Nylon 66: Remington's Revolutionary Plastic Rifle
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In the 1950s, Remington decided that it needed an inexpensive new .22 self-loading rifle to add to its catalog. In looking at how to reduce the cost of such a rifle, they hit upon the idea of using polymer to replace the wooden furniture typically used - and to replace the metal receiver as well. Remington was owned by DuPont at the time, and DuPont had developed an excellent strong polymer which they called "Nylon" - specifically, Nylon composition number 66.
Remington engineers developed a massively complex and expensive mold to inexpensively stamp out monolithic polymer .22 rifles in the mid 1950s. They knew this design would cause concern to a large part of their market because of its non-traditional construction, and so they put the new rifles through hundreds of thousands of rounds of grueling testing. It passed these trials with flying colors, and was released in January 1959 to pretty rave reviews. By the time it was finally taken out of production in 1987, more than 1,050,000 of them had been produced - a fantastic success on a pretty big gamble.
Thanks to Dutch Hillenburg for loan of this example to show you!
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Ian, another interesting fact about the Nylon 66. In the early 1960s, Remington also sold chainsaws. One year they had a promotion that each dealer got a Nylon 66 to give away as part of the chainsaw marketing. At the time, my dad worked at an Oliver tractor dealer in Bristol, VA that also sold Remington chainsaws. I would go there after school and cleanup the shop, hustle parts and generally make a nuisance of myself. One year just before Christmas, Mr. Hull, the owner, called me into his office. He reminded me that I was too young for him to hire and pay me, but he said nothing prevented him from giving me a gift. He gave me the Nylon 66 that had been sent to him for the Remington chainsaw advertising campaign! One proud youngster! I wouldn’t begin to guess how many rounds have gone through that barrel, how many black walnuts have left the trees because of it, how many squirrels and rabbits were brought to the table (along with a few ruffed grouse!), but it still shoots better than these old eyes can see and still gives enjoyment through its memories and through watching my children and grandchildren enjoy it.
Thanks for dredging up some old, pleasant memories.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us! What a wonderful gift!
The chainsaws and guns were split off ages ago, but I have a Remington saw in my garage right now.
I grew up in Johnson City, and I always wanted a Nylon 66 when I was a child.
In 1960 I was 12 years old and had "my" rifle (a JC Higgins single shot that cost around 12 dollars.) My friend down the block got one of these and I rather envied him.
My father didn't believe in semiautomatic guns for kids so I had to keep on envying him. By the way, for means of comparison, $49.95 would buy a three speed "English racing" bicycle in those days. I did own one of those and paid my half of the cost by mowing lawns.
Man, imagine getting a rifle as a gift from a random person nowadays. Golden times, indeed.
One day at work, about 45 years ago, A guy came to me and said, "I hear you know a lot about guns. I took mine apart and I can't get it back together." The next day we went out to the parking lot where he opened the trunk of his car and handed me the stock of a Nylon 66, the barrel, and a cardboard box full of parts. There was also an exploded view drawing of the rifle which was not exactly an assembly drawing, but was useful, although several springs were just labeled, "spring." This was a very interesting project and I did manage to eventually get it back together and functioning. I learned a lot from that experience. Most of all, don't take your gun apart if you don't know what you are doing.
yup.. way worse than a Ruger MKII... LOL
Where were you when I took mine apart? Eventually lost everything but the stock. Just a stupid kid, and dad wasn’t about to hire a gunsmith. (May not have been one in this county back then.)
Same thing happened to me only involving a Marlin Model 60. An Army buddy called me one Saturday and brought over his Model 60 that he "took apart for cleaning". Not one piece was connected to another. Stock, barrel, and a sock full of parts. And no manual or diagram. This was before the internet so I couldn't just look up an exploded diagram, but I had owned a Marlin 60 for years before trading to a Ruger 10-22. So we spent the afternoon piecing it together and after about 3 hours got it put back together. Fun times.
I had a friend bring me one in a box in parts. There aren't any assembly instructions, only parts diagrams. It took me hours to put it back together. Put it together, apart, back together so many times. If I'd have charged him for the work, it would belong to me. Had a gun shop owner a few weeks ago find out what I'd accomplished. He bowed to me. I promised to myself I'd never do another unless it was mine.
Thank god for CZcams. The first time I tried to reassemble my Ruger 10/22 or my M1 Garand, I did it with my iPad on my workbench following along with the video.
When I was 7, my grandpa passed away. A few months later, my grandma gave my brother and I each one of his .22s. My brother got a Marlin; I got the Nylon 66. That rifle has been everywhere with me throughout my life. I’ve shot countless game (and a few fish) with it, and even as an adult, the rifle still spends more time flying around bungied to the lift strut of my plane than any other gun. To date, the rifle has never malfunctioned in any way, no matter how dirty. You highlighted the fact that it was a cheap, high profit rifle for Remington. What often gets lost in the telling is, on top of those things, it was also a very reliable, accurate, lightweight and durable rifle too. Really one of the few examples of a total success in the gun industry where the gun is both very cheap but also very good.
My best friend at the time back when I was 14, owned a Nylon 66. My Grandpa would take us out hunting at night in the Wilds of West Texas and we spent hours and hours shooting beer cans snakes rats and the occasional rabbit. One day something happened with his 66 that caused it to become fully automatic. This turned things that were a great time into a fantastic time free to teenage gun fanatics. I've always wondered if there was anyone else out there that had experienced this.
