The SVT 40 is certainly a famous and functional firearm…

… but ‘obsolete dream gun’ is an apt description for … probably most people in this thread.

Basically, in the US, right now, you’re looking at $2,500+ for one of these, if you can even find one, the originals are quite old, and not many (any?) modern repros seem to be available in the US.

If you do manage to get one, enjoy ~$0.65 per shot of your 7.62x54r ammo, which will kick like a mule, out of your weapon that cannot easily move with you, in a combat stance, through a door frame.

This is the same round used by the SVD… a sniper/designated marksman rifle… but coming out of a less accurized weapon.

(You can probably have more luck, in the US, finding an SVD, or some close derivative from another Warsaw Pact country, or a modern repro, for about the same price or less.)

Also if you are looking for home defense?

This will overpen probably half the walls in your entire American home/apartment, hope your neighbors don’t mind.

Also also, an unloaded SVT 40 weighs about 3.8 kg, about 8.5 lbs… fully loaded, add roughly another pound.

Given the amount of people I see complaining elsewhere on lemmy that a Steam Deck… at ~650 grams… is too heavy… which is a thing you hold for a long time usually with your elbows on support points…

…yeah, you may want to consider a weapon’s weight.

…

If you want something maybe a bit more practical, and a hell of a lot more affordable, with a bit of uniqueness, not a bog standard AR 15… I’d say consider a Ruger Mini 14, or a modern lever action in .357 like the Marlin 1894.

Both of those are about $1000 less expensive than the cheapest listing I can find for an SVT 40, there are multiple available variants of each, not gonna have to worry about import nonsense or buying from some oldie who ‘knows what he’s got’, ammo is more affordable, will not kick so hard that you just never train with it because it is literally a pain to shoot.

…

Or, if you wanna go the… new fangled approach…

Consider the Ruger LC Carbine in 5.7mm.

The 5.7mm in a carbine is something like an intermediate between a 9mm and a 5.56… in terms of range and ballistics… but has just a tad more recoil than a .22lr, that is to say, practically none.

This means you will likely actually enjoy shooting the thing and thus be more likely to actually train with it.

(This also means you will likely have an easier time putting down accurate follow up shots, rapidly.)

5.7mm is finally catching on more widely, so ammo prices for it have been dropping considerably in recent months/years, from when it used to basically only be a niche for just the FN 5.7 pistol and P90…

Its still pricier per round than 5.56mm or 9mm, about twice the cost of either… but it used to be a lot worse, and its certainly less expensive than a 7.62 x 54r or x 51 (NATO).

Ironically, these things may be somewhat difficult to get in 5.7mm at the moment… because they are apparently flying off the shelves, Ruger does not appear to have correctly estimated how popular these would be.

…

If you are not picking up the common theme here:

If you are serious about owning a gun, you want a gun that you can and will actually use at least semi-regularly, that you enjoy using/training with.

Any gun that you just have but never practice with is in practice almost always inferior to any gun that is a bit more modest which you are actually familiar with using.

I am not saying become a guntube dude bro who does nothing other than range day every day, but you do need to be at least competent with your weapon, not unfamiliar, not capable of being surprised by it.

Chuckles in Mosin

You don’t support the Glocks?

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