looking for a hunting rifle it would be the M305.
 
MapleSugar said:
He has a bad neck, so he doesn't want to get pounded by heavy recoil.

I wonder which rifle kicks the least.
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Well, why didn't you say so?:D

If he wants to hunt moose and deer with a milsurp that doesn't kick very much then he should be looking at an M96 or M38 Swede Mauser in 6.5x55. Generally very accurate, light recoil, flat shooting and does a great job on moose with 160gr bullets and deer with 130-140gr bullets.

Mark
 
R005t3r said:
I find it to be a very accurate and pleasant rifle to shoot.

If you plan to hunt with it, I don't see it practical for active hunting in the bush. Open country is a different story as the rifle is surprisingly light and well balanced.

Disassembly is only necessary if you shoot Corrosive ammo. These rifles prefer a 150 grain round.

I have to admit I've been spoiled by my sniper.

P1030797.jpg
Click to expand...

Beautiful rifle, is the scop et al all original?
 
Ok. SVT question... I cannot find ANY military spitzer loaded NON corrosive! My rifle WILL NOT feed hunting ammo, such as PRVI Partisan due to the bullet types, and for some reason, I could not get dies to work for it. Lost cause. Love this rifle for all it's faults, firing corrosive '89 czech ammo. Does anyone know a good source for non corrosive jacketed/non softpoint bullets? Reasonably priced too? I am hoping to retire this rifle for shooting and get back to the Mosin Nagants, they are just so much easier to clean. Field stripping the SVT without tools is a nightmare. If you want to hunt, I suggest a simpler design.
 
In general, semi-autos have less recoil than bolt action rifles because of the movement of the working parts counteracting the recoil. In spite of its light weight, I found that my SVT-40 has softer recoil than a few other milsurp semi-autos of comparable caliber that I tried on the same day.

The gas system is a little more complicated to take apart than most, but like anything, once you have done it a couple of times, its not a problem. At least you don't need any special tools.

Keep in mind these are very old rifles that were made with variable quality control, have been through a war (or more), rebuilt and kept in storage for decades. Some of these rifles are more accurate than others, and I've heard some have a problem with separated casings.

At the moment, the real problem with the SVT is finding any ammo to shoot, corrosive or not.
 
You should be able to find a good SVT for under $400. Anything under that is a good deal. I find it to have mild recoil and it's a pleasure to shoot. It is a classic for sure. Maintenace is a little bit more intensive, but that's the fun of owning this rifle. Get one while you can. They are not made anymore, and there's only so many to go'round.
 
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