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What the heck is this?

Layton

.
Banned !
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 17, 2011
1,268
12
Texas Coast
My father in law handed me this today and asked me to find a magazine it. First thing I need to know is what the heck it is. It's a semi auto but I'e never seen one like it. Anyone with an idea?

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Re: What the heck is this?

Thanks!! I had never seen anything like it. Now we know and damn I just saw a mag for it on Gunbroker. $$$.

L
 
Re: What the heck is this?

Layton,

Be careful about sinking money into that SVT-40. They are notorious for not feeding correctly from the magazine.

If yours turns out to have this problem save it as a collector's item or sell it. Dumping money into trying to make it work will only become a money pit with limited positive results and actually lower it's value as a collector's item.

Otherwise, good luck with that project.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

Thanks Ranger. I have no intention of firing it. Gonna find a couple of mags for it and let it sit in my safe. I have enough money going towards builds right now than to start something else. Kinda cool though from what I've read. Guess it gets to sit next to my Garand since they share some history.

L

edt: It is in very good shape but the gun kinda feels ...cheap I guess is the word I'm looking for. Butt stock is rather short too. Or at least for me but I'm not a big guy. Seems to cycle fine and not much wear anywhere.

 
Re: What the heck is this?

This thing appears to have all matching numbers if that's worth much on these.

L
 
Re: What the heck is this?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Layton</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks Ranger. I have no intention of firing it. Gonna find a couple of mags for it and let it sit in my safe. I have enough money going towards builds right now than to start something else. Kinda cool though from what I've read. Guess it gets to sit next to my Garand since they share some history.

L

edt: It is in very good shape but the gun kinda feels ...cheap I guess is the word I'm looking for. Butt stock is rather short too. Or at least for me but I'm not a big guy. Seems to cycle fine and not much wear anywhere.

</div></div>the russians built their rifles with short buttstocks on purpose. it worked out a lot better with cold weather gear. just look at a mosin!
 
Re: What the heck is this?

Mags run $50-$75 around me. Rifle goes $650-$800. Rifle only had one mag and was loaded from the top.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: treymchattie</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Layton</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks Ranger. I have no intention of firing it. Gonna find a couple of mags for it and let it sit in my safe. I have enough money going towards builds right now than to start something else. Kinda cool though from what I've read. Guess it gets to sit next to my Garand since they share some history.

L

edt: It is in very good shape but the gun kinda feels ...cheap I guess is the word I'm looking for. Butt stock is rather short too. Or at least for me but I'm not a big guy. Seems to cycle fine and not much wear anywhere.

</div></div>the russians built their rifles with short buttstocks on purpose. it worked out a lot better with cold weather gear. just look at a mosin! </div></div>Agreed. Both of my Nagants have a short length of pull. Nice SVT-40. Last one I saw was going for around 750.00$.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

I've had three SVT40's. All ran great and were quite accurate at 150 yards. Never had any feeding problems.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

The SVT-40 a collectors rifle? They sell for $650-$800?

That's an interesting difference compared to my country (The Netherlands).

Over here a rifle usually sells for two times as much as the USA, I can buy a Remington 700 police for about $1500. strange to see that with the SVT-40 it is the opposite.
A run of the mill Izhevsk Mosin Nagant 91/30 will cost you about $250-$350 here. But you can get an SVT-40 for about $200-$250.
The general opinion over here is that they are crap: they have feeding problems, there are no spare parts to be found, you can't hit the broad side of a barn and they are look like they were made by a kid with a dremel tool. These rifle don't have any collectors value over here.
We have crates full of them and hardly anyone wants them.

My opinion: if she shoots well, keep it and have fun.

 
Re: What the heck is this?

Thanks again for all the info. It's just gonna be a safe queen. He bought it from a guy at work some years ago for a $100 bill so it was a good investment but knowing us it will never be sold. My grandson will end with it. And I have enough going on and to maintain as it is. I did find some mags for it last night though.

L
 
Re: What the heck is this?

The SVT-38 and SVT-40 are evolutionary examples of Russia's answer to the Garand. While both are effective battle rifles, the -40 embodies lessons learned from the -38 that simply could not be ignored. They would have been candidates for the title 'Russia's Garand', but they were somewhat too fragile to truly qualify.

I have had my hands on one (SVT-40) for extended periods and done some load developement (with .308 MatchKings and Norma brass) for it. It always worked well and shot well for me, but I never did solve the issue of providing a stable scope mount that did not dictate some form of receiver modification; and I simply refuse to alter a piece of history.

