Nylon 66 too collectible to shoot?

Mosin77 said:

Anything they made a million of is not exactly rare, no matter what the guy behind the counter at the gun store might say.

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Well, maybe. But look at the number of many military rifles made and how guys go nutty after them.

Back in the 60’s we had a Nylon 66 for use around the farm. We beat the crap out that rifle and it always seemed to work. Accounted for a lot of vermin. Accurate enough with Remington ammo (at that time).

cslinger said:

Wine to be drunk.

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I wish.
Old diabetes got me... .

Shoot it.
Even mint, unfired, in the box, you are going to be lucky to get half retail for it.

That being said, at the beginning of the year, there was a green one at the Gun Show marked $575.

I have an Apache Black, got it back in ‘81. It has taken enough squirrels to fill a pickup truck bed. I still use mine and really enjoy it. Someday I will pass it down to my 10 year old son. So, shoot it!

Maybe they have gone up idk. I'm not a buyer at that. That's for sure

I sold a nylon 77 on gunbroker earlier this year. I think I got $225 for it, in great shape. When I first saw it, it was so light and cheap feeling, I thought it was some kind of pellet gun.

To be fair, the fellow who bought it was really excited. But, I had to list it 3x before I got a buyer who paid. I think guys buy these to remember their first gun.

Mosin77 said:

I sold a nylon 77 on gunbroker earlier this year. I think I got $225 for it, in great shape. When I first saw it, it was so light and cheap feeling, I thought it was some kind of pellet gun.

To be fair, the fellow who bought it was really excited. But, I had to list it 3x before I got a buyer who paid. I think guys buy these to remember their first gun.

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Yup. Nostalgia can influence the market.
Lots of stuff that way.

Im not an emotional buyer.

Mosin 77 said “I think guys buy these to remember their first gun.”

I think that’s a pretty accurate assessment. I never had one but it reminds me of my youth. I’m always keeping a look-out locally for one in decent condition. Not necessarily to shoot ( got plenty of .22 rifles that don’t get shot as it is) but mostly for nostalgia.

edited to add: I guess I’m an emotional buyer.

Have seen collectible items at overly inflated price.

" Rare " is a word way over used. If it aint at Walmart, its rare LOL.

Some stuff is rare, some of it might ne collectible. Some things fluctuate quite a bit.

Some hot stuff can cool down considerably.

Others are safer bets.

I paid 275 bucks for my 648 6" LNIB. Shot it in IHMSA and hunted it. Yrs later sold for 675. Of course now its proly 1200 or more to replace it.

Loved the gun. No chucks to hunt now. Even if I had 1200 in fun money I wouldnt pay that for one today.

I wont pay what 870 20 ga Special Fields are bringing either. Aint no 870 worth 800 bucks. Not a collector, am a user. Id hunt with it, so NIB doesnt matter to me.

If it's sentimental or you like to shoot it, keep it and do as you wish. Otherwise I'd sell it.

I remember my grandfather had one in his shop for repair some forty years ago. His opinion of them was rather low, perhaps because they were designed as a throw away in his opinion.

First gun I ever owned was a Nylon 66

Shoot it

If worried about damage, just keep it as a range toy, dont take it hunting.

Should be able to shoot it, have fun, and it maintain value, possibly increase.

Collectors want two types of guns.....new in the box w all the paper work, and shooters ( so they can keep the other ones NIB ).

If you dont have one NIB, shoot it.

Just my 2 cents

As mentioned "Rare" is not a lot made or seldom seen. Nylons fall under the not being made anymore but theres a a lot out there. I,d shoot it and take care of it. I won,t own a gun I won,t shoot. Now I may only shoot them a little and pamper them but I shoot them. Guns were made to shoot. Oh and remember if you go looking at ads and auctions. Don't look at the asking price for value. Look at the sell price.

I have my mother's Nylon 66

Or my dad's... but he let my mom shoot what she wanted and laid claim to what she liked. And she liked the Nylon 66 a lot, and was a darn good shot.

My family is realistic. Pragmatic. Utilitarian. My mother would roll over in her grave if she thought I was treating her Nylon 66 as a safe queen.

