Nylon 66 Question

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Alright! Just got back. Update: the beer in Corvallis is still good, especially after a day on Mary's Peak.

Update on the firearms side:

The Nylon 66 ran perfect. Very accurate, even with the crappy scope ... BUT ... I couldn't change the crosshairs enough to be on target. The groups were very tight and nice, but uh ... that huge ding on the rim of the scope seems to me like the scope got knocked out of whack, because I was very consistently hitting the same durned spot with the scope. About a 1/4 inch group at 30ish yards with me in the seated position? About half a foot low, though.

All that being said though, I'm pretty happy with the rifle. While it does fell very ... distinct? odd? It shoots straight and it has a nice trigger, and recoil is very pleasant, but yeah, it has a very unique feel. I like it.

In any case, the rifle works fine, but either I'm mounting the scope wrong or it's broke. Because it groups well, it just doesn't adjust well.

All in all, fun day on the mountain, fun evening at Block 15 and je regrete rien, as they say. Maybe one day I will mount a quality scope and try it again.
 
As a kid, a friend had a Nylon 66. It was the Mohawk edition. I was always envious of it. You see, no matter what I had, this kid would always show up with something a lot better. While I had my trusty J.C. Higging .22 single-shot, this guy trumped everyone with his 66.

Years later the fool totally disassembled it and could never get it back together. I'm sure its either sitting in a box somewhere in pieces or, more likely, in the dump!

A pawn shop nearby has two of them - a Mohawk and the chromed Apache. Both look to be in good shape and the prices was around $240 ea., I think. Might have to drop by there today and look with different eyes. :D
 
I went to the Exchange at Lejeune to get a Ruger 1022 for $99. They were out, so I got a nylon 66 black diamond, man what a rifle. Still have it. All the kids learned to shoot on it, two grandkids and now the three year old will have a crack at it, too. When she's ready.. It's just a good .22 rifle, never had a problem with it but almost thought I could disassemble/clean it, but didn't. Always had other models too, but everyone migrated to the nylon.
 
No collector value unless it is pristine. Try to shoot the barrel out of it.
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A 1960s Nylon 66 does hold some collector value. Of course, if you luck into a commemorative edition then those are worth more. I recently sold my 1966 150th anniversary edition for $800. However, a "stock crack" on a gun in which the stock is part of the gun itself could be a serious defect, or it could be minor and cosmetic, depending on where the crack is located. If it shoots fine, don't worry about it and have fun with it. You'll never wear it out; 100,000+ rounds through one is not unheard of.

They can, however, get gummed up with powder residue after a few tens of thousands of rounds and need a good cleaning. Don't take one apart without instructions, but the instructions are available from Remington. All you need to do for a good cleaning is to remove the metal receiver cover, the barrel, and possibly the bolt, then swab everything out with Hoppes #9. I would never dissassemble one further than that. I shot mine for 25 years and many thousands of rounds and only had to clean it once.
 
benEzra said:
A 1960s Nylon 66 does hold some collector value. Of course, if you luck into a commemorative edition then those are worth more. I recently sold my 1966 150th anniversary edition for $800. However, a "stock crack" on a gun in which the stock is part of the gun itself could be a serious defect, or it could be minor and cosmetic, depending on where the crack is located. If it shoots fine, don't worry about it and have fun with it. You'll never wear it out; 100,000+ rounds through one is not unheard of.

They can, however, get gummed up with powder residue after a few tens of thousands of rounds and need a good cleaning. Don't take one apart without instructions, but the instructions are available from Remington. All you need to do for a good cleaning is to remove the metal receiver cover, the barrel, and possibly the bolt, then swab everything out with Hoppes #9. I would never dissassemble one further than that. I shot mine for 25 years and many thousands of rounds and only had to clean it once.
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They have to be in great condition to bring any premium, but yes some do have collector value. I see the black Apache going for over $600. One thing that you have to watch for is re-polishing. I ran across an article about a man that can polish one until it looks brand new. I honestly don't know if it would help or negate the collector value.
 
I must have the weird Nylon 66 and cheapo Japanese scope, since it shot 1" groups centered on the point of zero at 25 yards with crappy ammo and little attention on my part as long as I kept the scope on it. Yes, it is more fun to carry and shoot my Nylon 66 with iron sights now that my aging eyes have shifted from near sighted to far sighted. But my 66 shot well with a 'scope and no wandering zero. When shooting I always let the forearm rest in my left palm and never put a death grip on it.

