new to svt 40, ammo question

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duceman

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buddy of mine just bought an svt40 at an auction, supposedly new. 1941 manufacture.
we gave it a cleaning and went to the range to have some fun. buddy bought a crate of russian ammo at nosale in calgary.
first few rounds went through no problem, ejecting well. then a few stovepiped on occasion. we adjusted the gas plug one notch and solved this problem for the rest of the session, about 60 rds.
got the front sight lined up and shot a couple 1 1/2" groups at 100m, quite impressed.
all the markings on the crate and cans are in russian, just wondering if this ammo is corrosive as well, we assume so and will clean accordingly, but curious if all the surplus is corrosive. the 7.62x39 i bought years ago was, but was clearly marked on the packaging, lee.
 
AFAIK all of our surplus 54R is corrosive.

Post up some pics of the rifle - it'd be interesting to see an SVT that isn't a refurbed bitsa (bitsa this rifle, bitsa that rifle).
 
"...if all the surplus is corrosive..." I think all Soviet ammo used corrosive primers. Ivan's bosses didn't care about anything but the cost. Isn't a big deal anyway. Just flush the barrel and gas system with hot water before regular cleaning.
 
cool, thanks guys, we were just curious, i often see ammo offered in military calibers in bulk advertised as non-corrosive, but maybe not surplus stuff, lee
 
duceman said:
supposedly new.
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There are no new SVTs out there, unless maybe you dig under the Tula factory and find a bunker with a forgotten one in it. They were all used very heavily in the War, and continued in use afterwards for training, policing the POW camps, and little skirmishes as they were being replaced by newer rifles.

Most of them are new since factory re-furbishment, which is a thorough going over as they were pulled out of service and put into long-term storage; it's actually more desireable to find one that was *not* over-hauled (original condition vet bring-back), or captured by the enemy (Germany and Finland, though they may have done some repair work as well), as they are much rarer.

all the markings on the crate and cans are in russian, just wondering if this ammo is corrosive as well, we assume so and will clean accordingly, but curious if all the surplus is corrosive.
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All surplus 7,62x54R is corrosive (unless some nation releases a new supply on the market — my credit card will run up in a flash in that case). You can buy different types of commercial ammo that are not corrosive, either soft point or FMJ, steel or re-loadable brass cases. The fluted chamber of the SVT leaves the fired case in crazy shape, but that doesn't kill it; you can still re-size it and it will work, just probably not for as many firings.

For the markings, take a look at the picture below, it explains a lot. If you poke around the site [7.62x54r.net] they have lots more info on the various military cartridges (it's a site for the Mosin-Nagant rifles, which use the same round).

AP0022.jpg
 
I was looking at a SVT 40 in a store friday night. The fellow told me it took SKS rounds and never having heard of one let alone seeing one I believe him. Get home and find it takes a real rifle round. DUH.
 
thanks for the reply and great info red. i should have been more clear on the term 'new'. seems quite clean and tight, wood is in good shape. the rifle doesn't look like what one would expect of one that saw active service.
pleasure to shoot, but i still much prefer my garand. lee
 
They are nasty accurate. I dropped a few deer with mine. Drops them dead on the spot. You can get soft points in 200 grains.
 
Don't even get me started on hunting with svts.. My buddy and I both have one and last fall we snuck up on some deer (about 100 yards away) and hid in a drainage ditch, counted to 3, and did something similiar to a bayonet charge except we both took a couple shots as we were sprinting across a field at these deer. Well it worked cause we both got one... Gotta have fun sometimes lol
 
Sounds like a good time was had ! LOL
mrbeil said:
Don't even get me started on hunting with svts.. My buddy and I both have one and last fall we snuck up on some deer (about 100 yards away) and hid in a drainage ditch, counted to 3, and did something similiar to a bayonet charge except we both took a couple shots as we were sprinting across a field at these deer. Well it worked cause we both got one... Gotta have fun sometimes lol
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