SVT 40 sniper

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In my opinion the Russians designed their SVT 40 scope mount incorrectly. Why pull the scope mount backwards? When firing the scope mount naturally tries to slide forward as the receiver recoils backwards. Their spring/plunger compresses and this causes a bunch of other issues. Like wearing out the rail grooves and cross pin notch. Also zeroing will be difficult and you'll get frustrating flyers on occasion.


So, if your SVT40 has a mint bore, sniper rails and you have a replica scope mount with scope this is a fun project. No notch is needed and I definitely don't recommend making a cross pin notch!

The following modifications will not devalue your rifle.

1. Remove some material from the inside upper edges of the replica mount rail arms to allow the bolt cover to be easily removed and installed when the scope mount is on the receiver. You only need to remove a small amount of material near the front section of each rail on the replica mount.

2. Permanently remove the replica mount spring and plunger assembly. Machine a spacer to replace the spring and plunger. It will be the same diameter as the original plunger, just a bit longer. It will rest solidly against the back of the reciever from now on with no more bouncing. Make sure the spacer length is adequate so you can swing open the back door for the cleaning rod access hole when the mount is installed.

3. Clean the rails and scope mount thoroughly, then reassemble everything with generous amounts of Weicon flex-bond adhesive or equivalent. Apply pressure to keep the scope mount forward towards the muzzle end. Allow it to cure overnight or a few days before firing. The points to apply adhesive are as follows, the new scope mount spacer that replaced the old spring and plunger, rail grooves and especially all gaps between the receiver/scope mount. These gaps will produce a ridiculously stong bond surface once filled and fully cured.

4. When clamping in your fancy SVT40 scope into the mount make sure you slide it toward the muzzle before tightening the clamps. This will ensure it seats firmly against the turret edge stop.

5. If you have a notch you can install the scope mount cross pin, otherwise it is not necessary and just along for the ride.

The mount can be removed in the future but you'll need a block of hardwood and many extremely hard hits on the front of the rail arms (swear words will definitely help a little). This is why I mentioned in step 1 to make sure the gun can be disassembled with the mount installed. (Don't ever attempt to pull the back of the scope mount gussets or pull the scope with brute force because the casting will not hold and probably snap.)
A spray can of brake cleaner and a sharpened popsicle stick can remove all the adhesive once you get the mount removed. I know this because I didn't realize a teardown was impossible until the bolt cover clearance is achieved inside the scope mount. Before you even think about grabbing the can of brake cleaner remove the stock and relocate it far from your work bench.

After full curing the mount will now be very solid with the Weicon adhesive holding it in place and I have no intention of ever removing it.
If my memory is correct it was consistently shooting 4 MOA groups @100yrds with PPU and MFS/Barnaul ammo.

To date, of my milsurps this is my favorite scoped semiautomatic rifle.
 
I have my 1941 Izvesk set up like this except the mods. I I used I used the scope and mount fr9m Westrifle and 8n stalled it 9n my railed rifle looks gorgeous and after sighting in it shoots great at 100 yrds about 3" group took me about 60 shots after starting by missing paper completely. Hoping to refine it a bit more. I'd love to hunt with it next year.

I have reached the dilemma where cleaning this rifle with mount is a challenge so have not dared shoot corrosive thru it.
 
Yeah I don't think I'll be glueing anything to my 2 svt40's, I'll stick to the Corwin Arms picatinny mount and more choice of optics. Holds zero, removes easily for cleaning if shooting corrrosive.
 
DILLIGAF said:
The best thing I ever did was notch it :) No messing around trying to make the scope mount work.
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+1.

I also Filed out the hole in the mount so it lines up with the bottom of the notch and made a new locking pin,so now there is virtually no back and forth movement any more.
 
One can only surmise that the original design was intended to buffer the scope a bit from recoil. With the effective muzzle brake this probably unnecessary and with at least some of the repro mounts, damaging to the notch unless you do what M1-Garand has done. For my replica sniper I filed a shallow notch that the pin fits in very firmly and that works fine. However, there was another issue with this '41 Tula- the axis of the barrel was not adequately aligned with the receiver walls and with the scope zeroed the post was so far left as to be useless. Anyone else run into this? The real original snipers (at least in '41) had barrels selected to work properly such that all of my original snipers show good alignment with any of my repro brackets. If you select a non-sniper that has very poor bore-receiver alignment you may have to physically modify the bracket to make it work.

milsurpo
 
My post is almost bang on center in the scope, Ive read some had to bend the mounts to help center the sight post.

