Are these any good? Reasonably accurate as far as a russian rifle can be? Found one in decent shape with a nice bore, still has the flashhider/comp on it and seems to be unmessed with. What are these worth and are they reliable? 7.62x54 cal. I know there is a difference between the 38 and 40 on price. I did not see any importer marks but I will have to look again closer. Thanks. Or should I just hold out for a dragonov?

where can they be bought?

Were these the bullpupish ones?

world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl06-e.htm

I too am kind of interested in learning about the SVT-40, definately like info on what the prices and availability is like.

Quoted: world.guns.ru/rifle/svt40r.jpg world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl06-e.htm

Dat be the puppy, they wanted 300 bucks for it, the bore tho sorta dirty, had excellent rifling, and the wood was dark but in VGC with no cracks or splits. Crappy mushy trigger. Tried to figure how the heck the bolt locks up during firing and I really could not, but it sure is not the recoil spring as it's not THAT strong. One mag. This is the first one I have seen in my area. BTW I think it was the M1938 as I do not recall the metal front guards tho the wood ones were cut out like the 40.

Quoted: Quoted: world.guns.ru/rifle/svt40r.jpg world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl06-e.htm Dat be the puppy, they wanted 300 bucks for it, the bore tho sorta dirty, had excellent rifling, and the wood was dark but in VGC with no cracks or splits. Crappy mushy trigger. Tried to figure how the heck the bolt locks up during firing and I really could not, but it sure is not the recoil spring as it's not THAT strong. One mag. This is the first one I have seen in my area. BTW I think it was the M1938 as I do not recall the metal front guards tho the wood ones were cut out like the 40.

$300 is a good price. Usual price range is 500-800. Gun Parts has parts for them. There are aftermarket mags on the market now. SARCO has scope mounts.

I've had a SVT 40 for around 20yr's now. Neat rifle. It's not a "go to" rifle by no means-----Just part of my hoard.

In WW2 pic's it's common to see Germans carrying them. In Russian pic's Marines are usually carrying them.

The action is a tilting bolt like FN49, FAL, MAS49/56, AG42B, SKS, etc...

If you don't buy it, let me knw where it is. I need one to go with my SVT-40.

They are pretty cool but most I have seen have pitted bores.

they were also notorious for the first shot always being off zero, but the follow up shots being on.  At least that's what I've read.

They're definitely nice to shoot.  A lot like the Garand in that regard.

I had a couple of slam-fires with improperly sized reloads.  Mil-spec primers are a must.

In addition to a very dark bore, the barrel on mine was bent.  It straightened out with the gentle help of a mallet.

Still, she's a sexy, fun-to-shoot piece.  I'd jump at the chance to pick one up for $300.

Please, call it the Tokarev.

Mine doubles with irritating regularity.  Surplus ammo or loaded with CCI 34 primers, doesn't matter.

Cool gun, all the same.  300 bucks is a steal.  Cheapest I've seen them since they were all gone was 450 bucks.

EDIT:  I've never seen an SVT-38.  I think they were all rebuilt into SVT-40s.  IIRC, the multiport flash hider was recycled from svt-38's, and the two port was made for the -40.  

I like mine, decently accurate for a wartime semi.

ETA: I paid 579 for mine about  2 years ago, great condition.

I heard the 38s fell apart a lot because they weren't strong enough for the cartridge.

I'd LOVE to get an SVT-40 sometime, tho.  

Get an SVT 40 if you can. I had both at one point. Shit broke on the '38 all the time.

They aren't accurate and they are bulky, but fun as all get out to shoot shit with.

Make sure your target is a washing machine or refrigerator at 100yds and and you can't lose.

When you take it apart, you can see commonality with the Swedish Ljungman, Egyptian Hakim, FNFAL, SKS and Dragunov.

It's a cool gun.

I'll take a bore snake and light down with me tomorrow and check the bore out well for pits and such. What do mags go for and are they available?

The SVT 40 is a better weapon than often credited.  The Finns and Germans snatched them up whenever they could find them.  They failed in the sniper role (flyers), and that reputation tended to ooze over to the standard model.  They were decent in the hands of reasonably trained troops.  Give them to shepherd boys out of Mongolia, and trouble will follow.  The primary reason for the termination of production was the time it took to manufacture.  You could get several M38s, 91/30s, and a bunch of PPD40s for the cost and time it took to make one.