I inherited my grandpa's 66 too. Nice little gun.
Very cheap and very good, Are two things you don't get to see very often or maybe never in today's world
It's accuracy has been criticized in the gun press because people (esp gun writers) insisted on mounting "receiver mount" scopes on it. m And the "receiver" is not really connected to the barrel. This is not a match grade target rifle and suffered because of unrealistic expectations. I've found mine to be quite sufficiently accurate = more accurate than my vision nowadays (I'm 71y.o.). For reliability and ruggedness, I find them unmatched, period.
@@NormReitzel once upon a time my mother in law needed a nuisance garden eating rabbit shot. All I had with me was a .44, so my father in law insisted I use his .22. He pulled out a 66 with a cheap tasco scope. Half of a crosshair was laying in the bottom of the tube. Lined up from about 5yd and shot, missed by 18”. Chased that bunny all over the property, terrorizing and injuring it, until I finally just aimed down the side of the gun and got the job done. It was a pretty embarrassing affair. The .44 would’ve been more humane.
On the other hand, the -66’s rear sight is mounted to the same sheet metal plate as the scope rail, so it shouldn’t make a difference, but my guess is the cheap optics of the Nylon 66 era contributed more than the sight mount itself.
My grandfather, a thrice wounded WW1 Husar, taught me to shoot using the Remington Nylon 66 in the early '70s. When he passed a few years later he left the rifle to me. Not everyone can say that the man who taught him to shoot rode a horse into battle in the Great War.
Via the memory of your grandfather and all veterans of World War I.
Never thought I'd see the rifle my grandfather taught me to shoot with on here but here we are lol
Same
Same! That was my first rifle. Wish I still had it. Mine jammed up ike a mother, though.
Same, mine was from the Sears catalog
Same! My grandfather bought it to teach my uncle, he then taught my other uncle and my father with it, and it was still in perfect shape when he taught me with it 😊
The rifle my mother taught me to shoot with.
I know it’s not a rare gun but still very cool to see a gun my dad owns that I didn’t know anything about.
I'm kinda surprised it flew under my radar. Though granted, WHO KNOWS how many semi-auto .22 plinkers are out there? But this one seems QUITE unique. Looks like a pain in the butt to strip and take care of, but well given it pre-dates the Ruger 10/22 by 5 years, I think it's pretty darn good!
... Also... I wonder if back then in the late '50s that professional shooter broke that .22lr record on 2" cube blocks, he casually had drinks at SOME point while shooting for 8 hours. Maybe start at noon, get 4 hours in, start with the drinks, 4 hours later he's feeling pretty buzzed and then they head out for drinks probably without washing their hands after handling probably lead-bulleted .22lr for hours lol
Man there really does seem to be something beautiful about the '50s in America. Yeah sure, it 100% had its issues, and we have our issues today what with feminism and BLM and LGBT stuff tearing the West apart, but A LOT about the '50s, I like. And I'm hopeful that some good traditional values of the era will come back as the Overton Window keeps swinging :)
@@normanmccollum6082 Irony is all that stuff "tearing the west apart" are actually concerted efforts to heal a country that was deeply broken and divided in the beloved post-war era. Segregation & Jim Crow were still alive and well, feminism just beginning to blossom after women's suffrage, and homosexuals were living lies everywhere.
I agree about traditional values returning; too many modern Americans are comfortable trading liberty & integrity in exchange for snake oil from fascist politicians and literal Nazis- something the "greatest generation" is rolling over in their graves about.
Probably a better place at that time, maybe? Though racial discrimination is worse than today, the entire social climate, like the ones you mentioned, is even worse than back then.
The thing about .22 is how much more I prefer the .22WMR over all the other rounds. I have a bolt action Marlin .22wmr and a 6shot revolver chambered for .22wmr and I LOOOVE those two guns! I love them so much. The bolt action is SOOO on point that I can shoot a penny through the scope at 30-40 yards every single time. I've shot so many rabbits with it that the number must be over 100 by now. I do it everytime I grill in the back yard, I go ahead and pop a few rabbits to clean and throw on top of the charcoal. Then my .22 revolver I carry in my truck for emergencies. Revolvers are about as reliable as it gets, especially in 22wmr. And again it shoots so straight for a pistol. I have bigger, much MUCH more powerful and expensive guns but you can't go wrong with the .22mag for plinking and small game hunting.... BUT THEN of course they had to up the price of bullets.. Now for the last.. eh 15 years? It's been kinda silly to shoot .22mag because they are nearly the price of 9mm rounds! So I bought a 22LR cylinder for my revolver directly from the company that made the gun. I even got some cool etchings on it. But I only use that for plinking. Then I return it back to the .22mag cylinder in case of self defense. Although that's only if I don't have my 9mm on me. I keep that on my person, where the .22WMR revolver stays in the truck.
Anyways... I'm gunna be honest guys I'm rambling and forgot my original point. Lol sorry for wasting y'all's time.
@@normanmccollum6082 you should shut off Fox news, the world will make a lot more sense.
Mine still runs like a champ, and has since purchased in 1970. I use metal tubes as speed loaders to insert 14 .22LR cartridges. Thanks Dad! This was the BEST 16th Birthday present ever!
