I own a 1940 production of this rifle. The muzzle blast and how loud it is is insane. You don't really feel it when using the gun, but when you stand next to the guy using it, you really feel the blast from the muzzle device. I can completely understand why the soviets eventually decided to change the muzzle device.

I think it’s kind of funny that the FAL is based on this, while the AK is based on the Garand. They sort of switched sides.

There are many photos of German troops with captured SVT-40's who seemed to appreciate its semi-automatic capabilities. Its always interesting to see pictures of Wehrmacht/SS troops with PPSH-41's & SVT-40s and then see photos of Red Army troops with MP-40's & MG-34's. They liked each others arsenals apparently.

In the early to mid 80's SVTs were available and not terribly expensive. The ammunition on the other hand was unobtainable and terribly expensive. The local wizard gunsmith built himself a carbine length SVT sporter in .45-70, as the rims were about the same size and it was a good brush deer cartridge. Flush magazine, full length Mannlicher stock with vented top handguard

They gave Tokarevs to marines, because they were, usually, more technically experienced and overall trained.

I'd like to hear more about the Degtyaryov rifle that preceded the AVS-36 but I know it's realistically unlikely, thanks again Mr McCollum.

I have never owned a gun In fact live in Australia But am so fascinated by the diferent actions and how gasses are used and the evolution of the firearms across the word and the way you present the whole thing Thank you

I bought an svt-40 from a guy who had no idea what it was, I cleaned it up got a magazine from a mail order and the thing fires like it was brand new very accurate

I want a Forgotten Weapons FPS video game where you progress through history using every weapon ever made.

The greatest tip I ever learnt for disassembly of the SVT 40, is that when you slide the dust cover and recoil spring forward to start and end disassembly, what you do is stack an unfired, 7.62x54r behind the spring and against the rear of the receiver, and that spaces it out perfectly for putting the dust cover on and off.

There was another use of SVT-40 muzzle break during the war, a Vladivostok shipbuilding factory actually produced PPD-40 smgs with SVT-40 muzzle breaks on it that allowed to attach a bayonet on it as well.

Soldiers from Soviet Naval infrantry battalions which fought on land operations during 2.WW actualy really loved SVT-40... They were excellently trained infrantry and used their semiautomatic rifles to the fullest potencial and gave the SVT-40 lovely nickname Sveta (short version of russian female name Svetlana, which mean "light", "shining", "luminescent", "pure"). P.S. Untrained troops, who can't troperly mantain the weapon gave her nickname suka (b*tch)...

One of the few guns I truly regret not getting when they were cheap.

I appreciate the engineering and historical significance behind the SVT-40. The evolution of Soviet firearms design is always captivating, even if the SVT-40 faced challenges in becoming the standard infantry or sniper's rifle.

Other differences between the SVT and AVT are the wrist of the AVT stocks are about twice as wide to make them more durable, and they have a letter A stamped on one side of the stock. After they were deemed useless in combat, some shot out AVTs' stocks made their way to regular SVTs in refurbishments. My 1941 Tula has a 1945 AVT stock. Refurbs would usually blue the SVT's bolts into a plum color as well. The stripper clip loading method at 7:52 is upside down and will rimlock the rifle. This method only works on Mosins with functional interrupters which holds down the bottom 3 rounds, and since the SVT has a thin box mag it doesn't have an interruptor. You either load it the other way (rounds pointed up with rims stacked), or the Enfield way of stacking (down/up/down/up/down) as the SVT has a double stack mag like the Enfield. 13:51 Here's a tip for removing the mainspring/guiderod assembly, you can slide open the dust cover slightly, and simply poke a cartridge into the end of the mainspring guiderod and move it from the dust cover indent to rest it on the small cylindrical protrusion near the receiver's end. This relieves the spring pressure on the dust cover and it pops off easily. You can then grab the two part spring and rod assembly out by your hand without launching the spring across your room (been there done that). The guiderod literally has an indent at the end for this very purpose. For assembly it's the exact reverse, rest the guiderod on the end of the receiver protrusion, slide on the dust cover, and rack the bolt. The bolt carrier will nudge the guiderod up and snap it back into the indent in the dust cover.

The favorite rifle of every Red Orchestra 2 player.

