SVT-40 Slam fires? (Need help from the SVT 40 experts)

[flak88mm]

Hi All,

I have posted alot about my SVT-40 and did try to sell it at one point because it jammed too much and finally I fixed the problem. ( This is a separate topic that I can answer if anyone is interested about their constantly jamming SVT). Anyway to make it short, up until the last time I took my rifle out and yesterday, I do notice that it double fired or slam fired. That is 2 bullets came out in a short period of time (almost like full auto 2 round burst) and it kinda scared the hell out of me because I felt excess pressure in my forehead.

So I observed more of what it could be. I notice the firing pin is not stuck and is still freely moving (like the SKS w/o slam fire problems), so it can't be a slam fire problem. So then I started playing with the trigger. I would then cock the handle so the trigger is in ready mode. I hold down the trigger while moving the bolt handle back and forth (open close position) and trigger will not click (which this is the way it should be which is normal operation). The bolt will close all the way and the only way to actuate the trigger to click is then to release and press it down again once the bolt is closed.

But at some point I did notice something odd, i would do the same thing and when holding the trigger down (this is at random) on the bolt handle's way back to close position, it would get stuck (leaving a space of about less than 1/8 of an inch and not close all the way, unless you push it back in to close position. While still holding the trigger down, I did push the cock handle back in so it closes that gap and when that happened that's when the hammer (even while still holding the trigger down) actuated.

Also another thing I noticed too was the only way to also close the gap w/o slamming the bolt closed was to release the trigger.

[ziconceo]

I'll take it off your hands for 200$ then you won't have to worry about it

[I Swan]

What kind of ammo?

[knucklehead0202]

sounds like you've got an AVT-40, which is kinda awesome! All kidding aside though I don't know much about the mechanics of this rifle but I'd examine the trigger area for wear/weak springs/etc.

[flak88mm]

I started noticing it with reloads. But now that I think about it, it can also happen to surplus ammo based on what I observed in the trigger/bolt mechanism

[TRAP55]

flak, I thought you sold that thing a long time ago?
Sounds like a weak disconnector spring, or the disconnector is hanging up, parts 52 and 53.

http://stevespages.com/ipb-russian-tokarev38.html

It's in the trigger group, pop it out, give it a good cleaning, and look for worn parts.

[NOTABIKER]

a lot of guns are VERY cool as C&Rs but were failures as a military rifle. this is one of them. I would like to have one but only if it worked perfectly. I only own rifles that work 100 % properly. I hope you fix the problem and enjoy that beauty.

[Vlad 11]

How was the SVT-40 failure as a military rifle?

I disagree with that assessment.

Sounds like the sear isn't catching properly on the return. Worn / Broken sear - bad spring ? Its a simple system, you should be able to see whats happening when the TG is out

Hope you figure it out.. this puts it into an legally undesirable class of firearm. Probably not a good idea to test it full magazine

[PSLguy]

The Russians made approx. 14 million of them, so I don't think they considered them a failure. If you were referencing the AVT, I might agree with you. The firearm simply isn't "beefy" enough to handle much full auto work. The AVT's even kept the 10 round mags for this very reason.

Slam fires are not common with these rifles that I'm aware of. I've put probably 500-600 rounds through mine and it runs perfectly.

You might send a PM to SVT-40. He's a great guy and has quite a few of those rifles and can very likely give you some ideas on what to look for. Chances are he'll see this thread and chime in soon. If not, shoot him a PM

My advice is to not sell it.

[Armistice]

How was the SVT-40 failure as a military rifle?

I disagree with that assessment.

I'd disagree too, not to thread jack

Perhaps because the SVT was shortly replaced by the SKS and AK after only a few years. That could be the meaning of his statement

Found on Wiki that it did have problems "flimsy construction" and "poor stock seating"

As for the OP, only suggestion I have is to turn down the gas adjuster. Maybe too much gas is going through? Check the trigger group first as someone else stated as that's more likely the problem

[Syntax Error]

The SVT is a finnicky gun. I've had to shim the action in the stock in my particular SVT due to the poor fit it had between the stock and action, otherwise, it would wobble around in the stock - not good for accuracy! I also had to replace the gas piston in my SVT since it was worn out that it wasn't getting an effective gas seal with the piston cup, so I got one of the stainless steel pistons from Bill Berg.