What kind of metal tubes do you use?
@@michaelford2517 Too long ago to remember, but the ammo fit perfectly, and the tubes were available through a Hobby Shop. I may have had to adjust the tube length.
The Nylon 66 was very popular with the Eskimo's and Inuit in the artic regions of Alaska and Canada because of its extreme cold weather reliability and the fact that the plastic stock would not warp in those very low temperatures.
I knew a guy in the '80's who ran a trapline in northern Minnesota. He said he had replaced (under warranty) two or three 66's. I don't remember that he directly blamed the cold; I guess he may have been saving a few rounds of .22 by butt-stocking his catches.
My brother and I each got the 66’s somewhere mid 1970’s great rifles for early teens. I slipped and fell on some wet rocks and the butt-stock hit a rock and knocked a hole in it. The factory replaced the entire plastic and it was good as new. It’s even stamped on the barrel with a certain mark that it had been reworked. Still have it and love it.
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to Ian and the Forgotten Weapons channel for their dedication to showcasing and preserving the history of firearms like the Remington Nylon 66. It's fascinating to learn about the innovative approach Remington took in the 1950s, using polymer to revolutionize the design of a .22 self-loading rifle. The extensive testing and the successful production run spanning nearly three decades demonstrate the durability and reliability of this groundbreaking firearm.
Thanks Ian for showing some respect to these great little rifles, and all the great stories in the comments. My grandfather was killed on his farm tractor when I was 16 years old. When we got home from the funeral, my grandma went to a closet and brought his Apache Black, handed it to me, and said "he always wanted you to have this." Nearly 50 years later, it still shoots great and is beautiful to look at. Needless to say, it's the most cherished item in my collection.
Sorry to hear thats how you acquired yours. 50 years ago my dad bought mine for my birthday. I still range shoot mine. Brings back good memories of dad.
Yep, I love my Apache Black 66.
@@joshklaver47 Keep it, shoot it, let it become a family heirloom .
This is what pisses off liberals the most ! Almost all old rifles still work or can be made to work with a little oil and a cleaning Rod ! A lot of us old folks here can remember a time when a 22LR was the only protection the family had
@@billycarpenter4740 I certainly plan on keeping it and shooting it. However, I've had a vasectomy and I don't like any of my nieces or nephews, so it won't be a family heirloom.
The molded stock is really elegant. The engineers tested their product way more thoroughly then a lot af plastic designs from that time and even today. Pretty cool.
I purchased this rifle while in basic training at Fort Polk Louisiana Rod and Gun Club for $40 in 1971. When I returned home, I checked it in at the airport in the same box it came in. When I arrived at LaGuardia Airport, it came off the luggage belt and no one gave me a second look. Times have changed since then.
I still have that rifle and it will handed down to the grandkid when I’m no longer it’s caretaker.
My Dad gave me one for Christmas sixty years ago. It was and still is a cherished rifle for two reasons. First because my Dad trusted me to have my own firearm and secondly because the thing just shoots so great - accurate and super reliable. I still have the instruction sheet and it advises not to disassemble the rifle for cleaning and do not attempt to lubricate the internal workings. Now that I am a retired mechanical engineer, I truly respect the Remington engineers' accomplishment with an entirely new approach that has been so successful and enduring.
A 66 in Mohawk Brown was my first rifle at 14 and still have it 58 years later. All my bolt action owning friends were jealous of it's rapid fire capability but their boxes of .22 ammo always lasted longer. Shooting rats at the dump was great fun and spraying lead at a running rat and connecting always left them in awe. Thanks Ian for covering this cool little .22.
Ahmen.
Yeah, I also had this same rifle when I was a kid. I had the same experience with a running squirrel. It was running up a tree about fifty yards away and a friend was using my rifle trying to hit it. I said "give me that!" and took one shot and drilled that squirrel right in the head. We walked up to where he had fallen off the trunk of the tree to check. I honestly didn't think either of us were good enough shots to hit something small and moving like that and I felt kinda bad about it, lol. My friend thought I was some kind of trick shot artist for a while though.
The amount of game taken with these is immense. What an incredible rifle!
Had a friend that was given one by his Mom. It was quite a rifle!
Had one of these in the 70's. Loved it It was stolen
Amen. I had one but wanted one with stainless steel parts.
I still have one of these rifles that I bought in 1967. I have hunted in all types of weather and rough conditions with this rifle. It is extremely accurate and exceptionally accurate.
This rifle was manufactured under license here in Brazil by CBC from 1962 to 1992, 200,000 being made. At the time, CBC was controlled by DuPont and ICI.
CBC is currently controlled by Taurus and is best known in the US through its ammunition brand Magtech. It also manufactures rifles and shotguns.
It is a fine rifle and I still own one in black.
Local lore is that it it the gun most frequently taken to gunsmiths in a sack of parts for reassembly, as one needs to be born with four hands with two thumbs on each to put it back together...
If you tried to disassemble one, you know what I'm talking about... 😂
I had a CBC 66 ( black version) during the mid 90's until the 'buyback' happened in 1996 here in Australia. Great little shooter, didn't like HV rounds as would double tap quite often, but with Winchester subsonic HP it was crazy accurate. I've no idea how many bricks of subs it chewed through but never missed a beat
First gun I ever bought. I was 14 and walked out of the store within five or ten minutes. What a difference 63 years have made.