I have an svt-40 that my grandfather in law gave me before he passed. Super cool gun unfortunately mine was shot with corrosive ammo and left to sit for years. Its functional but I need to find someone to rebarrel it.

and one more thing - the difference between AVT and SVT are three things - the cutout on wood, a 45 degree cut on the side of the safety switch and, the main thing, the window, in wich the trigger travels in triggergard, is longer about 7mm , so that trigger can move further to the rear, and this travel actualy activates the full auto mode. By the length of this window you can say was the triggers mechanism ever a full auto, or it was made as semi. On the rifle in the video it is short, this also points to earler production btw

I have a 1943 SVT-40. My research indicates it is what is referred as a Bulgarian light refurb generally meaning all serial numbers match, all original factory stamped parts (Tula star) with a matching vertical serial number on the AVT 40 stock. Mine matches that description and is in excellent condition including the barrel.

Kick my ass for not buying one a few years ago, 400 bucks, looked like it came right out of the factory crate. No a blemish on the darn thing. Not sure the production date tho.

This is one of the few forgotten weapons that I have fired. My friend had one at the range when I brought my newly acquired Mosin M44 carbine to fire. The SVT-40 doesn't have the recoil that my carbine had, but the muzzle blast was incredibly jarring. I could literally see the concussion waves coming out of the muzzle brake when I fired. Good times back in the early 2000s.

I can attest, the SVT-40 is a very nice shooting rifle! Thanks for the video, Ian!

Always loved the SVT40. I owned a de-activated one. I also hired one for a battle re-enactment once. The muzzle blast was amazing, it felt like firing a semi-automatic tank gun. So loud and a massive ball of flame from the muzzle. I remember I ambushed a group of British re-enactors moving along a road towards the bridge we were defending. Waited till the right moment then dumped the whole magazine, they scattered pretty fast.

THREE detachable magazines!! Western Ordnance Officers would pass out!

The hole in the back is also there to take the trigger group out of the gun, it only takes the push of a bullet point from a cartridge and the trigger group drops right out.

I owned several SVT-40s in the 90s when they were ~$200. Never could find one that was reliable. One I have is pretty reliable with steel cased ammo. Loved East German, gallery ball. Gobbled that stuff up. 🤠

Oh man Ian, thanks so much for making this! I got an SVT-40 in the mid-90s because the guy told me it was the granddaddy to the Ljungman and hence the Hakim. Dunno if that's true and you didn't mention it, but it is the smoothest looking classic gun I own and I'm glad to learn more about it (including how to do the rest of the field stripping!) Excellent work as always!

A storm troop armed completely w PPS-43s, SVT-40s and DPs would be absolutely deadly - but giving everyone the 91/30 turned out to be the better long-term war winner (economics vs tactics) as troops didn't win battles back then - logistics and fires did. You could have the best STG-44s w Vampir night sights and literal space magic but that 152mm and BM-13 rain still hurts the same.

I can imagine that cleaning hole in back could be aslo used for setting up the sights quickly like if you are boresighting something. So you aim at 50m and check that optic and hole through barrel are pointing at one spot. Then you only adjust elevation according to range.

Mine has a SA marked magazine and had a "hunting" stock (converted from standard stock) The item just below the 5 position gas selector is the "gas key" if removed the rifle becomes straight pull bolt action of sorts. My guess is it is there for cleaning as the USSR used Chlorate primers. My Semiautos (M1,M1 carbine, Mas 49/56, SKS, SVT 40 ) are cleaned from the breach with pull through tools improvements of the "thong" cleaner issued in before and during WW2. It is nice that the SVT can use a ROD safely. Considering the disposably of most soviet gear (and troops) its interesting that the SVT took this extra step .

I love my svt 40 she's a 1941 tula all matching post war referb accurate as hell and surprisingly simple to take apart. Definitely turns heads at the range

I dont have many guns but I do own an SVT-40. So much fun to watch Ian talk about a gun you own! :)

Fantastic video as always, I always wanted to learn about the SVT 40, going through the differences between the 40 and 38, talking about the full auto version, and what "SVT" stands for was an enjoyable bonus❤

One of the things I often find frustrating in a video game is the need to reach a certain "level" before you're allowed to use certain items or weapons. The conclusion of this video is a good reminder that this happened in real life, too. :)

My late Gun Guru told me that when the SVT40s first started to show up here in Canada, he had a guy come into his gun store with one he figured was broken, as it kept doing 2 or 3 rounds at a time. My GG bought the "broken" "SVT" off of him for less than $100, and sold the AVT40 to a buddy with a "Prohibited" permit for several hundred. Seems a lot of AVT40s came into Canada as SVT40s, and no one noticed. I will also note that my 1943 SVT40 has an AVT stock, as does every SVT40 I have seen here in Canada. The 4 port brake is quite bloody useless too, as the rifle just kicks the hell out of me.

