Soviet SVT40 7.62X54mm
From the page to the range
The Red Army liked long rifles. At left is the Model 91/30 compared
to the SVT40 at right. Both fired 7.62x54mm. Photos: Yvonne Venturino
If readers are as old as I, they probably remember those fantastic ads in the back of American Rifleman in the 1960s. They were from an outfit called “Ye Old Hunter” and almost always concerned military surplus rifles from a myriad of nations. Prices were insanely low by modern standards but were still impossible for a West Virginia teenager.
Mike uses a variety of bullets (above) in his SVT40s. At left (below) is a World War II
vintage Soviet 7.62x54mm, middle is a British .303 and at right is a U.S. 7.62mm NATO.
Back to the future
Perhaps the most fascinating one was the semi-auto Soviet SVT40 in 7.62x54mm. They were eye catching, especially in the brand new era of space launches. This was because they had a modernistic appearance compared to most wood and steel military surplus rifles. They were long and looked pencil thin on those black and white pages. Also their handguards were combination wood and steel but both segments were perforated. There was another fixture at the barrels’ end of which I had no clue. To me both features looked “neat” but actually were for barrel cooling and recoil reduction; facts never entering my 13-year-old brain. They also sold for more than the many Mauser bolt actions listed in the ads, which in my thinking meant they had to be “more-better.”
Years passed, in fact many decades passed and never did a thought of SVT40s enter my brain. Although by the mid-1970s I became an avid gun show attendee, never did I so much as knowingly see an SVT40. My gun’riting career got off the ground in those years, mostly with me covering hunting rifles and revolvers with lots of handloading and bullet-casting articles. Noteworthy, however, was my secondary hobby of studying World War II history. Sometime early in the 21st Century, something clicked in my psyche and I became determined to build a shooting collection of World War II firearms.
Once started, it nigh-on snowballed out of control. But — it has been fun! Not only did I acquire an SVT40 but now have two. One wears iron sights and one has the special 3.5X PU scope intended only for SVT40s. Not all of them could accept scope mounts. To do so required a lateral groove across the rear of the receiver. The second SVT40 was purchased precisely because of this groove. It would have been nice to get one with an original scope, however I had to settle for reproduction scope and mounts made in the Ukraine but sold out of Canada I found on gunbroker.com.
The gun
SVT40s are gas operated semi-autos with a slight benefit over some other military semi-autos in having the gas system over the barrel instead of under. SVT40s are a fraction over four feet long with a barrel slightly over 24″. At 8-1/2 lbs. they are surprisingly light for a military rifle of this length. Magazine has a capacity of 10 rounds and it’s detachable but in combat they were not meant to be replaced with another magazine although it’s possible. Soviet doctrine dictated they could be loaded from above with five-round stripper clips.
This is the mounting system the Soviets used with their 3.5X PU scopes on SVT40s.
Not enough to go around
If the Soviet/German war had not started in 1941 the Red Army would likely have fielded far more SVT40s than the 1.5 to 2.0 million reportedly built. Instead they had to rely mainly on the old Model 91/30 bolt actions. At least both rifle models chambered the same cartridge. With not enough SVT40s to go around, Red Army NCOs got many and snipers got most of the scope sighted ones. Actually, there were many female Soviet snipers and they are often seen in photos and films carrying the SVT40. Another common user of these Soviet semi-autos were German soldiers. Photos abound of Wehrmacht troops armed with captured ones.
I’ve fired my two SVT40s with original World War II ammo, some post-war ammo made by Eastern European nations but mostly with my own handloads developed to replicate the Soviet “Heavy Ball D” loading with a 185-gr. FMJ at approximately 2,650 fps, or Light Ball LP with a 149-gr. FMJ. I worry not about using hollowpoint or softnose rounds since I’m not a signatory of the Hague Conventions.
By American standards Soviet-made military weapons are crude but they don’t lack functionality. Neither of my SVT40s have ever had a failure to feed or fire though with the iron-sighted model I did have a slam fire. For this reason I recommend to load 7.62x54mm ammo for them with mil-spec CCI #34 primers.
Accuracy
My open-sighted SVT40 will give mediocre groups of about 3″ to 4″ at 100 yards. The scope sight one can shoot groups half the size. It was definitely a decent World War II sniper rifle.