What! dude what a time to be alive i guess!
Great time back then compared to now. I don't even think anyone can buy firearms right now in Washington state because of the new unconstitutional laws the crooks passed without the population voting on it
Shoot, you have a few years on me, but I often tell my son about being 11 or 12 and having my 4-5 gun collection under my bed. 40 years ago my friends and I (as teens) could walk down the road here in Jacksonville with our rifles over our shoulders (on our way to/from the woods) and nothing would happen.
Nothing for the better
@G. Beeker
👍 similarly situation here too. I was looking for certain 22 rifles, I did want a Remington Nylon 66 or Charter Arms AR-7. I spent a lot of time around rivers and wet conditions.
This was my great grandmas old trickshooting rifle. We still have the old thing and it still shoots rather reliably for how little care it gets.
I got a black Nylon 66 in the early 80's. It was my first gun, and I still have it today. It really is a great rifle. I remember the Christmas I got it. My stocking was full of ammo. We were out in West Texas visiting family. Had a lot of fun with that rifle on the sand dunes that Christmas.
This rifle is actually surprisingly relevant right now because of 3D printed firearms and some of the similar design challenges they share. You can even print in nylon if you really want to.
You really do have to want to print in nylon to actually do it, though.. 😂
@@iskandartaib Won't even work as printed nylon potentially. Part of the strength is the high pressure injection molding process itself. It creates singular uniform monoblock piece of polymer.
That is why even say injection molded ABS and layer printed ABS are not of similar strength. printed is always weaker since it isn't uniform dense, pressure formed part. It inherently has structure layers and thus structural breaks.
@@aritakalo8011 What if one uses graphene or carbon fiber to print? Would it at least stand the pressure of a .22?
@@aritakalo8011 That's why people anneal their parts
@@RandomiusBronius fiber infused filaments are already a thing
I wanted one as a kid in the early 80s. Dad said "It's plastic it'll wear out!" Here we are 40 years later and their still around!
Ive neve seen a worn out Rem Nylon rifle, and Ive had a crap ton of them. All the models, semi/bolt/leve, brown black and green. And Ive tried to wear out the 66s.
Yup...mine still runs great. Thanks grandpa!
The CBC factory in Brazil, produced for several years a licensed copy of Nylon 66, with the same name, but with the CBC brand in place of Remington. Probably tooled by Remington itself. An excellent weapon, like the original.
I have one of these! My dad bought it in 1973 and gave it to me for my own maybe 10 years ago as a "housewarming gift". It is insanely accurate, lightweight, and everybody loves checking it out. It's actually great for home defense because "it'll put bullets into somebody as fast as you can pull the trigger". And the thing is so light and responsive, you can pull the trigger super fast. He and I shot squirrels and targets with it for years and it is so impressive. I think he liked it because it reminded him of the M-16 he used in Vietnam.
The first firearm I ever shot was a Nylon 66. It’s still in the family with another family member. Loved that thing.
Same
Same here. Even had one of the Brazilian knock offs made by CBC. A whole afternoon of plinking fun... man the memories. That was 30 years ago, when a box of 500 .22 lr didn't need a second mortgage at my local gun store.
Me too and at 5 years old I had to put the stock under my arm and put my cheek where the safety is and that's how I shot it until I got a little older!
Ahmen.
From reading the comments it seems like a ton of people had a Nylon 66 as the first gun they ever shot, myself included. My grandfather has the black stock/chrome receiver model with a small scope. It's on the top three list of the guns I want to inherit, though I wish him many more years of good health.
My mom used to school me (absolutely make me look like an idiot on the range) with her Apache Black. I sure miss her but at least I can hold on to that rifle forever. As a side note, she took very good care of it and it doesn't have all those little scuffs on the stock that almost every Nylon 66 shows. I simply cannot believe how those rifles in that condition have appreciated in value; it's totally ridiculous. It's not an issue for me, though. I'll keep that rifle forever as a symbol of her love for me and a reminder of her patience in teaching me to shoot.
Same here, dad bought me my new Apache Black with chrome barrel Nylon 66 just over 50 years ago, and I still range shoot it !
Your mom taught you to shoot. That's great!
My old man has one. We must have several tens of thousands of rounds through it by now. He still likes to take it out and throw some golf balls out and blast them. Awesome how it still is so accurate and reliable as it is. They don't make stuff like them any more.
@@g54b95 MOM's are great. have you figured that out yet ?
First gun I ever shot. My dad got one with S&H Greenstamps in Mohawk Brown. I got it when he died and it now belongs to my nephew. He was an engineer and tinkerer and he build a lobed crank that mounted to the trigger guard. When you turned the crank lever it would depress the trigger as fast as you could turn it and fire just as though it was full auto. The action was smooth and reliable.
If you were a Boy or Cub Scout in the early 60s, you probably remember "Boy's Life" magazine, that ran ads showing what "rewards" you could get by selling certain numbers of "boxes" of whatever it was they were pushing. One of those rewards was the Nylon 66. Imagine, something like that nowadays. Things were way better back then.
oh for sure dude, in the early 60s, smallpox was still around. The golden years
I'm 57 and my Grandfather was a WWI Vet and an avid hunter and fisherman. I inherited a large collection of older guns from him. And he had a lot of Field & Stream and Gun Digest magazines, going all the way back into the 30s. The ones from the 60s were full of adverts for these.