You always include interesting aspects of manufacturability aspects of the weapon. Thanks.

Very interesting video. I never realized how well designed the svt40 was.

I went to the 2021 SOS hell bent on buying an SVT. Couldn’t find one for a decent price and bought a beautiful G43 for less than the cheapest SVT there. Still got my eye out for one that’ll come along eventually.

Another great video as always Ian! Would love to see an updated Swedish Ljungman video like this sometime in the future. I think it would really complement the SVT, Hakim, Rasheed, Baghdad etc.

There use to be a army surplus store in NYC, Kaufmsns in the area where the World Trade Center was built. They had racks of surplus rifles in racks on the street. They SVT's and I remember they were about $29.00 depending on condition. Miss the early 60's.

It struck me that it would be great if Ian did a series of videos on famous firearms designers. Appreciate that the Browning episode would likely be 5 hours long, but the Russian designers seem to have equally interesting track records. Might be a good twist on the current gun-only videos. Thank you

Enjoyed the video content. I really enjoy the history that accompanies these older weapons from yesteryear.

Got to love the ghosts in the background trying to materialize during the video XD

Your vids are amazing Ian and thank you for teaching us about these weapons

Love these "remasters" of some older videos!

8:41 I really like the sound of an arrow hitting something as Ian flips the safety.

Been waiting years for this one. Awesome!

I've been waiting for Ian to do a video on the SVT-40 for ages... Hands down my favourite WWII era semi-auto rifle

i was just looking for this gun on your channel yesterday! awesome video =)

If you are looking to pick one of these up, get one with the scallop cut out on the right hand side where the select fire switch would have been on the automatic version. The stocks on those were more robust and are less prone to cracking, according to numerous sources.

You are the best with the history of the weapons you show,I love the break downs

Thank you for all of your hard work.

The little swivel flap on the back of the receiver is also part of the mechanism that locks the fire control group in the rifle; it has to be in the open position before you can pull a little cylinder (I can't remember the terms for each part, sorry) inside the receiver that releases the fire control group. Just a little FYI for any SVT-40 Nerds out there; I absolutely love this rifle! 😍

Have one, love it. Runs great with good ammo and a correctly adjusted gas block

😍 I love the look of that gun. it's like a super classy combination of an AK or SVD with a mauser or arisaka. I can't think of a better looking service rifle.

The thing that took me by surprise when I got my SVT was how anemic the stock felt. Neat rifle all the same.

Thanks, I bought mine in the early 2000's (1941) love it, used it in my WWII re-enacting. I loved coming up on the Nazis and see their eyes when they recognized it or didn't. Thanks for the detailed history and operating principles.

Minor Nickpick. Sweden adopted the AG42 as a standard rifle in 1942.

Just as I sit down for lunch this video releases. Excellent timing!

i have been waiting for this video for so long, thank you ian i love you

How about that hole in the bolt handle. If for some reason the bolt wont open, you can fit a rifle cartridge in there to give yourself more to grab on to

One of my dad's friends had one of these. As a kid, I thought the hole in the charging handle was awesome and the hand guard vents were cool.

As a random person on the internet I know my opinion only can hold so much weight, but having watched since the very beginning of forgotten weapons I miss the days when it was a little bit more academic and not so commercial don’t get me wrong I feel the books are an amazing asset to the community but I feel like something has been lost.

In the late 60’s did lots of shooting with GARAND, g-43, and a buddy had his Tokorev. To me it was a poor third place and the rimmed cartridge was a pain in the a**. Still have my GARAND- love it. 👨‍🚒

Those are good looking rifles. You forgot to mention, the gate at the back of the receiver can also be depressed with the neck of a cartridge case to remove the trigger assembly. Its an easy gun to work on.

wonderful simple. the safety is self explaining, the cleaning from the rear, the flickable magazine release. brilliant lil details..

I don't know very much about the practicalities of firearm design but I've got to say there's something about the SVT-40 that looks fictional. It just looks like it's from the Metro or Fallout games to me, but I can't really articulate why.

Man I have always loved through look of these things. Such great lines.

