So Im eying an svt40 and would like to know what to look for to help me gauge a fair price.
It would be for shooting yet I would also like it for its value in my collection.

BORE CONDITION. make sure it wasnt rode hard and put away wet after shooting corrosive ammo.

I have a typical russian refurbished SVT-40, if I had the choice I would take prefer either a non refurbished SVT40, or a Finnish captured SVT40

make sure its not missing ANY parts, look for cracks in the stock or hand guard.

you can still find them for a decent price if you are patient. I got one in 2013 for $850, which is "decent" but not a steal. everyone is trying to get 1000-1100+ for one online nowadays or at the gun shows around here.

Somewhere along the line with my SVT40 somebody decided it didnt need the cleaning rod, safety switch or rear sling swivel anymore    My stock just so happened to require a swivel which screws into the bottom of the stock, not the more common sling slots cut into the stock. It took 2 months, a billion calls and emails around the country before I finally found a spare swivel in Canada.... thats why I suggest making sure you get a complete rifle

I would post pics before buying if possible

Make sure you have good hearing protection. SVT's are LOUD. And fun as hell.

Yea so right now it's just IM back and forth since the seller is out of state. He's throwing out $1400, $1300. Doesn't seem to be many on GB when I look and they are a tad under that range when they are. Granted...doesn't mean they are actually selling at that price.

So far these are all I've seen. I have asked for better pictures and closer up so I can zoom for details.
Guess we'll see if he provides. The description of it is 'excellent bore with 1 mag and a b-square mount for glass. straight shooter and fun. Also says all matching except for the mag.






Looks nice :-)

That's the type of sling swivel on the butt stock that took me two months to find. I wouldn't pay more than $950/ 1000 TOPS if I were you. Be patient.

Looks like a refurb. It would be nice to know what arsenal and date. It looks to be in good shape. However with all that build up around the muzzle and gas port area I would want to see how bad the bore and piston parts are. It does not look like he cleans it very much/well. I would use that and try to get him down to $1000 or so.

Parts are not easy to find as mentioned. I believe someone was selling chrome piston parts at some point.

Mine always gets a cleaning after shooting. It is not hard and there are some good how to vids and sites out there.

I only have some bad, old pics of my SVT. It's a Izhevsk 1941 Finn capture. I'll make a post about it when I get some better pics.

The pic is about ten years old and that is a "Krinkov" sling on it.

Watch out for the spring when you take it apart.  I can still see the scar on my arm.

I believe the slotted version is the Naval version, which is actually rarer.

That is correct. The loop swivels are far more common.

weird, in person ive seen the opposite. I guess at shows over the years ive typically seen the slot swivels. I couldnt believe how hard it was to find a screw in swivel, I even thought about using an SKS one but those have a different design.

They are loud and honestly i always thought a pain to clean.
 I bought 3 of them when they first hit the country, wish i still had them. One was even the sniper version with the slot cut in the receiver and different muzzle brake, all three where like new with mint bores and packed in cosmoline. Sad part is with my ffl dealer license tbey cost me 365.00 each. One day I'd like to get another one.

IIRC they were about $200 here in CA back in the early '90s.

OP make sure the "matching " parts are not EP'd.  I seldom see a truly matching one.  I probably wouldn't pay over 1k for that example

I'm also noticing it appears to have that burned powder look 6 inches down from the break at what appears to be the gas system. Is that normal for this rifle or is that a sign of a bad/ worn connection there? Hopefully he has been shooting non-corrosive.

finally got some more pics of it. worth 1k?

I had one several years ago in a swap.  It cost me $495 which was almost half what they were selling for then.  It was nice with no stock repairs.  Shot good with the exception on a reoccurring flyer which I believe they are know for.  I sold mine do to the lack of spare parts available.  Not sure if that has changed.  If I found a deal I'd buy another.

If he wanted my $1k, I'd have to know it did not have rusty gas system parts. It probably is worth that in today's market. I paid $700 for my 1941 arsenal refurb in 2011. No rust.

This. As I posted above, I would want a look at the gas system and bore. Replacement parts can be hard and expensive to find. It might be worth 1k to some but I would offer less.

If the bore, gas system, and bolt face are good offer him $1k shipped. One thing to remember here about the SVT40 1. They're not making any new ones & 2. It is highly unlikely that anymore will ever be imported again.