Total production of the SVT-38/40 was 5,772,085 rifles, of which 51,710 were the SVT-40 sniper variant.
By the time the German invasion began in June 1941, the SVT-40 was already in widespread use by the Red Army. In a Soviet infantry division's table of organization and equipment, one-third of rifles were supposed to be SVTs
snipers prefer bolt action in lower calibers