SVT reliability

manbearpig

manbearpig

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
72   0   0
Location
Somewhere in the Third World
i own a couple SVTs but never really fired them much, mainly because i hate shooting corrosive in a semi-auto.... but also partly because of all the internet hype about them being very fragile and prone to failure/breakage. most of the time i just shoot the 7.62x54r in my Mosins instead.

has anyone here put several thousand rounds through an SVT-40? just how sturdy are they? is the 'fragility' thing a myth simply born of equipping ham-handed peasants who were used to the indestructible Mosins with a complex semi-auto and little training? the SVTs were highly prized by the Finns and Germans after all, so how bad can they be? has anyone here actually had parts break on them?

and if so, any particular parts that are prone to breakage that i should pick up a spare for?
 
manbearpig said:
i own a couple SVTs but never really fired them much, mainly because i hate shooting corrosive in a semi-auto.... but also partly because of all the internet hype about them being very fragile and prone to failure/breakage. most of the time i just shoot the 7.62x54r in my Mosins instead.

has anyone here put several thousand rounds through an SVT-40? just how sturdy are they? is the 'fragility' thing a myth simply born of equipping ham-handed peasants who were used to the indestructible Mosins with a complex semi-auto and little training? the SVTs were highly prized by the Finns and Germans after all, so how bad can they be? has anyone here actually had parts break on them?

and if so, any particular parts that are prone to breakage that i should pick up a spare for?
Click to expand...

The "fragile thing" hangs around like fart in a phone booth.
It's usually cited as the reason they remained limited issue in the Red Army but expense and a relatively complicated mechanism/difficult field stripping/manufacturing issues etc may be more at the heart of it. It remained issue for NCOs and specialist troops throughout the war.

As usual, extractors in semi-auto rifles are a weak point and vulnerable to wear/breakage. The hand guard and stock of the SVT are not strong compared with other designs but a mid war redesign of the stock to beef up the wrist area and retro fitting stock bolts at the wrist of older stocks was carried out to remedy this. The piston rod is multi piece and thin making it prone to bending if struck hard from the side. The gas regulator is not easily or readily adjustable and the regulator itself is small and easily lost.

For what it is, the SVT works well enough if properly maintained and used with ammo of good quality.
 
eos said:
The "fragile thing" hangs around like fart in a phone booth.
It's usually cited as the reason they remained limited issue in the Red Army but expense and a relatively complicated mechanism/difficult field stripping/manufacturing issues etc may be more at the heart of it. It remained issue for NCOs and specialist troops throughout the war.

As usual, extractors in semi-auto rifles are a weak point and vulnerable to wear/breakage. The hand guard and stock of the SVT are not strong compared with other designs but a mid war redesign of the stock to beef up the wrist area and retro fitting stock bolts at the wrist of older stocks was carried out to remedy this. The piston rod is multi piece and thin making it prone to bending if struck hard from the side. The gas regulator is not easily or readily adjustable and the regulator itself is small and easily lost.

For what it is, the SVT works well enough if properly maintained and used with ammo of good quality.
Click to expand...


This is what I have read too, additionally, the general lack of (if any at all) training with reg Russian soldiers was a major factor for not using the SVT's as a common weapon. Properly cleaned and maintained it's a great rifle. BTW parts are very hard to find for them.

Pete
 
The only real wear related problem that might occur to SVT is caused by the bolt striking the rear wall of the receiver, which causes receiver to bend slightly, which causes ejection problems. Usually when you have to crank the gas regulator to 1.5 this is an indication that something along those lines is happening. Other than that and already mentioned above - SVT is a workhorse.
 
At that time, SVT was a high-tech. :)

The condition in WWII Russian played a important roll. A solider would stay unsupported in -40 degree battlefield for who knows how long.

My SKS wouldn't shot in -20 last winter - it's my fault since I used normal oil on it.