I gave up on the B-Square unit; it always migrated under recoil. I could have probably drilled receptacles for the set screws in the base mounting grooves, but I chose to leave the piece unmodified.

I just recently bought an 'Excellent' 1943 Tula 91/30 for $114 USD. Recognizing that the terms 'Excellent' and '1943 Tula'
may seem contradictory; while the workmanship showed very little attention to esthetics, it was forthright and totally functional, and its condition was as-new.

For me, its beauty is in its functionality and freedom from defects. I could probably take that rifle to war in its intended context and use it effectively. All this scenario lacks is the requisite degree of youth on my part.

Greg
 
Re: What the heck is this?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 30cal Fun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The SVT-40 a collectors rifle? They sell for $650-$800?

That's an interesting difference compared to my country (The Netherlands).

Over here a rifle usually sells for two times as much as the USA, I can buy a Remington 700 police for about $1500. strange to see that with the SVT-40 it is the opposite.
A run of the mill Izhevsk Mosin Nagant 91/30 will cost you about $250-$350 here. But you can get an SVT-40 for about $200-$250.
The general opinion over here is that they are crap: they have feeding problems, there are no spare parts to be found, you can't hit the broad side of a barn and they are look like they were made by a kid with a dremel tool. These rifle don't have any collectors value over here.
We have crates full of them and hardly anyone wants them.

My opinion: if she shoots well, keep it and have fun.

</div></div>

Great googly moogly!! send everyone here please!!
 
Re: What the heck is this?

The Germans really liked them a lot and would pick up every every one they could. MM
 
Re: What the heck is this?

i've got one that a german brought from the eastern front, to france, which the french resistance "relieved" him of. like ranger says, they are notorious for jamming, i already had the sucker jam 5 times on me, twice had to take it to my local gunsmith to extract the round. i fire it single shot without the mag now, the old girl prefers to be hand fed
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. Stock looks almost unused. wonderful piece of history.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

one of my pals has 2 g43's they are well made rifles, but they cant hold a candle to a g41, the only thing i can compare to internals of this rifle are the internals of a clock.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

I would not make it a safe queen.
For our use (on the range), they are very reliable rifles. The only prblem I have encountered is if the gas nut is not adjusted properly. Technically, it requires a special tool, but a padded set of pliers can accomplish the same thing.
Just be aware of cleaning after shooting corrosive ammo and you will be fine.
BTW, this rifle kicks out the HOTTEST brass I have ever felt.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

Does it have "SA" stamp inside square line?
Location would be on left side of reciever, next to rear sight.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

I'll check, it's in my father-in-laws safe. What I did write down when I had it was that it has a square with a triangle superimposed over it on the left side. Also had 1941F where F is not and F. Upside down L if that makes sense.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

The Russian experience was independent from ours (U.S.). Before the M1 Garand's blueprints were even born, the Russians had a select-fire design, although problematic, by Fedorov in 1916! The Mother of all future "assault" rifles was born in Russia in 1906 when the first prototype was developed. Then there was a Simonov gun of 1936 and finally Tokarev's SVT38 and 40, followed by SKS and AK...

And yes, the Germans admired Soviet weaponry, both openly and secretly, for their simplicity, durability, reliability, and ease of maintanence and operation.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Layton</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'll check, it's in my father-in-laws safe. What I did write down when I had it was that it has a square with a triangle superimposed over it on the left side. Also had 1941F where F is not and F. Upside down L if that makes sense.

</div></div>

http://masterrussian.com/blalphabet.shtml

The Cyrillic equivalent of F is an "upside down L"
 
Re: What the heck is this?

Wrong. English F is not an upside down Cyrillic L. "Upside down L" is Russian abbreviation for Year. It is simply a <span style="font-weight: bold">Year of 1941</span>. A very common abbreviation on ComBlock weapons.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JL</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does it have "SA" stamp inside square line?
Location would be on left side of reciever, next to rear sight. </div></div>

The Finn capture stamp is a funny thing.
For some people, they really, really want it.
For purist Soviet collectors, they really, really DON'T want it.(I'm in the second group.)
Check out the book "Rifles of the White Death" by Doug Bowser for good info on the Winter War.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

Called my father-in-law to get the rifle back and see if it's marked.
 
Re: What the heck is this?

The "SA" marking should be considered "Thank You" stamp- to russians who kindly donated their rifles for Finnish effort...

But seriously, SA stamped would have to be rare compared to original soviet surplus by amount. And for what its worth- all SVT:s with such stamp saw action in Finnish front- and original owners were all KIA.