SVT-40 bullet grain weight

skookumchuck

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Picked up some 148 grain surplus yesterday and was informed by the vendor that it's too heavy for my SVT-40 and should only be used in my bolt guns. I don't know that there's a lighter bullet available in x54. Is buddy on glue or will this stuff damage my gun?
 
Your vendor is full of kack . All I've ever shot is 150, 180, and 205 grain out of my SVT. The Soviets never made a rounds in X54 smaller than 150gr(147) that I've ever seen. Does your vendor live in his Mom's basement and play video games?

Your SVT40 has no problems shooting heavy rounds, and certainly no problem shooting standard Soviet issue military cartridges.
 
A rifle chambered for 7.62x54r will shoot 7.62x54r cartridges & their various bullet weights just fine!

Was it Wholesale Sports that told you the bull?
 
Your vender is on glue. (Probably some punk kid or washed up shoe salesman that should have stuck to burger flipping or shoe selling)
The SVT-40 was a soviet military weapon, as such it was designed to shoot soviet millitary ammunition.

The silver tipped 147gr light ball projectile is a hollow copper washed steel jacketed FMJ with a partial core made of lead.
The actual size of the bullet is that of a 180 to 200gr bullet but due to its hollow core it is in fact lighter. This means that the 1:9.4 twist rate stabilizes the lighter bullets the same as it does the heavier bullets and there is no loss in accuracy from excessive bullet jump since the outside dimensions are all the same.
The other interesting thing with this ammo is that when the bullet impacts a target the lead core shifts inside the jacket or the jacket bends causing its flightpath to yaw and become very erratic (increasing damage)

180gr (yellow tip) Heavy ball bullets were designed for maxim machine guns but would serve in a Mosin Nagant or SVT just fine.

The only Millitary ammo that was any lighter than silver tiped 147gr light ball was the 7N 145 gr sniper round and the 126gr tracer round
Neither of which were the SVT designed around.
 
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Yup. Mine eats 174 and 203 just fine.

It's a Soviet battle rifle - you're going to have to try much, MUCH harder if you want to actually hurt the thing!
 
Yeah that's BS for sure. Set your SVT to the lowest gas setting that it will reliably cycle to reduce violent cycling. Thanks ciphery for those extras little tidbits of info.
 
From what I've read the SVT38's were a little bit frail in regards to some of the components....which is why the SVT40 was made.
The frailty of the 38's were not a function of the ammo but a design flaw. Now light powder puff reloads would probably keep the 38's from showing their week points but.....
For information on soviet ammo check out; 7.62x54r net
You won't find much on SVT rifles there but all 7.62x54R ammo is detailed
 
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The vendor is actually a site sponsor and the guy behind the counter has been working there for as long as I've been shopping there so I didn't want to blow him off as a half wit without some research. This stuff is not silver tipped but the box says, Army Surplus / 1967 bullet FMJ/9,6 g/148grs. While I have the attention of some that know, is there a good resource for information about bullets. The terms used are a bit bewildering, boat tail, spritzer, light ball, heavy ball and then all the abbreviations.
 
The Soviets stuck to simple loading terms and kept as few possible types of ammo possible so it would work in all the guns. Regardless of silvertip or otherwise, standard surplus rounds are what your svt40 were made to shoot. I have my SVT40 sighted in with 203 grain bullets and never changed it back. Thats all I shoot now. 150gr surplus is a walk in the park for your rifle.

Maybe the site vendor should explain himself or speak to his employees about more work and less talk?
 
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