Plastics or polymers pr unit is incredibly cheap but the downside is the absolutely massive upfront cost of developing and manufacturing the production equipment.
Tooling today is easier to produce due to two technologies. CNC which is still getting better. And the tooling. Which allows finishing with zero to very little hand work in polishing the molds. But in the future 3D printing will take over more and more. Especially for low volume production
@@mpetersen6 . Industrial CNC equipment is still massively expensive. And, 3-D printing plastics will never be as strong as molded plastics. You can print in any matrix or geometric shape you want, but it doesn't make it as solid and without grain as molding. People may "think" that 3-D printing is going to make the future more futuristic, but there is a long way to go to make it perfect or cost effective for mass production. I have worked on industrial controls for 22 years. 3-D printing has been around for as long as I can remember. If it was going to be so productive, why has it waited for so long?
@@ronniestanley75 I used to work on building wind tunnel models. Some times we would have a few Stereo lithography parts on our models, but only if the shape of said part would be too costly to machine. Metal sintering is another process that can produce parts that are actually impossible to machine, however all additive manufacturing processes take much longer to produce parts than stock removal. The one benefit of additive manufacturing is that it allows prototyping of a part without investing in molds, fixtures and other specialty tooling. You can figure out if the parts will function as intended before investing in tooling. Unless there is some major advancement in the speed it takes to produce additive parts, i agree it is not taking over manufacturing. At the end of the day time is money, and which ever process is the fastest it is generally also the most cost effective.
@@ronniestanley75 Look up 3D print "baking" - the basic idea is for the exchange of dimensional accuracy, you can attain near injection-moulded strength by re-melting the part in a self-made packed mould. Though yeah, 3D-printing is never going to replace mass manufactured parts for a few reasons, but I fully welcome it destabilizing the market of "handle replacement part" costing 80$ from the manufacturer.
Manufacturing is a frontier that I'd like to see de-centralized a bit more. Many fields are already seeing the benefit of CNC equipment becoming substantially more affordable for the home-use, and makerspaces greatly benefit in the amount of machinery it is affordable for them to have on hand now. Extra market pressure is always a good thing.
The one thing that I first learned when I started shooting mine was that the 66 was uncommonly accurate. If you could see the target, quite often empty cartridge cases, you could hit it. It was, and still is, a fun rifle to shoot. Also, if you noticed it, the unmistakable “Remington “ profile found on the 1100, 870, 742 etc, etc, was present on the 66.
Mine is accurate as well, but I thought putting a scope on it would be cool. I put a cheap scope on it and it stopped shooting straight. I took the scope off and it was accurate again. The receiver cover isn't connected to the receiver well enought to hold a scope tight.
I bought one of these used, in 1969 for $50 when I was 14 years old. 55 years later I still own it and it is priceless to me. Over all those years I have bought, and sold, many firearms but my Nylon 66 will never ever be sold.
As a kid, I remember wanting one in the worst way. I was stuck with a single shot at the time and thought the 66 was the pinincal of rifle evolution. In truth, it was quite advanced tech for the time. I am 61 now and still have never owned one. Each time I see one, it brings back the memories of a young boy who spent hours gazing at magazine ads just dreaming of the adventures to be had. I have enjoyed a lifelong interest in shooting, hunting, and reloading, and many firearms have come and gone over the years, but my pulse still quickens just a bit as I remember back to the first time I saw the Nylon 66. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
61 and never learner how to spell. *Pinnacle* like the vodka.
@Alex Bellington Did you mean Learned? 😅
I hope someone will allow you to shoot theirs sometime. Dad bought me mine as a birthday gift just over 50 years ago, and I still range shoot it.
I, to, really wanted one of these in the 60's. Unfortunately, couldn't afford one.
@@steveschainost7590 They're available now, just quite pricy. More like a usable investment. You'll sell and probably make money.
I recently purchased one of these and it has become my go to gun for plinking . I remember looking at one years ago at a gun show and being repulsed by how cheaply made it felt. But now I’m impressed by how accurate, reliable,& easy & fun to shoot . In taking it apart for cleaning & inspection I observed how none of the parts actually looked like gun parts from a firearm , But just a series of randomly stamped steel parts . But somehow Remington made it all work
I'd like to know what kind of anti-marketing the competition put out calling this a toy rifle made of plastic. I'm rather surprised the gun-buying community accepted this rifle so readily. I guess Remington ran a good campaign on how good and durable it is, e.g. the 100,000 wooden blocks shot, etc.
@@donjones4719 I would imagine it was party due to the time period and "plastics" being at that time considered futuristic and exotic rather than cheap.
After I bought one in 69 ... I fell in love with Remington accuracy and bought an 1100 12ga. also very reliable and fun to shoot ... as fast as you can pull the triggers on both.
I have one still with the original box and all the paperwork. Note: do not completely disassemble this rifle without fully understanding how it works. It comes apart extremely easy with pins but there are several parts that need to be realigned with springs before putting the pins back. It literally takes 2 people or an original builders jig (i doubt they exist anymore).
