Combat Vet Podolsk SVT40

All matching combat vet SVT40 manufactured by Factory No.460 in Podolsk in early 1941. All original finish on both the metal and stock. This one has definitely seen some use probably with the Germans in the west. The Podolsk facility, believe it or not, was the old Singer Sewing Machine Factory originaly built by Singer in 1902. Before being seized by the communists in 1918, it had grown to become Singer's third largest factory. The factory continued producing Singer style sewing machines (a lot of them) until the summer of 1940. Production of SVTs finally started very late in 1940 and ended around October of 1941 when the factory machinery was evacuated. Production was apparently restarted very briefly at Factory No.585 in Zlatoust before the SVT program was cancelled in the summer of 1942 but production was so low no one has ever seen one.

Note that the bolt carrier is numbered without prefix on the underside of the bolt with Podolsk acceptance on top as is normal for early Podolsk rifles. Later in 1941, they would reverse this and bolt carriers will be numbered on top (again without prefix) with Podoslk acceptance on the bottom of the handle.

In another early feature, the stock is numbered vertically. The later rifles are numbered horizontally in the normal fashion. The expected Podolsk inspector/commander initials 'B.C.' are barely visible under the serial.Stock finish is virtually identical to my bringback 91/30, a tough reddish-brown oil varnish. Not shellac.

Rifle is absolutely filthy (looks like an attic or barn find) and missing a few minor parts (gas piston rod and extension, cleaning rod release, etc., how do you lose these??) but nothing to worry about. Some light rust, but a lot of the crusty brown stuff on the rifle is actually 70 year old grease that has solidified into a glue. Every corner of the rifle is packed with it. I actually had to take a brass punch to separate the bolt and carrier, and the triggergroup is quite stuck.

Last ones. I am in need of an original, non-refurbished SVT38 or 40 magazine if anyone has an extra.

Man, that is super nice

Bigdibbs88 said:

Man, that is super nice

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Great photos too. Nice work.

Just excellent, congrats! I'd LOVE to find one untouched like that. It's very refreshing to see one that hasn't been rebuilt and slopped with a gallon of shellac and cheap bluing. Thank you for sharing.
Pat

I would of bought that gun. It is just how I like to find them, if it could only talk


Stephen

RyanE said:

Last ones. I am in need of an original, non-refurbished SVT38 or 40 magazine if anyone has an extra.

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I have 3 variations of SVT 40 mags to sell.
Orig factory stamped ser nr, orig nr lined out and a new nr pencil etched above and a factory replacement mag with no ser nr. All are in Exc condition. $200 ea.
Sarge

Wow, Ryan, that's a super SVT and quite rare. Well done. Some light conservation on the metal and it will look much nicer. If it was mine, I'd lightly knock off the active rust on the metal with bronze wool and ballistol. That's it. I'd leave as much dried grease as I could and nothing would be made to shine. If you do any of this, post up some "after" pics. Very nice and pic stickied.

Thank you for posting this. It has to be one of the coolest things I've seen posted on this Website. I like the German rifles, but these Russian guns are so much more difficult to find matching and original.

Yep, you'll find 10 G.41Ms for every SVT.38, and a truckload of G/K.43s for every nice matching unmessed with SVT.40, particularly one of these. Though I don't beat the bushes for them, I've never seen one of these matching and in original condition.

Thanks guys. I was very lucky to snatch this off GB.

I had to knock off the grease on the bolt and carrier. The two were literally glued together and it was hindering the action. I didn't pimp shine it though. I removed only what a soak in Ballistol and fine bronze wool would remove so the carrier still has patina showing age.

There is some air rust under the wood line. Cleaning that up but trying to leave the grease as untouched as possible at the same time. I am trying to minimize what I do to preserve its current condition. I like the war horse look.

An early Christmas Present for yourself! Will look great under the tree.

Honest, all matching SVT's, like this one, are so hard to come by.

Very nice SvT, and thanks for the history regarding the Podolsk factory. I've never heard the story that it was a Singer operation. I have a refurb 41 Podolsk.

Svt40

Very nice, thanks for sharing. I have always like the 40s, but never found one with that many matching parts. I guess most of mine came from Finland. They shoot surprisingly well and are fun to shoot. Thanks for the factory information too. You don't find that everyday either. All of mine were also the early imported ones. The later refurbed ones just never interested me. I hope they sticky this one so I can just come back and look at it sometime. Thanks again

This is the best auction homerun I've seen in 2013. Happened to a good guy too. This is a good example of what results from being a true student of the hobby.

kar66 said:

Very nice, thanks for sharing. I have always like the 40s, but never found one with that many matching parts. I guess most of mine came from Finland. They shoot surprisingly well and are fun to shoot. All of mine were also the early imported ones. The later refurbed ones just never interested me. Thanks again

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Boy, I don't know where you have been finding SVT 40s because almost all I have ever seen are matching. The imports had unnumbered replacement bolts pencil etched to match the rec and most of the stocks matched or were renumbered to match.
The Fins All had the boxed SA stamp on them, If it wasn't there they weren't Fins. I've got one and the other 3 are the later imports.
Yes, the SVT is fun to shoot and one of the less expensive rifles to shoot now days.
Sarge

Nice to see another original matching SVT40 that only has the non-Cyrillic portion of the serial number on the bolt carrier handle much like my SVT40 at http://imgur.com/a/5dof2 does for the bolt carrier handle and the trigger guard. It seems that the use of the entire serial number on these two parts is inconsistent. Also, does anyone know what the use of the "T" above the serial number signifies?

bspencer said:

Nice to see another original matching SVT40 that only has the non-Cyrillic portion of the serial number on the bolt carrier handle much like my SVT40 at http://imgur.com/a/5dof2 does for the bolt carrier handle and the trigger guard. It seems that the use of the entire serial number on these two parts is inconsistent. Also, does anyone know what the use of the "T" above the serial number signifies?

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Tula (Factory No.314) dropped the Cyrillic prefixes on the bolt carrier and triggerguard in the summer of 1941. Yours dates to around July/August of 1941. Bolt continued to have the prefix stamped until 1944 when for some reason they began to use electropencil. Serial numbers were still stamped, just the prefix was EP'd.

Not sure about the T.

Hambone said:

If you do any of this, post up some "after" pics.

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So I know these pics are 9 years and 7 days late, but better late than never, right?

I cleaned up this Podolsk a long time ago, and since I am taking some other SVT pics, I thought I would dig this one out as well for some 'post cleaning' shots while I am at it. I am fairly conservative when it comes to cleaning, but I think it cleaned up nicely. I got very, very lucky and stumbled into an original/non-Finn magazine that matches the overall condition perfectly. Fits good too, which is nice because that always isn't the case, especially when its from a different manufacturer. I tried to replicate the pics from the original post for a good comparison.

Last couple