Original Item: Only One Available. This is 1960s Cold War / Vietnam War Era U.S. military issue SVD Dragunov training replica rifle. The military calls these rifles Rubber Ducks. This is full size, true to weight, non-firing replica made of hard rubber, molded from an original. The SVD, GRAU index 6V1, is a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle/sniper rifle chambered in the 7.62×54mmR cartridge, developed in the Soviet Union.

This example is in great condition though there are a few areas of repaired cracks as well as the “Optic” having been screwed on. The paint is retained quite well and the overall construction is still solid. We could not find any markings on the rifle itself.

A great example ready for further research and display.

The SVD was designed to serve in a squad support role to provide precise long-range engagement capabilities to ordinary troops following the Warsaw Pact adoption of the 7.62×39mm intermediate cartridge and assault rifles as standard infantry weapon systems. At the time, NATO used battle rifles chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO fully powered cartridge as standard infantry weapon systems and had not yet adopted an intermediate cartridge and assault rifle of their own, allowing them to outrange their Warsaw Pact counterparts.

The SVD was developed through 1958–1963 and selected as the winner of a contest that included three competing groups of designers, led by Sergei Simonov (prototype rejected in April 1960), Aleksandr Konstantinov, and Yevgeny Dragunov. Extensive field testing of the rifles conducted in a wide range of environmental conditions (Konstantinov's competing 2B-W-10 prototype was simpler and cheaper but tested less accurate, durable and reliable) resulted in Dragunov's proposal chambered for the 7.62×54mmR fully powered cartridge being accepted into service in July 1963. An initial pre-production batch consisting of 200 rifles was assembled for evaluation purposes, and from 1964 serial production was carried out by Izhmash, later called Kalashnikov Concern.

Since then, the SVD has become the standard squad support weapon of several countries, including those of the former Warsaw Pact. China produced a copy of the SVD through reverse-engineered samples captured during the Sino-Vietnamese War as the Type 79 and 85. Iran also produced a clone, the Nakhjir 3, which was a direct copy of the Chinese Type 79.

In Russian service, the SVD is to be replaced with the Chukavin SVCh sniper/designated marksman rifle. In February 2023 it was reported that the Chukavin SVCh began to be mass-produced by Kalashnikov Concern. When chambered for the 7.62×54mmR the Chukavin SVCh uses SVD compatible box magazines.