I do remove the cocking handle, the cover, remove the barrel, bolt and recoil spring for cleaning every two years or so. (Before disassembly, cock the gun, put the safety "on" and never pull the trigger before the gun is fully reassembled). Then I would check zero of the scope at the range and be good to go for another two years. The cover screws should be snug but not over tight.

I paid $50 for mine at a pawn shop in 1996; it needed an extractor and spring another $13. The gunsmith said I was the first person he could remember to ask for parts for a Nylon 66 (and I have known him since 1966).
 
My father had a couple of the Mohawk Nylon 66 rifles. They were light, shot well, very reliable and I thought they were the two ugliest rifles on the face of the earth. Never refused to shoot them, though. Then, Mom mail ordered a 10/22 for Dad from Sears and both Nylon 66 rifles were eventually sold. We've been a 10/22 family ever since.

I do feel a bit a nostalgia for the Mohawk Nylon 66 as they left a lasting impression on me as a wee lad just learning to shoot. Maybe it's because they were so damned ugly
 
There are two aspects to "taking apart" a Nylon 66.

If yo want to completely tear it down, its misery.

If you let the striker block come forward(ie by pulling the trigger) its a headache as well.

BUT, if you make sure the gun is cocked , and stays cocked, it's a simple matter to pull the barrel and the bolt out for cleaning.
And you seldom need to do that even.

This is the inside of the last Nylon 66 I bought when I got it, and it's notable that it ran just fine in this condition. Didn't leave it like that for long though!

DSCF0693.gif

DSCF0700.gif
 
I own a Nylon 66 that I bought decades ago and I intend to hold on to it. This little rifle is meant to be used, and to be used where the going gets rough. I can't imagine a tougher rifle and I like mine a lot. They weren't built as an investment; they were built to be used. Those who own one or more should consider themselves fortunate.
PICT0666-1.jpg
 
I bought one in 59 or 60, whenever it was that they became available where we lived. I had worked all summer to save up the 50 bucks or so they cost then.
Pretty expensive 22 at the time :)
Used it and some other guns I had after the service for paying off some money I owed. :(
 
The nylon 66 was designed from the ground up to be the most relaible .22 semi auto under all conditions. I forget all the requirements, but they are amazing little rifles.

I was told the reason they quit making them was due to their machinery being wore out. However, I strongly suspect that sales dropped off due to their longivity and lack of parts sales.
 
I think I read somewhere one time that the factory fired one for something like 500,000 rounds without a jam or misfire.
They were quite a little rifle.
 
be warned, they're kind of pricey now a days.
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That's what keeps holding me off. :D Hate what they go for now compared to what they were new when I was in high school.
But! Then I think about all the much more valuable ones I sold or traded off over the years. :what:
 
Dad got me a Nylon 76 in 1968 for my first rifle and I've use it to this day. It's blueing is a little more worn out that the one pictured previously. It first came with Iron sights and after I mastered that he put a cheapo Japanese scope on it that I wore out sometime in the late 80's. Since then it wears a 4X swift fixed power scope. I'd wager I've taken a pickup bed full of squirrels/rabits and turkeys with it. It's my go to gun for small game. And it probably only gets cleaned every 5 years. But will still take head shots on squirrels at 60 yards everytime. That's one of them they'll pry from my cold dead fingers.
 
I bought one in 59 or 60, whenever it was that they became available where we lived. I had worked all summer to save up the 50 bucks or so they cost then.
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1960, $50, adjusted for inflation = $375 in 2010 dollars. 50 years inflation = 750 percent. The problem is a lot of folks (like me) forget to allow for inflation when judging prices on used guns. Or new guns for that matter.

I heard the Remington machinery was sold to CBC in Brazil, who made Nylon 66 clones until the machinery wore out on them.
 
Don't even care how much 50 bucks then would be in today's dollars.
I was a lot of money for a high school kid back then, more than I paid for my first car. A '39 Chevy that cost me $40.00.
 
I purchased my first 22 in Las Vegas in 1980. A beat up Nylon 66 auto for 30 dollars.I kilt a lot of desert rabbits with that rifle and I sorely wish I had kept it.
 
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