SVT40 Maintenance job

Fun vid! American gunsmiths know so little about these! There’s just not enough of them down there for them to even care. I enjoyed him finding out all the SVT40 secrets as the video goes on.
 
I wonder what this fellow charged for the work. In the US typical refurbs cost in the $1000 (US) range so I guess it could be justified. Main takeaway for SVT users is that the gas system has to be disassembled and fully cleaned every time you use it with corrosive ammo. It only adds a few minutes to a cleanup. The rusting in the chamber that he figured led to the stuck casing probably also could have been prevented with better cleaning. I was a bit surprised that he didn't just replace the piston and cylinder as those parts seem to be available and, particularly if it's a refurb, the value won't be affected by replacing minor parts.
Note that the 2 setting on the gas regulator is something you see on Finn captured SVT 40s. Couldn't see any other details clearly enough.

milsurpo
 
The SVT40 was basically a very good rifle,its weakness was that it was too complicated to maintain for the average Soviet soldier,probably never got any training how to clean it including the gas system,especially since all ammo in those days was corrosive.
On this video it really shows how a case can get stuck in the chamber and how rusty the gas piston and cylinder had become.
Of course all gas operated guns would suffer likewise but the Germans really liked the SVT40 and used them a lot against their former owners.
They liked them so much that they copied the gas system in their G43/K43 rifles.
The one rifle that would not have suffered that much from neglect would have been the 1941 Johnson since it had no gas system,just a recoiling barrel that could be removed for cleaning in a matter of seconds,but it came on the scene too late and was never accepted by the US military.
As a matter of fact it may never have been produced if it wasn't for the large Dutch order for their colonial army in what is now Indonesia.
 
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