My brother worked at the DuPont plant that produced the stocks They were not made at the Remington facility). He witnessed much of the testing done on the stocks and complete rifles.. as a kid he gave me a 66 and I shot it for years. One thing not mentioned in the video is that for years the rifle came with a lifetime warranty against stock breakage. My personal 66 had a sticker on the stock that stated the stock had a lifetime warranty. I made speedloaders out of old tv antenna rods that are hollow and just the right size for 22 shells. I cut them to hold the 13 rounds the 66 mag held. I carried a dozen or so filled tubes in case of a possible jackrabbit Banzai charge! As an adult, I was a Remington warranty gunsmith and only saw a handfull of broken stock during 40 years of gunsmithing. Remington honoured the lifetime warranty untill they ran out of nylon stocks,then offerred an other new 22 rifle at a much reduced cost. When Remington stopped manufacturing the 66 a Philipine company made a knockoff version for years.
I learned how to shoot on my father's Nylon 66 rifle and inherited it when he passed. Great beginner rifle and still useful today.
My mother took me to a local Sears back in 1958 and bought me one when I turned 16. It had a brown stock with gunmetal blue receiver cover, no serial number and the transaction went past with no FBI involved. Now I have one with a black stock with chrome receiver cover.
These things are simple, but a blast to shoot. My father bought one for my grandmother before we inherited it and going out with her and plinking around was just so fun.
I want to thank you very much for making this video. I inherited one of those from my father. I don’t have any bread parts breakdowns or Manuel’s on it and this has been a real education on how to break it down and possibly clean everything up. I don’t know that it’s ever been cleaned. Once again many thanks.
My wife has this rifle. It's neat: accurate, easy to use, weighs next to nothing. It was passed down to her by her grandfather.
Please continue to do videos like this on guns which are NOT forgotten! There are so many details about them which ARE forgotten even if the rifle itself is remembered.
Inherited mine from my father when he passed. Shot it for the first time at 4 years old. I'm 41 now and it's still one of my favorites at the range with a plethora of other arms available. Probably because I was raised shooting this rifle, but it's hands down the firearm that I am most comfortable and proficient with. Don't know how many rounds were put through it before I was in control of it but it's had tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, by me and it's still going strong.
Fantastic video. Thank you for featuring this amazing rifle. My dad had a couple for many years. A lot of cottontails, jackrabbits, prairie dogs and tin cans fell to this rifle! Loved it.
God bless all here.
I had a Nylon 77, the "clip " fed version. Super reliable, lightweight, cheap. Loved it.
I remember seeing the ad with the guy shooting blocks in Boy's Life magazine. As a kid I REALLY wanted one but my dad just wouldn't discuss buying a "plastic gun". Those things sold for around $100 at Kmart and Western Auto Stores and I see them now at gun shows for as much as $600. I don't see many of them SELLING for that but I sure don't see them for a hundred bucks.
My grandfather bought a brown Nylon 66 for my grandmother in the early 1960s while they were both working for USAFTA, civilian component of the American nuclear weapons program in Turkey. She only used the rifle a few times, but they took it back with them. It’s one of my favorites: very consistent shooter, nice and light. You make disassembly look so easy though-last time I took it down that far, it took me a whole weekend to get everything back in place 😂
My dad bought my mom one in the 70's when they were both stationed in Germany in the Army, the different branches of the army consolidated and My dad regular army and my mom was a WAC(who up until this point did not have to qualify with firearms) he taught her to shoot with it since it was similar in handling to the m16 she would have to use. Still have it today hanging on a rack, very nice little shooter. First semi auto I ever shot.
I have had my "66" since I was17. I am now 75. I never had a jam or problem of any kind after firing countless rounds with it. My grandson loves it.
When I was a kid, I had an uncle that was a gun guy and would frequently take his niece and nephews on shooting excursions. He supplied the guns and ammo, we supplied the enthusiasm. I ALWAYS selected the Nylon 66 as "my" gun. Great times and fond memories. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Ian.
My mother has a Nylon 66, it is black with white trim and the metal is chrome. It's the rifle I learned to shoot on decades ago. I had no idea that it had a nylon receiver, this video was a pleasant surprise to see in my feed. Thanks for doing all that you do Ian.
My grandfather has one just like that with an inexpensive scope. It was the first gun I shot as well.
2 verions: Mohawk Brown and Apache Black.
Ian, I own two of these rifles. I received one on my 12th birthday, a 150th Anniversary model that you reviewed. My father enjoyed shooting my rifle, and he bought one four years later. I believe that they both retailed for around $50.00. Dad passed away, and I inherited his guns. His Nylon 66 was kept in a gun case that had a plastic liner, and over the years, it had rusted all of the metal parts. The metal was badly pitted. I broke the rifle down, and I buffed out the rust, and had a local gunsmith re-blue the metal. This finish is not as nice as my gun, but it shoots great. Thanks for reviewing this classic gun!
I used to have one of those Remington Nylon 66 rifles which had the Kodiak brown stock. (They came in either a black or Kodiak brown colored stock). As many rounds as I put through it (either in target practice, or shooting small game), I never had a problem or malfunction with it. Great little rifle.
My first ever gun was a Nylon 66, when I turned 12 my dad got it for me for my birthday. I still own it to this day, and shoot it often. unbelievably durable and accurate to 75 yards.
