Introduced in 1964, the SVD was designed around the Soviet doctrine of the infantry sniper; as more and more infantrymen were equipped with submachine guns and assault rifles to meet the demands of close-quarters urban fighting, the loss in overall range was mitigated by issuing full-powered rifles to skilled marksmen permanently attached to infantry squads, who would engage threats outside the reach of the rest of the unit, in addition to thinning out targets of opportunity like officers, NCOs, radiomen, and the like. While NATO forces did not have a comparable unit through the Cold War, the Designated Marksman concept did come into its own during the War on Terror, with repurposed M14s, AR-10/AR-15 derivatives and similar rifles filling the niche. Hooded pin front and tangent rear sights, with the "arrow in triangle" arsenal mark over "1972" and the serial number on the underside of the receiver, with matching bolt carrier, bolt, hammer, safety lever, gas cylinder, receiver cover and trigger housing. Milled receiver, with integral scope rail on the left side. Smooth stock, with vented hand guard and a thumbhole buttstock numbered "20895", with clamp-on cheekpiece and a cupped buttplate. Included with the rifle is a "NCO-1" marked rifle scope with a rubber lens cap and eyepiece, sliding sunshield, and integral infra-red filter.

Very fine with 80% of the arsenal black finish with scattered areas of brown patina, scattered mild handling marks and scratches. The receiver shows bright rubbing from contact with the scope and the safety lever. The fine stock shows wear and handling comparable to the metal, along with some scuffing of the cheekpiece. Some light storage residue is present on the exterior of the scope, with the optics crisp, the adjustments in good order, and proper mobility in the i.r. filter. Battery not included and illumination not tested. Mechanically excellent.