SVT 38s are pretty rare, and will probably fetch several thousand dollars if you see one.  Most will be Finn captures, as the Finns kept them in SVT 38 trim, whereas the Soviets converted them to SVT 40 specs when they went back through the factory arsenaling program.  The main 38 features were a weaker stock, and a cleaning rod that was let into the OUTSIDE of the stock for some bizzare reason.

Most SVT 40s floating around in the US are factory refurbs.  They can be easily distinguished by their plumb colored bolt and carrier, as well as a weak finish on the stock.  Even so, these are still legitimate guns, and probably function better than one that made it's way into the US pre 1968.

The 2 port brake was simply a manufacturing consession done after the SVT 40 program began.  This being said, it's difficult to give a date when it occured, as they just pulled parts from parts bins of varous ages, especially during rearsenaling.  Another concession was the omission of the optical sight grooves on the receiver after the SVT 40 was withdrawn from sniping service.  Why machine them, when they will never need an optic.  ALL early to middle production guns have these grooves, and their presence does NOT make it a sniper as gun show guys so often tell you.  A sniper version will have a "C" near the date and arsenal mark, and it will have a locking grove on the very top of the rear of the receiver.   Thus, while infantry/NCO grade SVTs have the grooves that fit the standard SVT sight mount, they will not have the ability to lock the mount on them.  I guess they did the math and figured the locking notch would be easy enough to machine later for the selected models.

The SVT is a must have for any amateur military gun collection.  This being said, it's no Garand.  The sights are poor.  No, scratch that, the sights are as good as any other gun of it's age, EXCEPT for the Garand, which had excellent sights.  Even though it's light, it's still very long, and unweildy.  IMO, the Garand wins in every category of performance, even with the Enbloc system.  Keep in mind that the SVT, even though it has a removable box mag, was still designed to be loaded with chargers (stripper clips), and the mag catch is not one you'd want to be dealing with in combat.  For the collector, this doesn't matter, but if you are a Tactical Ted, you should pass.  IMO, the main defect I've experinced with mine are the fact that they heat up faster than any rifle I've ever dealt with.  A few mags (10 rounds each, keep in mind) and it's boiling cosmoline.

In terms of function, if you are getting doubles with milspec ammo, check your firing pin.  It might be broken, or it might be jammed with some 40 year old cosmoline.  Do not shoot any east block semi autos with US spec ammo as the primers are too soft.  The only exception is the early 1949-50 Soviet SKSs, which had sprung firing pins, an option they removed sometime in the 1950 time frame as it was deemed unnecessary and not worth the cost.

Some controversy surrounds whether or not the FN boys completed and perfected their FN 49 (and by extension the FAL) by examining SVT 38s and 40s taken from Finland during the Winter war.  The time frame matches up, and the design is VERY similar.  Similar enough that if it were two US companies, a lawsuit would have definately been filed.  My personal belief is that it was used in the development of the FN designs, but this is not a shameful act whatsoever.  One would be stupid not to study a successful design that was available to you, and that is very similar to your own during the time frame when you are proving your concepts.  Thus I believe FN started from scratch, but adopted some learnings from the SVT.  They probably kept and perfected some things that the SVT did right, and abandoned some things that the SVT did poorly.

Just my opinion...

Quoted: Get an SVT 40 if you can. I had both at one point. Shit broke on the '38 all the time.

Don't underestimate the sources...  It doesn't suprise me that a SVT 38 with an unknown past, and decades of as is storage has problems.  It's tough to compare a worn out rifle with the SVT 40s purchased directly out of post remanufacture storage.

I'm not arguing that the SVT 38 is a strong piece, it is not...  Howewver, it will likely be by default in worse shape than a 40.

Quoted: Don't underestimate the sources...  It doesn't suprise me that a SVT 38 with an unknown past, and decades of as is storage has problems.  It's tough to compare a worn out rifle with the SVT 40s purchased directly out of post remanufacture storage. I'm not arguing that the SVT 38 is a strong piece, it is not...  Howewver, it will likely be by default in worse shape than a 40.

No sweat. The reason why I got pissed about the SVT 38 breeaking was that it cost me $1700, whereas the SVT 40 was $550. The '40 was DEFINITELY an arsenal rework. It had the funky varnish stain on the stock and the purple bolt. The '38 was oil-stained and just beat up.

In either case, I LOVED shooting these guns. I love the old Russian mil-guns. The brutality of their engineering is beyond compare.