Like you, I've owned mine for just over 50 years now and still enjoy range shooting it.
In 1966 you could buy a Remington nylon 66 for $49.95 from the Sears Catalogue. They would ship it to your home and ammo too! It was the least expensive auto loader 22 they offered. It was a very popular way to buy a gun. Especially, when you remember at the time many more people still lived in the country, proportionally then now.
My father bought one at the sears store about 1963. He absolutely loved this rifle. When I turned 4 he figured I was old enough so he taught me how to shoot. Our targets were empty cigarette packs placed on a ditchbank. Still own and enjoy thes rifle. Thanks dad!
Dad bought me mine in about 1972. I still have it and range shoot it most every year now.
My very first gun was a nylon 66 . Came from a old man who sold it to my mom for 60 dollars in 1976 for a Christmas present . Still my best present ever .
My Dad came home with the Nylon 66..we lived in Bancraft in Northern Rhodesia at the time. It was the first rifle owned. It was a really good .22 lr. I wish I still had it
😂😂
My goodness! When I was 12 years old I fired hundreds of rounds out of a Nylon 66 - but I had no idea that the receiver was plastic covered with metal! In Northern Ontario in the Fall it was nothing but rain and we would just dry the gun off and then clean and oil it without disassembling it at all. The gun never failed us, and was a big step up from my original Cooey 22 single shot. Thanks so much for your wonderful videos. Many are like a happy memory to me.
Being (mostly) plastic made it (mostly) maintenance free! Who could ask for more! Neat gun and a bit ahead of it's time!
The world record grizzly bear was taken with a Cooey Ace single shot kept together with hockey tape, by a 63 year old woman named Bella Twin.
@@M-1996A1 Thanks for that! I'd never heard about Bella Twin and her Grizzly. Many wonderful accounts and photos on the web with a search. I agree with one of the articles that she probably used .22 shorts because I knew other trappers who did the same so as not to mess up the pelts. Shorts would mostly not exit the other side, so there was only one hole in the pelt. EDIT OOPS... found a reference that she used a .22 Long (not Long Rifle) and put seven shots into the bear's head for insurance - loading each one as needed.
I have a "Navajo black" (black nylon and black receiver cover & barrel rather than the more common black plastic with white metal parts), which is supposedly the rarest Nylon 66. It's great.
@David Ray I believe the rarest ones are a green color that at first glance lookes just like the standard brown ones till you examine them a little more closely or see them side by side. I can remember what tribe Remington named that particular green after but each color was named after a different tribe.
@@glendunn8881 Green with black metal is second rarest. Black with white metal is second most common. Green and brown stocks were never manufactured with white metal parts. Black stocks with black metal were made in very limited numbers - I don't know for certain, but it seems likely only from leftovers when they ran out of the white metal parts.
I once swapped parts between my Apache Black and Mohawk Brown. The black stock with black barrel/receiver cover looked good The brown stock with chromed barrel/receiver cover looked mighty odd! Really freaked a couple older guys at the range. 😆
@@davidray6962 Chromed steel, not "white metal".
@@lancerevell5979 thanks. I've never actually seen one of the chromed ones up close, so I wasn't sure of what finish was used. Just knew it wasn't blued. Sorta surprised Remington went to the expense of chrome on a gun made to be cheap as possible.
Definitely not a forgotten weapon to me, as it was the first gun I ever had. My Dad gave it to me and it was (and still is) a very reliable and low maintenance gun. I still have it and can't even begin to guess how many rounds I've put through it.
Thanks for a great video! I've read and seen other videos about the Nylon 66 and its history, but a Forgotten Weapons video is really the best thing to document the history of such a great gun!
My first rifle almost 50 years ago, and still have it. Thousands of rounds through it, utterly reliable, unbelievably accurate. A shame it's no longer made.
If the 1,000,000+ of these guns being made isn't proof enough of them being great, both Jerry Miculek and Paul Harrell give this gun loads of praise, Jerry Miculek especially absolutely loving this gun, he did a top 5 gun list where he put this gun right at the top.
Apparently, a 66 was one of Jerry's first rifles.
Here in the UK in the 1980s as a young teenager my father brought me a new Nylon66 from John Slough gun shop in Hereford to learn to shoot with at our local 30m range. Loved it. Put 1000s of Winchester rabbit ammo through it, and a Tasco 4x32 scope I sniper killed hundreds of plastic model soldiers and beer bottle tops in the sand of that range and it could spew them out like an MG42 🤣 Forget your Ruger 10/22 the Remington N66 was a far superior plinkster / Rabbit rifle.
Is it still legal to own a semi auto.22 rifle in the UK ? Hope you were able to keep it.
As the owner of a 10/22 and 66, I agree. The 66 is more fun.😂
Great video, bought my first one on a trip from Arizona to Oregon back in the early 70's and carried in my trucks gun rack the whole trip! Second one I got several years ago at a local gun store still new in the box with all paperwork and still has the Dupont Zytel sticker on the buttstock. Still unfired. Great little 22's
I bought mine over 50 years ago. Still have it and the stock and foregrip are still "like new". It has always been a fun gun to shot and worked like a champ on 50 cents per box of ammo as a young man.