As for the OP's problem, I've noticed this perculiarity in all the SVTs I have tested this out on. If you pull the bolt back, and then hold the trigger, when the bolt goes back into battery, the hammer will fall. This normally is not a problem when shooting the gun since there's no way you can reset the trigger on the gun when shooting fast enough before the bolt cycles and goes back into battery, but I notice this peculiarity existed if you cycle the bolt manually and hold the trigger after opening the bolt in doing so. I think this has to do with how the disconnector functions in disconnecting the sear from the trigger before the bolt is fully in battery to prevent out of battery firing. Perhaps your issue is related to this, maybe you have a worn disconnector or out of spec disconnector, or perhaps the disconnector spring is not in-spec? I would try swapping out the trigger packs on the SVT and see if your issue replicates. Of course, don't hold the trigger down when manually cycling the bolt with live ammo!

The SVT is a peculiar gun, and I can see with the design faults that it had why the Soviets dropped the gun pretty quickly after WW2. Still, it's a damn fun blaster to shoot cheap ammo out of!

[NOTABIKER]

14,000,000 seems a little high . they had reliability problems and turned out a poor sniper platform. that is why Mosins used the PU scope designed for the SVT 40. I would love to own a SVT 40 as a civilian but we can't re do history.Maybe failure was too harsh a word but the SVT 40 never really performed up to expectations.I think the SVT 40 is just about the coolest looking WW 2 rifle ever made and would love to own one. But if at the range it misbehaved just owning it would not keep me happy.

[flak88mm]

The Russians made approx. 14 million of them, so I don't think they considered them a failure. If you were referencing the AVT, I might agree with you. The firearm simply isn't "beefy" enough to handle much full auto work. The AVT's even kept the 10 round mags for this very reason.

Slam fires are not common with these rifles that I'm aware of. I've put probably 500-600 rounds through mine and it runs perfectly.

You might send a PM to SVT-40. He's a great guy and has quite a few of those rifles and can very likely give you some ideas on what to look for. Chances are he'll see this thread and chime in soon. If not, shoot him a PM

My advice is to not sell it.

No way I'm not selling it. This started happening after about over 1000 rds into it

[Syntax Error]

14,000,000 seems a little high . they had reliability problems and turned out a poor sniper platform. that is why Mosins used the PU scope designed for the SVT 40. I would love to own a SVT 40 as a civilian but we can't re do history.Maybe failure was too harsh a word but the SVT 40 never really performed up to expectations.I think the SVT 40 is just about the coolest looking WW 2 rifle ever made and would love to own one. But if at the range it misbehaved just owning it would not keep me happy.

14,000,000 is about 10x the amount they actually made the SVT. The Soviets made about 1,400,000-1,600,000 rifles.

14 million is a figure that's more applicable to Mosin-Nagants, not SVT-40s.

To go back to the discussion to why the SVT "failed" as a military rifle was partially because of training and the expected demographic of people they were going to issue the gun to, who didn't understand how to regulate the gas to make the gun more reliable, and they opted for the ever true Mosin rifle anyways. Snipers didn't like the SVT due to its issues with accuracy and wandering zero, also preferring the Mosin. The SVT was more complicated to manufacture than Mosin, and experiments with the SVT to make it a light machine gun or SAW were horrible failures due to the light stock and non-detachable barrel, and rimmed cartridge making large magazines past ten rounds impractical. Compound this with the fact that soon after the war an intermediate round was created, along with a gun (SKS), it makes sense that the Soviets decided to drop the SVT-40 in favor of the SKS, and later the AK. The rifle did its duty in the Eastern Front, but after the war ended, it outlived its usefulness. For a "first generation" full size battle rifle, though, it could have been a lot worse, and the Tokarev-based tilting breechblock locking design (one could say Tokarev might have gotten the design "inspiration" from FN before the war, too!) was emulated in later guns such as the FN-49, and later, FN FAL.

[flak88mm]

Hi all thanks for the replies. I have edited my post because I noticed the sentences were incomplete maybe due to a software error. I added more info in the last sentences.