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As an aside... when I shoot the SVT40 side by side with the SKS, the SKS is heavier and has a bit sharper recoil than the SVT 40. Go figger? I like them both, but prefer the SVT40 as it balances better, recoil is "smoother," and you can reach out and touch something at a bit further distance with the SVT40.
Like a lot of you I have read all the internet lore on these two designs as I could find. How Simonev built a better rifle, but Tokarev brown nosed Stalin and his design was adopted. How after the war, the Simonev bureau got the nod for the SKS as a goodwill gesture. -Heck, some of it may even be true. But there is nothing wrong with the Tokarev rifle, it is a fantastic design for its time and the technology embodied in that rifle carries forward to today's military rifles.
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My experience with the 7.62 Kalashnikov is one of awkwardness. While I believe everyone who wants one should be legally able to buy one, I just can't really find a use for it other than plinking. It isn't well suited for shooting from a bench. It isn't well suited for shooting from supported positions, as the sling acts directly on the barrel as soon as you tighten it up. The Kalashnikov works great when firing unsupported from your hind legs, which, near as I can tell is what it is designed to do. For my informal plinking/shooting the SKS is just more versatile when compared to the Kalashnikov. Again... better than either is the SVT40, IMO.