JCooperfan1911
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- Oct 8, 2020
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I've owned two Remington Nylon 66 .22 rimfire self-loading rifles for many years. If you don't know what these are here is what they look like:
Introduced in the late 1950s, this was the OG "plastic fantastic" and was pivotal in changing Amercans views on polymer usage in firearms. Produced until 1989 with a million or so made, its a personal all time favorite and found use with lots of outdoorsman, children, adults, and humans in general. They were discontinued only because the tooling was worn out and Remington decided to invest in other (not as good) modernized rimfires like the unlamented Viper.
Several different variants of Remington Nylon rifles were made in various colors. Brown, black with silver accents, a low production and highly sought after “Seneca green” color, and derivatives of the gun under different names featured lever action mechanisms, a bolt action, and so on. But the rear tube fed semi automatic models were by far the most common and the standard color was “Mohawk Brown”, what both of mine are.
The classic autoloading Nylon 66 is IMHO one of the best .22 rimfire field guns in history. Reliable as a Singer sewing machine, feather in weight, and sleek and neat with a unique sort of retro Art Deco design going on.
Collectors value on Nylon 66s has grown a great deal in recent years. Some see these as antiques or collectors items now, safe queens all past due for retirement and beyond their useful life.
I disagree.
With a Nylon in my hands it just feels RIGHT. it's one of those few guns that I think are about perfect and even today no other production .22 rifle feels as nice and handy to ME as the Nylon. I can shoot the gun with uncanny accuracy and almost have a 6th sense type feeling as if I "know" I'll pop that walnut across the bank or nail that pesky varmint messing with the crops. I can hit with my Nylon better than any .22 I have ever had.
I also love the buttstock loaded tube magazine that carries a respectable 14 shots with no protruding stick magazine needed. The balance point of the rifle is right at the receiver where a magazine would get in the way. This makes the gun a tremendous joy to tote about and combined with the mere 4 lbs weight the lack of sling swivels is a non issue (though I’ve experiment with zip tie sling mods as seen above, since removed). The rear mounted tube is great from a safety standpoint as it keeps the fingers away from the muzzle (though that's not a big problem at all if you're careful on other designs).
Also the weapon can be easily single loaded by removing the magazine, dropping a round into the stock, and racking the charging handle. One minor issue with the Nylon is they're tough to scope as the sheet metal receiver cover tends to loose zero over time. Still the iron sights are very nice and I can still hit great no scope needed. For my purposes the rackish shark fin front sight with white dot and straightforward though highly visible rear notch work a peach even in the thick woods and in fairly low light conditions.
Reliability and durability of the Nylons is boss. You'll often here stories of guys even today who've never experienced a jam that wasn't ammo related. The bolt rides on the Nylon receiver which on paper sounds suspect but in reality makes for a gun that requires no lube which means no build up of excess fouling and the gun can go for many hundreds or even thousands of shots before cleaning. Stories about owners who’ve never so much as wiped out the internals are legion, with the gun still happily firing away.
The lack of lubrication made the gun a hit in arctic regions like Canada and Alaska as grease can congeal at exceptionally low temperatures and wreak havoc with the actions of other rifles. Early advertisements from Remington claimed the gun was popular with fisherman in Alaska for use against “marauding sea lions” that would go after their catch. Imagine that in an ad today!
One so-called "problem" (it actually isn’t one) that some have had with the Nylons is they can be a nightmare to get back together again IF one goes too far in the takedown process. More than one gunsmith has made a pretty penny from folks bringing in boxes of parts that used to be a complete Nylon.
However, the good news is the guns NEVER need to be disassembled beyond a basic field strip which is very simple. Because no lube is needed on the action, a quick scrub of the parts with a toothbrush and swipe of the barrel with a brush and patches will make for a clean Nylon in moments, ready to gobble more rounds. Also parts breakages are very rare on these guns, yet spares are avaliable from places like Numrich and ebay if needed.
So in closing at least for me the Nylon 66 is one of those guns that is just TOO DARN GOOD to relegate to the goner pile. A million or better were made and despite the volatile and crazy market of today and the onslaught of time for this sadly discontinued gem, I fully intend to keep mine in the field and as far away from the cold dark safe as possible. I doubt I'll ever be able to wear my two out before I go. I've got a small kit of spare parts but chances are they probably won't be needed until long after I'm worm food.
Guys if you're in shop and see a Nylon 66 tucked away on the shelf, do yourself a favor and try one out. In my humble opinion they are an underated and nearly forgotten piece of firearms Americana thay still holds a place in the bush, at the range, or in the mountains every bit as well as it did "back in the day".