Interesting that in wartime they would include such nice features such as a spring for the cleaning rod lock and a covered port allowing cleaning from the breech. Even the magazine release folds back. A good design - I only wish the Russians had stopped using rimmed cartridges.

A Great rifle minus the stock issues. I have always loved the design! Thanks again for the breakdown.

I LOVE this platform and have always wanted one.

I have been waiting for this one for a longgggg time!

I've had one of these for years. Love it. Surprisingly light in both weight and recoil, but crazy muzzle blast. A bit finicky until you find an ammo and setting she likes. The bayonet cost me more than the rifle. Mine's 1941 from Izhevsk with a Finnish "SA" over-stamped on the receiver.

Good video! One thing that tickled me: The 'long' short-stroke piston--I couldn't help but thing of the 'short' long-stroke piston of the Tavor. I do understand that the terms refer to the length of the respective pistons' movement, but it's still amusing to me. 😎

Also, the AVT stock (which is beefier, especially on the wrist) has a big "A" on the right hand side. A lot of AVT stocks were used for refurb and remarked with the new serial as well.

Very good content Ian, particularly when you explain how they went from AVS to SVT, A stands for automatic S for semi - automatic V is vintovka or something very similar (I guess rifle) an lastly the designer S: Simonov and T: Tokarev

10 years ago in canada svt's were $199 & a box with 2 big cans was $240

Finally you cover something I own. I feel special.

As this is one of my dream rifles that I can actually own in my state I am going to definitely enter this one.

Say what you want about the Soviets, but their weapon designs were superb. This, the DP machine gun, the PPSh, the PPD and so on.

At 4:51 Ian conjures a swarm of black pixels on uttering the word "Committee"

I remember going to a gun show in the 90s and they had a stack of these for $250 a pop. I bought a Russian SKS instead and always regretted it. 10 years later finally picked up an SVT for $800, a 1941 production. I must say I love this gun. I you made me choose between this and my Garand it would be a hard choice, the SVT is such a pleasure to shoot.

Have a 1940 first month production SVT-40, has alot of quirks with her, like having a late war brake so it got re barrelled at some point, but love it all the same.

We were forbidden to use metal rod for cleaning our M-70's while i was in the army, had to use cloth and string to prevent barel damage.

Long overdue!! Thanks for all the great content! We have alot of these in Canada, I bought myn last year for about $1000 Canadian, I absolutely love her! She light strikes on Chinese surplus but I guess that is to be expected, Id like to try replacing the hammer spring and see if that helps.

I can just imagine the logistical nightmare what was red army small arms logistics late 40's early 50's when troops had: Nagant Rifles, several version of submachine guns, tokarev SVT's, SKS, and AK-47's with still Maxim machine guns and DP-27's...

Ian, Again, more history than I care for, but an interesting weapon.

The rear receiver port is also used to remove the trigger group by pressing into the inner ring.

Anybody else get addicted to Ian by watching all his videos for CoD World at War weapons?

Interesting rifle. The muzzle blast is quite something, and the stock likes to rearrange my jaw bone. I really should have picked up another one, it was $350 and the the guy wouldn't take $300 for it. Thank you for covering one I actually have!

It's an enjoyable rifle to shoot and a nice piece of military history. Here in Canada, where it is classified as non-restricted, it's a very nice alternative to the FNC1 (FAL), which unfortunately is prohibited.

You didn't point out that the rear receiver cleaning access hole is also a button. If you take a 7.62 cartridge, push it into that donut, it releases the trigger group from the receiver. Also, you can use a cartridge during reassembly. Put it behind the spring (the plunger has a divot for the spitzer point). This makes it easier to clip in the dust cover.

A shame these rifles are like 2,000 USD minimum in the states, meanwhile in Canada they're like 500 CAD

24:30 sniper variant tend to lay first shot with cold barrel badly, thats why sniper variant was abandoned

One of the most beautiful rifles ever.

Next time you are in Finland try to get your hands on a some of the prototype Sako modified SVTs.

Love the video! Could there be possibly a small video on sniper variants of this rifle?

funnily enough, and im sure it may have been the case with a lot of SVTs for repairs, but my SVT-40 has had its stock replaced with an AVT stock, while its a semi auto only SVT, the stock has the cut out for the selector.

If memory serves, there is a collar under the flap that moves forward in the rear rifle "cleaning port". This will then release the trigger group.

Man, the doctrine that replaced this with the Mosin Nagant is so ruthlessly Soviet. “Most of you will die, comrades, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.”