Dragunov Variations: Military SVD, Izhmash Tiger, Chinese NDM-86
Russia / USSR
•
22m
The SVD Dragunov was the Soviet marksman's rifle that finally replaced the failed attempt to issue the SVT-40 as a precision rifle. It was introduced in 1963, after about 5 years of development, and its scarcity in the United States has led to the development of a loyal and dedicated group of admirers. This, of course, has led to much spirited debate about the relative merits of the different variations of the SVD which have been imported into the US. Today, we will look at three in detail: a genuine Soviet military-issue SVD, a commercial Tiger SVD made in Russia, and a commercial Chinese NDM-86 in 7.62 NATO caliber (a commercial version of the Chinese Type 79/85 military rifle).
While these rifles really have negligible differences in actual shooting and handling performance, they do differ in some details. Specifically:
- firing pin
- gas regulator
- trigger mechanism (safety sear & disconnector)
- bolt machining
- mainspring and top cover
- receiver lightening cut(s)
Enjoy the video, and see the differences for yourself!
Up Next in Russia / USSR
-
Soviet PPD-40: Degtyarev's Submachine...
Degtyarev’s PPD-40 was the first submachine gun adopted in a large scale by the Soviet Union. Its development began in 1929 with a locked breech gun modeled after Degtyarev’s DP light machine gun, but evolved into a much simpler blowback system. It was accepted as the best performing gun of 14 di...
-
Sudayev's PPS-43: Submachine Gun Simp...
The PPS-43, designed by Alexei Sudayev based on a previous submachine gun design by I.K. Bezruchko-Vysotsky, was the Soviet replacement for the PPSh-41. The Shpagin submachine gun was a very effective combat weapon, but was time-consuming to produce and required specialized manufacturing tools. T...
-
Semiauto DPM Light Machine Gun Review
I have had a parts kit for a Soviet DPM light machine gun (actually a Polish one, but the design is identical) stashed away for many years now, with the hope to eventually have it built into a live gun. When I found out that SMG (maker the the sweet semiauto FG42 replicas) was making a new produc...