God bless and thank you for reading this!
Introduced in the late 1950s, this was the OG "plastic fantastic" and was pivotal in changing Amercans views on polymer usage in firearms. Produced until 1989 with a million or so made, its a personal all time favorite and found use with lots of outdoorsman, children, adults, and humans in general. They were discontinued only because the tooling was worn out and Remington decided to invest in other (not as good) modernized rimfires like the unlamented Viper.
Several different variants of Remington Nylon rifles were made in various colors. Brown, black with silver accents, a low production and highly sought after “Seneca green” color, and derivatives of the gun under different names featured lever action mechanisms, a bolt action, and so on. But the rear tube fed semi automatic models were by far the most common and the standard color was “Mohawk Brown”, what both of mine are.
The classic autoloading Nylon 66 is IMHO one of the best .22 rimfire field guns in history. Reliable as a Singer sewing machine, feather in weight, and sleek and neat with a unique sort of retro Art Deco design going on.
Collectors value on Nylon 66s has grown a great deal in recent years. Some see these as antiques or collectors items now, safe queens all past due for retirement and beyond their useful life.
I disagree.
With a Nylon in my hands it just feels RIGHT. it's one of those few guns that I think are about perfect and even today no other production .22 rifle feels as nice and handy to ME as the Nylon. I can shoot the gun with uncanny accuracy and almost have a 6th sense type feeling as if I "know" I'll pop that walnut across the bank or nail that pesky varmint messing with the crops. I can hit with my Nylon better than any .22 I have ever had.
I also love the buttstock loaded tube magazine that carries a respectable 14 shots with no protruding stick magazine needed. The balance point of the rifle is right at the receiver where a magazine would get in the way. This makes the gun a tremendous joy to tote about and combined with the mere 4 lbs weight the lack of sling swivels is a non issue (though I’ve experiment with zip tie sling mods as seen above, since removed). The rear mounted tube is great from a safety standpoint as it keeps the fingers away from the muzzle (though that's not a big problem at all if you're careful on other designs).
Also the weapon can be easily single loaded by removing the magazine, dropping a round into the stock, and racking the charging handle. One minor issue with the Nylon is they're tough to scope as the sheet metal receiver cover tends to loose zero over time. Still the iron sights are very nice and I can still hit great no scope needed. For my purposes the rackish shark fin front sight with white dot and straightforward though highly visible rear notch work a peach even in the thick woods and in fairly low light conditions.
Reliability and durability of the Nylons is boss. You'll often here stories of guys even today who've never experienced a jam that wasn't ammo related. The bolt rides on the Nylon receiver which on paper sounds suspect but in reality makes for a gun that requires no lube which means no build up of excess fouling and the gun can go for many hundreds or even thousands of shots before cleaning. Stories about owners who’ve never so much as wiped out the internals are legion, with the gun still happily firing away.
The lack of lubrication made the gun a hit in arctic regions like Canada and Alaska as grease can congeal at exceptionally low temperatures and wreak havoc with the actions of other rifles. Early advertisements from Remington claimed the gun was popular with fisherman in Alaska for use against “marauding sea lions” that would go after their catch. Imagine that in an ad today!
One so-called "problem" (it actually isn’t one) that some have had with the Nylons is they can be a nightmare to get back together again IF one goes too far in the takedown process. More than one gunsmith has made a pretty penny from folks bringing in boxes of parts that used to be a complete Nylon.
However, the good news is the guns NEVER need to be disassembled beyond a basic field strip which is very simple. Because no lube is needed on the action, a quick scrub of the parts with a toothbrush and swipe of the barrel with a brush and patches will make for a clean Nylon in moments, ready to gobble more rounds. Also parts breakages are very rare on these guns, yet spares are avaliable from places like Numrich and ebay if needed.
So in closing at least for me the Nylon 66 is one of those guns that is just TOO DARN GOOD to relegate to the goner pile. A million or better were made and despite the volatile and crazy market of today and the onslaught of time for this sadly discontinued gem, I fully intend to keep mine in the field and as far away from the cold dark safe as possible. I doubt I'll ever be able to wear my two out before I go. I've got a small kit of spare parts but chances are they probably won't be needed until long after I'm worm food.
Guys if you're in shop and see a Nylon 66 tucked away on the shelf, do yourself a favor and try one out. In my humble opinion they are an underated and nearly forgotten piece of firearms Americana thay still holds a place in the bush, at the range, or in the mountains every bit as well as it did "back in the day".
God bless and thank you for reading this!
Last edited:
memtb