I can't image how to clean a SVT in Russian winter.
 
svt-40 said:
The only real wear related problem that might occur to SVT is caused by the bolt striking the rear wall of the receiver, which causes receiver to bend slightly, which causes ejection problems. Usually when you have to crank the gas regulator to 1.5 this is an indication that something along those lines is happening. Other than that and already mentioned above - SVT is a workhorse.
Click to expand...

couldnt you manufacture some sortof recoil buffer to minimize this? or would it affect function?

hopefully my stocks dont break - theyre early war models - but then again im not intending to run around clubbing Germans with the butt.

i suppose if something like the piston rod broke it wouldnt be too difficult to manufacture a new one - you could even improve on the original with a slightly beefed up stainless one if you primarily intend to just shoot it.

the extractor, as far as semis go, looks pretty beefy already. do they really break that often? is there a source for replacements?
 
michaelsabre said:
At that time, SVT was a high-tech. :)

The condition in WWII Russian played a important roll. A solider would stay unsupported in -40 degree battlefield for who knows how long.

My SKS wouldn't shot in -20 last winter - it's my fault since I used normal oil on it.

I can't image how to clean a SVT in Russian winter.
Click to expand...

The Red Army issued a "winter" lubricant of kerosene/oil mixture.
 
A lot of the "fragile" musings are from the earlier SVT-38. The wrist of the stock was thinner and the bolt was heavier making for a breakage prone combination. Another "fragile" point comes from the AVT - the full-auto version of the SVT-40. On full-auto it had a tendency to chew up extractors. It got to the point that a soldier issued with the AVT was only allowed to switch to full-auto with a direct order from his superior officer and then only under the direst of circumstances. Under normal use the SVT-40 is plenty robust for most circumstances. Ammo of consistant power will go a long way to prolonging the life of these rifles.
 
Last edited:
The fluted chamber is going to play hell with good brass. You'd likely only get a few reloadings from the cases before the necks are unusable. If you are not going to reload then it won't matter to much.
 
I've heard that Igman ammo is bad for semi-autos... More so with the AG-42's. So I'm not sure about the SVT's. It's something you may want to look into.
 
These flutings... can they be... dealt with?

Seems they were made to make extraction easier, but on a well cleaned and maintained barrel could they be smoothed down a bit to be easier on brass?
 
H Wally said:
These flutings... can they be... dealt with?

Seems they were made to make extraction easier, but on a well cleaned and maintained barrel could they be smoothed down a bit to be easier on brass?
Click to expand...

The fluting was intended to assist extraction during a time when ammo quality was iffy at best. I've only seen it on 1940-41 rifles. I would guess that ammo quality improved thereafter. My 1943 Tula lacks the flutes.
 
eos said:
The fluting was intended to assist extraction during a time when ammo quality was iffy at best. I've only seen it on 1940-41 rifles. I would guess that ammo quality improved thereafter. My 1943 Tula lacks the flutes.
Click to expand...

So that begs the question - are they all tough on brass? Is it the fluting that did it or just the action in general?
 
Snow Dog said:
The fluted chamber is going to play hell with good brass. You'd likely only get a few reloadings from the cases before the necks are unusable. If you are not going to reload then it won't matter to much.
Click to expand...

I don't see how the fluting hurts the cases, it equalize the pressure around it for extraction... The only damage to the case are the ocasional ding on the body from bouncing around after been spited at mach 2.5 out of the chamber. The necks are fine and do get real dirty though. If people can reload for HK91 and CETME with success, why not the SVT ?
 
The fluting hammers out real nice the first time you run the brass into a full-length sizing die. No problem at all.

Keep the gas adjusted for the ammo you are using, keep your loads relatively sane and there should be no real troubles.

I've seen them shot at the Battle iof the Bulge at CFB Shilo in -30 and worse and never a prob.

Kero and gas for oil: same mix they used to use in the Harleys!
You would not BELIEVE what those things hadta take!
 
smellie said:
You would not BELIEVE what those things hadta take!
Click to expand...

I can see why all the ones that come to our shores are post-war refurbished, the eastern front must have been muddy version of hell.

My rifle cycles fine with igman on 1.3. But in whatever setting it does jam from time to time in a particular way: Case gets extracted, and get jammed between the carrier and the receiver where the rod extension protrudes BUT a fresh round is chambered. I believe that my operating rod isn't perfectly straight & long enough. I think I should make a new one out of stainless steel and trim to time it to the bolt carrier.
 
The Soviets were known for a lot of things in their manafacturing over the years, but making something that could be called "fragile" wasn't one of them.
 
The only thing to be aware of is that, like many first generation battle rifles, the SVT can slam fire using modern commercial ammo.

Yes, I have owned SVT-40s, and yes, I have had them slam fire. One was an early orignal Tula, and the other was a Mohawk (Global) conversion to .303 British. disturbing, what?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom