AVS - 36 The AVS - 36 ( from " Avtomaticheskaya Vintovka Simonova 1936 model " ; ) was a Soviet automatic rifle which saw service in the early years of World War II . It was among the early selective fire infantry rifles ( capable of both single and full - automatic fire ) formally adopted for military service . The designer , Sergei Simonov , began his work with a gas - operated self - loading rifle in 1930 . The first prototype was ready in 1931 and appeared promising , and three years later a trial batch of an improved design was made . In 1935 , a competition between Simonov ' s design and a rifle made by Fedor Tokarev was held . The Simonov rifle emerged as a winner and was accepted into service as the AVS - 36 . The AVS - 36 was a gas - operated rifle with a short piston stroke and vertical sliding locking block . It was capable of both automatic and semi - automatic fire . The barrel was equipped with a large muzzle brake to reduce recoil . Ammunition was in a detachable magazine holding 15 rounds . A knife bayonet was issued with the rifle . A sniper version was produced in small amounts with a PE scope . The AVS - 36 was first seen in public in the 1938 May Day parade in Moscow , when it was displayed by the marching 1st Rifle Division . The American public became aware when it was covered in an August 1942 issue of the American " Infantry Journal " , in an article by John Garrett Underhill , Jr . Once in service , it quickly became apparent that the AVS was not a satisfactory design ; the operating mechanism was overly complicated , and the problem was made worse by the rifle ' s construction which let dirt get inside the weapon . The rifle was also particular about ammunition quality . The muzzle brake design proved to be a failure — the rifle was nearly uncontrollable in automatic fire . Some of the problems were traced to the magazine , which was deemed too long . Production of the AVS - 36 was terminated in 1938 , and a new design competition was held to which Simonov and Tokarev submitted their improved designs . In 1938 Tokarev ' s SVT - 38 was also adopted for service . In 1939 a politicized dispute erupted within the Soviet elite as to which design , that of Simonov or that of Tokarev , should prevail . Simonov ' s rifle was lighter and contained fewer parts , while Tokarev ' s rifle was considered sturdier , although this mainly due to firing pin breakages on Simonov ' s rifle . Both guns had their supporters and detractors among the Politburo . Stalin ultimately sided with Tokarev , with whom he had a good personal relationship . By a decision of the Defense Committee dated 17 July 1939 , mass production was to concentrate on the SVT - 38 . Official Soviet production breakdown figures are : 106 made in 1934 , 286 in 1935 , 10 , 280 made in 1937 , 24 , 401 in 1938 , with an estimated total of 65 , 800 AVS - 36s manufactured until production stopped in 1940 ( exact production figures for some years , like 1936 or 1939 , is not reported ) . The rifle first saw service in the Battle of Halhin Gol , and later in the Winter War , but did not perform well . Some of the problems were caused by incorrect maintenance ; many rifles went into combat without having been cleaned of their storage grease , which then " froze " solid . About 300 AVS - 36 exemplars were captured by the Finns ; some were used by their new owners . The SVT - 38 s and LS - 26 s used on the Finnish side suffered from similar problems . After a large amount of the more serviceable SVTs were captured , the AVS - 36s were largely withdrawn from service . In the Soviet Union , the AVS was quickly marginalized and apparently withdrawn from service during 1941 , though it saw brief service during World War II . Some reports claim that remaining AVSs were mostly scrapped . Today , the AVS - 36 is a rare collectors item ; most of the remaining rifles in existence are in Finland . Simonov would later design an anti - tank rifle , the PTRS - 41 , and the SKS carbine , which employed simpler tilting bolt operation .