Whats up with a Nylon 66?

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A few years ago when my wife's grandmother passed away my father in law found a couple of "old guns" in a closet and was going to get rid of them at a local swap meet type setting they have every weekend. I had my wife tell him I'd buy them before he did that to pass on to our son if nothing else without knowing what they were. He told me not to worry about the money, that I could have them. Went to get them that afternoon.

Turns out I was gifted a very nice 66 in about 95-97% condition and a Remington 1100 that I don't think had ever been shot. The 66 sits in safe waiting to be my boys first firearm a couple years down the road.
 
Yes I have been noticing this as well. My brother-in-law has one, it's basically a turd. He's been noticing them for sale and is like "hey, it looks like my nylon 66 is worth like $500!"

And I say "well that 'born to raise hell' sticker on the stock, and the broken bolt handle might decrease the value slightly"
 
It's the .22 all of my kids wanted to shoot. And it shoots good, still. My wife likes it and says it's the one gun I should never get rid of. You can count on that. A classic.
 
I heard the eskimos liked them and bought them all up and then the price went sky high.
 
I was a kid when the 66 came out. Several of my friends had them and they really liked them. They were always reliable and reasonably accurate. I never took a liking to them as they seemed too light for my taste. I didn't dislike them, they just weren't my first choice. I was more a fan of Marlin bolt actions. They now seem to have achieved a cult status. That's fine with me. Your money, your choice.
 
Hang onto them if you still have one. When you get older (as I am finding out) they will be one of the few you don't mind carrying in the woods all day after squirrels.
 
I inherited mine, it sat in the corner of my parents' bedroom throughout my youth. I've shot it quite a bit. The factory scope is garbage but with irons it's pretty accurate and a lot of fun. Thanks for the site mac66, it's an interesting read.
 
I like mine, was a Christmas gift from my Uncle when I turned 10. Very reliable! Through the years it has worn four different scopes, and as said earlier a tighter grip on the rifle can change the POI.

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DMH
 
They are the .22 equivalent of an AK. If I had to choose a .22 survival rifle, would pick mine over the crappy 10/22 I recently bought.
 
I grew up with hand-me-down .22s and the first auto was a M74 Winchester. After 200-300 rounds it would jam and that left a bad taste for years.

A friend had a 66 and in kept going and going and... The lever action was good too.

I bought a 10/22 but have no compaints about the 66. It worked.
 
As previously mentioned, a marksman for Remington shot 100,000 wood blocks with this model of gun, but he used three different rifles, shooting about 33,000 rounds through each. The stunt was to show how durable the gun was. I believe I read the Nylon 66 was designed to last 75,000 rounds. As I recall, even the receiver was nylon on some versions, but Remington ended up sheathing some of the plastic parts in metal so that the gun buying public would have more confidence in it - purely cosmetic. I think there was a similar model that followed it - the 77 maybe? - that was matte black. It may be more affordable than the 66.

The guy who first got me interested in buying a rifle when I was 18 had one of these Remingtons. Like the OP, I can't for the life of me figure out the cult like appeal that they have.
 
I couldn't figure out why they became so popular and expensive until a friend showed up with one and we went shooting together. Both of us were using suppressors and after three or four hundred rounds my 10-22 started getting some jams (putting a suppressor on a semi auto .22 gets them dirty really fast), but my friends Nylon 66 never missed a beat. I asked him when he had last cleaned it and he couldn't remember exactly, but guessed over 5000 rounds! When we'd finished shooting we took it apart (at my request) and I couldn't believe the amount of crap and corruption there was inside the action! It hadn't jammed once.
THAT'S why they're so popular, now that I've started looking, I see more and more of them at suppressor shoots. They'll run forever, even shooting cheap ammo.
 
Even rarer than the 66 is a model 77 which is clip fed. I still have mine. Any of you want to give me 1k for it?
 
The 66 is like the AK: precise tolerances where precise tolerances are actually needed but lots of clearance where clearance helps to give room where fouling can be pushed out of the way.

For that matter, compare a 1960s Marlin 99 (parent of the Model 60) with a 1990s Model 60: the newer guns have clearnaces designed in and can go more than 500 rounds between cleaning. The early 99s and 60s are a bear to keep clean and running. Some peopel clean the newer ones just once a year whether they need it or not.
 
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Made the "mistake" of letting my granddaughter (12) use my Apache Black 66 at the range last fall. She loved it! It's light, reliable, easy to reload and most important, accurate.

Now she has announced that it's "her rifle" that I just store at my house for her.

She could have done a whole lot worse and fallen in love with her Uncle's 10/22.
 
Mine is the Black Diamond model. What's funny is I went to the Exchange in Lejeune to get a 10/22, on sale for $89. They were out, so I opted for the Remington for the same price..was meant to be..circa 1982...
 
Wouldn't it be nice if Remington resurrected the Nylon series of 22 rifles? I would buy a Seneca green version.
 
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