Nice post. Great info. This has a bright in the white bolt, as I said I will take a close look tomorrow at it, using a light and snake. It was interesting to look at today, like I said, first one I have seen around here. I appreciate all the help guys, thanks. Now I have to go fit the 870 wingmaster BBL I bought today for 40 bucks. Been looking for one for 2 years but was not going to pay the idotic amount of money they want for a new one or even a used one.

Quoted: Nice post. Great info. This has a bright in the white bolt, as I said I will take a close look tomorrow at it, using a light and snake. It was interesting to look at today, like I said, first one I have seen around here. I appreciate all the help guys, thanks. Now I have to go fit the 870 wingmaster BBL I bought today for 40 bucks. Been looking for one for 2 years but was not going to pay the idotic amount of money they want for a new one or even a used one.

 An 'in the white' bolt will most likely mean it's a Finn capture, although I've heard of people refinishing the plumb colored ones (who knows why).  Check for a "SA" in a box in varous places.  It will be on the breech, stock, and the underside of the mag floorplate.  [SA] is the Finn ownership mark.

Use caution though.  Finn captures while cool, can be completely worn out (no repair effort made by the country who sold it to the importer), like the aforementioned  SVT 38 may have been, and be lots of trouble.  

Quoted: Quoted: Nice post. Great info. This has a bright in the white bolt, as I said I will take a close look tomorrow at it, using a light and snake. It was interesting to look at today, like I said, first one I have seen around here. I appreciate all the help guys, thanks. Now I have to go fit the 870 wingmaster BBL I bought today for 40 bucks. Been looking for one for 2 years but was not going to pay the idotic amount of money they want for a new one or even a used one.  An 'in the white' bolt will most likely mean it's a Finn capture, although I've heard of people refinishing the plumb colored ones (who knows why).  Check for a "SA" in a box in varous places.  It will be on the breech, stock, and the underside of the mag floorplate.  [SA] is the Finn ownership mark. Use caution though.  Finn captures while cool, can be completely worn out (no repair effort made by the country who sold it to the importer), like the aforementioned  SVT 38 may have been, and be lots of trouble.

Thanks, will do. Were the original bolts plum colored or in the white?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Nice post. Great info. This has a bright in the white bolt, as I said I will take a close look tomorrow at it, using a light and snake. It was interesting to look at today, like I said, first one I have seen around here. I appreciate all the help guys, thanks. Now I have to go fit the 870 wingmaster BBL I bought today for 40 bucks. Been looking for one for 2 years but was not going to pay the idotic amount of money they want for a new one or even a used one.  An 'in the white' bolt will most likely mean it's a Finn capture, although I've heard of people refinishing the plumb colored ones (who knows why).  Check for a "SA" in a box in varous places.  It will be on the breech, stock, and the underside of the mag floorplate.  [SA] is the Finn ownership mark. Use caution though.  Finn captures while cool, can be completely worn out (no repair effort made by the country who sold it to the importer), like the aforementioned  SVT 38 may have been, and be lots of trouble.   Thanks, will do. Were the original bolts plum colored or in the white?

In the White...

Art goes through phases, and apparently so did Soviet Rearsenaling.  They even plumbed K98 bolts and when they rearsenaled them.  This was probably done in the 60s, though I have no proof of that.

Besides the bore what other areas should I look for as far as wear?

Quoted: Besides the bore what other areas should I look for as far as wear?

- Action should fit tightly in stock
- Sheet metal handguards should fit snugly (this is the most likely sign of use)  the front sling swivel/band holds them on.  
- Check gas cup/entire system  for corrosion. (Slide front sling swivel/band down, pivot top sheetmetal guard up, remove top wood handguard.  The gas system is now in front of you.  I can't remember exactly how it disassembles, but it's not that hard to figure out.)

Another quality check will be to check for matching numbers.  We (the US) were pretty much alone in not numbering the major parts of a weapon.  The Germans and Swedes were obsessive, about that especially pre WWI.  The most critical parts to match will be the bolt and receiver.  This will all but assure decent headspace.  This is not to say that headspace will never grow over time, but the major problems with headspace are careless manufacture, or improperly fitted replacement parts.  A propely numbered receiver and bolt will indicate that it still has the parts it was origainally spec'd with.  The rest are not safety issues, but will indicate better fitting parts.  On a rearsenaled one or one that was fixed properly in the field, it's normal to have the receiver stamped with the numbers while the other major parts are electro penciled.  Don't panic if you see this, nobody's trying to fool you.  An original may or may not have all stamped numbers.