I also filled as little as possible so the mount has zero movement. My only issue was the chin weld...lol... so a bradley cheek rest solved that issue.

I find that all the aftermarket mount options look like crap and take away from the beauty of this riffle. not to mention they all need to be removed for cleaning which in itself is a big fail.

14907272_10154693774083552_2196698694523725028_n.jpg
 
They do look sharp with the intended mount and scope but I wanted something with more magnification than the pu has, I have one on an sks and while I like the size and post reticle on a svt I wanted more, I put a x6 fixed power which I find nicer.
 
ive been very very tempted to remove the spring, from the rear of the mount as you say, but drill and tap the rifle back there, and put 2 8-40 screws in
 
DILLIGAF said:
The best thing I ever did was notch it :) No messing around trying to make the scope mount work.
Click to expand...

I also cut the notch, and it worked great for a while. Unfortunately the mount was slightly out of spec so I ended up having to make a spacer (or three) out of an old paint can opener.

This is by far my favorite rifle that I own, and probably my favorite rifle I've ever shot. And they certainly are very beautiful rifles especially with original or repro mounts and optics.
:cheers:
 
I have put over 2 crates of ammo down the pipe so far. The notch I made was exactly the same size as the cross pin and the mount spring is totally compressed when the pin is inserted. So far no visible damage that I can see. I cold blue the notch so if it was moving it would of wear out the chep cold bluing pretty quick.

It's actually a PITA to remove since everything its so tight. I should be done crate #3 here shortly and will take it appart to check again. I'll make sure to take some pics.

My SVT also runs on 1.2 with no issues. So that also must help a bit since there is less gas slamming the bolt back.
 
The SVT is more fun to shoot than my Cadex. Especially when ringing gongs at 200 yards. Yes I admit it's just a step up from irons, But when you hit the gong 5 out of 5 its a wonderful feeling...lol...

Heck I would put the SVT Repo Sniper right at the top of my list of favorite guns to shoot. Funny how one of my cheapest rifle is the one that gives me the most " bang for buck "

SKS is still at the bottom right after the M38 Garbage rod...lol...
 
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Horilka said:
What was the serious mass-produced army-accepted semi-auto sniper rifle as of 1941?
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I can only think of one on the top of my head. Perhaps there were more? The SVT40 is no Savage Axis II lol even if it can group better with factory out of box. It could still diliver 3 inch accuracy c9nsistantly over about 300 yrds for fora trained marksman. The SVD was based of of the SVT and is an iconic sniper rifle to this day.
 
I have a real sniper with a replica scope and mount, and a replica svt sniper and one with a side mount welded on with a russian 2-10 scope, got to say the Soviets got it right with the origonal, probly my favorite to take out
 
philhut said:
I can only think of one on the top of my head. Perhaps there were more?
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What do you have in mind? As far as I know by 1941 only USSR mass produced semi-auto snipers. It would be fair to mention that German G41 had a mount for ZF40 scope and sometimes they were fitted together, but it's hard to call it "sniper" and "mass produced".
SVT-40 sniper rifle was a huge advance in firearms development history, especially considered how underdeveloped USSR industry was with its very basic machinery and metallurgy.
 
All early sniper rifles were not what we would consider 'serious' sniper rifles today. What we consider 'designated marksmen' are what in the past was considered snipers. They were not the several KM shooting rifles we now have, and accuracy wise many modern hunting rifles out of the box shoot better or equal to some of the early snipers.
 
I was being intentionally vague as we all know SVT 40 was first rifle to sport a mount so essentially all rifles could be scoped. Imagine the marketing to the brass.... you can if equipped with lenses have an entire army of snipers. In WW2 superb accuracy may not have been the be and end all of Russian doctrine. Think SVT40 can land aimed shots approx in a 4 inch circle at 300 to probably 7-12inch circle at 700/800 yards in the hands of a decent shot. In an age where there were still mass charges a whole company equipped with SVT'S could be devastating!

Snipers who lived longer the others obviously would learn the quirks to the rifle and be able to put it to good use. 5 shots over a couple of seconds would be impossible in a Mosin and would require more troops to be as combat effective. This made the svt40 a desirable rifle with scope or not.

Was the SVT 38 equipped with side rails also? Never seen one in real life, only the internet
 
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