There was a can opener in the lid, I used that. It was easy. My 1yr old was "helping" me when I popped the lid, so I never got a look at the underside.
I've gotten good at opening 7.62x39 crates, this was much easier. I was thinking it would be harder.
Been wiping down the SVT, it appears to be an SVT 38 rebuilt to 40 spec, with an AVT 40 stock. Good history there, even if it looks like a parts bin. Mag is chopped, for anybody thinking of buying from Badger. This is not even close to the gun I was promised, but I'm keeping it for the reasons given above.