My Russian Garand is here

[vit]

Got my GunBroker treat in the other day. A 1943 Tula SVT40.
Cleaned it all up and it looks better than described, the "frosted bore" was mostly crud - bore is not mint, but looks better than expected.
As this was my first time cleaning an SVT, I came to realization that I would not want to disassemble it in the field, no wonder Russians took it out of service so quickly. Wouldn't take much to loose something in the dirt and end up with a straight pull bolt action. Also, it is interesting to see how Soviet weapons evolved from it into SKS and AK.
I'll take it out to shoot it (with some non-corrosive) ammo once the outside temperatures and humidity die down.
Some pics:

[Partisan1983]

awesome man!!! She sure is a beauty.

[vit]

[mriddick]

Neat rifles, I hope you like it. It will be interesting to see how it groups.

[old Grump]

Cleaned up nice but oh boy does that stick its nose way out front. What is the overall length and barrel length on that rifle?

[1 Patriot-of-many]

That is SWEEEEEET. How much?

[bovver]

lucky

[mriddick]

That is SWEEEEEET. How much?

Last one's I've seen for sale were in the $900-1200 range, back when I had my shop in the 90's we bought them for $125...

[O.S.O.K.]

I had one several years back - when they were running $600-$700.

Cool historic rifles.

[vit]

That is SWEEEEEET. How much?

Got lucky for just around 650 all said and done. Put ina ;low ball bid before going to bed and expected to lose. Woke up a winning bidder.

[vit]

Cleaned up nice but oh boy does that stick its nose way out front. What is the overall length and barrel length on that rifle?

http://surplusrifle.com/svt40/specifications.asp
Surprisingly light for its size.

Barrel Length: 24.02 Inches
Overall Length: 48.27 Inches
Weight: 8.9 lbs.
Rifling: 4 turns, right hand twist
Action: Semiautomatic
Caliber: 7.62x54r
Magazine Capacity: 10 round, detachable box

[mriddick]

Got lucky for just around 650 all said and done. Put ina ;low ball bid before going to bed and expected to lose. Woke up a winning bidder.

I knew you'd work a deal..

[vit]

I knew you'd work a deal..

No way I pay retail...

[Schuetzenman]

Nice rifle, I've put a copy of your thread in the C&R forums Military Semi-Autos forum

[alismith]

How rugged were they in combat? Anywhere near the ruggedness of an SKS or AK?

[Infidelski]

Nice score! I really need to dig out my 1941 SVT40 and shoot it again. They really are fun to shoot and shoot well. Sarco has spare parts, magazines and slings.

[Solidus-snake]

That is a NICE looking rifle. Looks a bit long but its a real beauty.

Congrats man

[mriddick]

How rugged were they in combat? Anywhere near the ruggedness of an SKS or AK?

In trained troops hands (mostly the enemy who captured them) they did fairly well, in the average Russian's hands they did not do so good. They also have a bad habit of throwing the first shot 4-5 inches from the rest of the group which made them a bad choice for a sniper weapon (which is exactly what they were first tried to be used as). The stock also had a habit of breaking at the wrist. Put all this together and it was the only weapon of its type to be withdrawn from service by the Soviets in the middle of the war.

[El Laton Caliente]

I read somewhere the other problem was production time/cost/parts count. The Russians could turn out three or more Mosins or PPSH for one SVT40.

[Schuetzenman]

I read somewhere the other problem was production time/cost/parts count. The Russians could turn out three or more Mosins or PPSH for one SVT40.

That is also my understanding, the press of war made it too complex and costly in time and materials to build them. Better to make a bunch of Mosins to arm the pesants than a couple of SVT40 rifles that would take extensive training to operate and keep functional. Russian war era Mosn Nagant rifles have very crudely machined receivers because of their haste in wanting to crank them out quick.