SVT-40 and Stainless Gas Parts

[grelmar]

I dont think I will get one, mine runs perfect on 1.2 and i'm worried about overgassing.

I think the people who have their gas set to 1.5 and up could be due to a loose seal from wear and tear on their original fittings. Would have still passed refurb as "within tolerance". Just guessing though.

When I ran mine after swapping out the factory for the stainless steel fittings, the brass was flying about the same distance as always, no noticeable change, and I have mine set to 1.3

Anyway... If your gun runs fine, sometimes it's worth it to resist temptation to mess with it. Why fix what ain't broke? I swapped mine to prevent wear and tear over the long haul.

 

[red_bailey]

Haven't tried the stainless steel gas piston and cup that Corwin Arms is selling from the Russians, but I've been running the one Bill Berg makes in the U.S.A. for several years in one of my rifles. (Corwin's is the cheaper option now.) Works very well, but I don't know that I can say it works better; it's just there for peace of mind. You're still going to have to flush the regulator screw and tiny barrel hole, and clean the operating rod, as well as at least rinsing off the new stainless parts, so it's not a maintenance-free solution.

Most SVTs you pick fresh from the crate will have blue *over* old pitting on the gas parts. This is because they were refurbished for storage after production stopped with no real stock of spare parts. And because they weren't meticulously stripped bare and cleaned daily during the siege of Leningrad; take care of your rifle!

Teflon® tape on the threads as you re-assemble the gas system might stop pressure bleeding off and get you running more smoothly at a low gas setting (it's like 98¢ for ten kilometres of the stuff).

 

[marc_j]

The numeric values on the gas system correspond to the gas passage orifice size in millimeters (1.2 = 1.2 mm passage hole). The number corresponds to the passage exactly opposite (i.e. on the "bottom" side)

It isn't important what setting your SVT functions on provided you can complete this simple exercise. Start with the gas setting on 1.1 and fire a round; in most cases, the casing will not be extracted/ejected fully. Turn up the gas one increment at a time until the action cycles properly. Any setting of 1.2, 1.3 1.5 is fine.

A setting of 1.1 means that the possibility of too much energy transfer to the recoil system exists. Whether this is a problem depends on the type of ammunition you are using. In general, military surplus ammunition is a about as "hot" as you will find so if you did the test with milsurp the rifle should cycle on commercial ammunition at a higher setting.

A setting of 1.7 leaves no room for adjustment for different ammunition, environmental conditions, cleanliness etc. If you did the test with milsurp you may have issues with lower energy commercial ammunition. Check the gas passage (from the barrel to the gas system) for obstructions. Make sure the piston rod is straight and moves freely.

SVTs were fairly delicate as far as military firearms go. Operating on the minimum setting that provides proper function minimizes the stress on the components. Replacement parts are hard to find, and expensive, so it pays to take care to avoid damage.

 

[crashcollins]

Haven't tried the stainless steel gas piston and cup that Corwin Arms is selling from the Russians, but I've been running the one Bill Berg makes in the U.S.A. for several years in one of my rifles. (Corwin's is the cheaper option now.) Works very well, but I don't know that I can say it works better; it's just there for peace of mind. You're still going to have to flush the regulator screw and tiny barrel hole, and clean the operating rod, as well as at least rinsing off the new stainless parts, so it's not a maintenance-free solution.

Most SVTs you pick fresh from the crate will have blue *over* old pitting on the gas parts. This is because they were refurbished for storage after production stopped with no real stock of spare parts. And because they weren't meticulously stripped bare and cleaned daily during the siege of Leningrad; take care of your rifle!

Teflon® tape on the threads as you re-assemble the gas system might stop pressure bleeding off and get you running more smoothly at a low gas setting (it's like 98¢ for ten kilometres of the stuff).

They actually look new one of my rifles, they were still full of grease with no evidence of being fired at all and no bluing over pitting. And yes I do have several sets to compare to that have been used. I think it might have been possible that there was at least some new parts availability when these rifles were refurbed. Not sure how else to explain a like new unfired cup, spigot and gas nut. Unless they had to do a run of new parts for refurb.

 

[ilikeoldguns]

Tried mine out and they work fine, but about the same. i was hoping for an improvement. On stripping; they seemed loose, so I will try and get some of that teflon tape which was mentioned.