The thing is, there are guns that are beautiful, and have ...delicate... finishing, and because they’re not made anymore, you really hate to use ‘em hard. Like a nice old Winchester 92 octagon barrel with deluxe pistol grip stock in .25-20, in 90% condition. It may not even be a truly “rare” gun, but it’s uncommon, certainly valuable, and you’d hate to drop it and scratch, much less chip or break, the stock. You’d feel guilty if the heavens opened up and this gun got a good soaking. Even if it’s just the perfect gun for shooting raccoons or possums in your barnyard. I’d like to think that even the guys who say “I shoot everything I own” (I number myself in that category) would bring this one out on a sunny day for a bit of light duty, rather than grabbing it from the hook over the back door in a driving rain. (For the record I was offered such a gun and passed on it, because I couldn’t justify spending north of 2k on a gun that, while extremely appealing, I knew I’d be really reluctant to let out of the safe much.)

On the other hand, a Remington Nylon could traipse through the woods all day long and probably not show a single blemish. It’s not the kind of gun you have to keep in a padded case or wipe down with an oily rag the moment you finish shooting. So even if they were expensive, there’s really no practical reason not to shoot them. Except for the fact that they’re just not that fantastic a firearm compared to other .22 options today, and were mainly purchased in their heyday for their durability and low price.

Bought my first brown one for $44 new back in the 60"s. Sold it for about $88 in the 80's. Still have the black one. It's not been shot in 30 years. Go ahead and shoot it or sell it. Makes no difference. Then buy something new!

I owned 2 a 10c and 77. It's a neat rifle for the fact that it was the first gun to use polymer. But, they are nothing special when it comes to shooting.

wanderinwalker, in post #19, pretty much said it all. Anything can be "collectable" to people that want them. The nylon 66s certainly have a following and they could be called collectable, but they will never be "high end" collectables. If one new in box with papers ever sells for $1,000 it will probably be long after I'm gone.

Shoot the you know what out of it.

I have a CBC Copy, plus the Box.
Need to dig it out and shoot it, still has Iron only sights.
Might want to a good .22 scope for it.
Barman54
Out

I've owned a pile of them over the years. 66's, 77's Apaches , Mohawks...only one I ever cared about was one that belonged to my grandpa. When he died, all the grandsons got one of his guns. My brother got the 66, I got a Mossberg 12ga bolt with poly-choke. Luck of the draw.
I've never shot one yet that wasn't reliable, but I've also never shot one that I'd really call accurate.

Shoot it. If you don't beat it up and abuse it, the value isn't going to go down.

Mine is my first firearm.

it will become my daughters very shortly...

I don’t have safe queens...

Greg

JCooperfan1911 said:

But are they becoming a collector’s piece? I am seeing if it would be better left at home in the safe vs taking it out to shoot and what everyone thinks of that. Thanks.

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You’ll never wear it out. They will go for hundreds of thousands of rounds.

The more desirable ones may be the 150th Anniversary Editions (1966)....I had one for many years and put many thousands of rounds through it before I sold it, and I still got a very good price for it.

The only downside of the Nylon 66 is that a heavy-ish scope won’t hold zero very well, since the receiver cover can shift a little with the receiver. But with iron sights or a red dot, they are great shooters.

That’s what the nearest Scheels wanted for one (10c). Collectors don’t just look at rarity when considering value. If something is particularly vulnerable to damage or breakage it is often worth more. Thus rocks have little value but a Chevrolet’s price seems overly high.

wow , I didnt realise those things were worth anything ! My Uncle had one , and as I recall it never made it through a magazine without some kind of a malfunction .

C.R. said:

wow , I didnt realise those things were worth anything ! My Uncle had one , and as I recall it never made it through a magazine without some kind of a malfunction .

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If it was malfunctioning, the innards were probably caked with powder fouling. I shot mine from the time I was a kid (the rifle was already ~20 years old then) until I sold it in my mid-40’s. I cleaned it once, when I was in my late 20’s and it started jamming. Got the instructions, carefully took the cover and barrel off (not easy), and cleaned everything thoroughly with Hoppes No. 9 and Q-tips, an it once again became the most reliable .22 I’ve ever owned.