Was waiting for a long time for Ian to review a Nylon 66. A 1972-manufactured version was one of the first firearms I was introduced to at 13, along with a Charter Arms production AR-7, when my older cousin took me plinking for the first time. Both of them have since come into my possession. I've long since sold the AR-7 but I've held onto the Nylon 66. It's a great plinker with the same weight as a Crossman pellet gun.
I have my dad's Nylon 12 bolt-action, tube-fed rifle. It is known in the family as "Plastic Rifle", and it has always been a favorite to bring to shooting days. Over the 60 or so years that it has been in the family, it has been THE most reliable firearm in the arsenal. I can't say enough good things about it.
This gun holds a special place in my collection. I found one of these partially disassembled among the clutter in my late great uncle's shop 2 years ago. He let me take it home and, after ordering the missing parts, it became my first gun. It didn't run the greatest (likely due to the fact that I did an awful job of removing decade's of dirt and grime that built up from being neglected in a pile of junk), but the fact that it ran at all was so satisfying.
Man I have always wanted one of these. I grew up shooting a Savage/Stevens 87D "Gill" gun along with a Marlin Model 60. I still have these as they were passed down to me. Having no children of my own they will eventually end up in the hands of a nephew who at 18 is an avid firearms enthusiast. More awesome memories where made plinking with a 22 than most non firearms people could understand.
My first rifle, as a kid was the box fed version of this. My dad gave it to me in the 1970's. Great little rifle.
The box fed version is the Nylon 77, as I recall. After my introduction with the Nylon 66, always wanted to have a magazine fed version!
They're one of the more accurate cheap .22s I can remember shooting as a kid. Precision shooting was a big part of my childhood and this one could put a bunch of bullets through the same hole.
They never gained the reputation for accuracy as the Ruger 10-22 did. The Remington died out but the Ruger is sold today and many were made into super-accurate target rifles.
@@gymshoe8862 yea I had a 10/22 as well. The nylon was a better shooter than my ruger.
I bought my Nylon 66 from K-Mart in the late 60's on sale for $39 with a cheap scope. I have fired thousands of rounds thru it without ever dissembling it! I would run a patch down the barrel and spray the action/trigger area and blow it out. I could never get the first 2 screws out and was told that it wasn't intended to be taken down. With this video, I will now give it a good cleaning that it deserves. It has never given me any problems at all. Love it !
Search for the cumberland outdoorsman he has an excellent video disassemble and assembly for the nylon 66 and more.
My dad bought a new Remington Nylon 12 Bolt Action 22 repeater rifle when I was 10 or 11, 1964-65. Has a tube magazine that holds 15 LR rounds. When I was 15 or 16 he gave it to me, and I still have it. I haven’t fired it in maybe 25 years, but prior to that I cycled several hundred rounds through it. Great rifle!
Nice "The Graduate " reference, Ian!!👍👍
I want to thank you for showing this rifle. This was the rifle my dad taught me to shoot on. He gave me this rifle, in Apache Black on black, when I was 12 and we went out to shoot it a few times. Just plinking empty soda cans in the woods. I really loved this rifle, it was so accurate and so easy to shoot. It was interesting to see you take it apart. I never took mine apart because I basically just cleaned the barrel and chamber after every shooting session and it ran flawlessly every time I used it. Because I never took it apart, I didn't even know the receiver was plastic. That was very interesting to learn, the faux metal receiver fooled me.
When I was 14 my dad gave me one off these with chrome. It was crusty and crunchy in every way imaginable but it was still my first guns and the very first one I took apart and cleaned. I've used it for a decade now and I love it to death. Very cool to see a whole video on it by one of my favorite channels :)
One of the best semi auto 22s ever made. I own a pre serial number one. There was also a version with a 10 round detachable magazine called the 10C. I own one of those also. Excellent video as always from Ian.
My first rifle was a 1976 Bicentennial Nylon 66. I was born in June of '72. You do the math.
Showing this comment to my wife right now regarding our gunless 5 yo.
My Grandmother had a black version of the Nylon 66, which I learned to shoot with. What a nifty little rifle! I’ve been searching for one to teach my Grandchildren with, but finding a good one has been a challenge.
Great review of an iconic piece of history, Ian!
My grandfather has a black Nylon 66 that was the first gun I ever shot. It's got an inexpensive scope and has some cycling issues but it's otherwise in excellent condition and is a good shooter. There are Brazilian clones on the market that may be easier to find than a Remington if you're okay with it not being the original.
Thank you for this video. I've had my Nylon 66 since the early 1980's. I've cleaned it occasionally after shooting, but I've always been afraid to go beyond cleaning the barrel, and just kind of hitting those areas I could reach without further disassembly. Maybe it is finally time to give it a good overall disassembly and clean and lube the other parts.
Absolutely terrific video! I always wanted one as a kid. But, Pennsylvania law didn’t allow semiautomatic rifles for hunting! That changed a few years back and yes I got a “66”! It’s everything it was advertised to be. Thanks again for the video.
Thank you Ian. I received mine as a hand-me-down from an older cousin who got it as a hand -me-down from his dad. This is the gun my grandfather taught me to shoot on and I put (no exaggeration) thousands of rounds with one. It was indestructible. And a 13 year old me tried. It was such a joy to shoot and very accurate. Thanks for doing this one. Hit me in the feels pretty hard. I don't comment much but this was really cool.
Your comment was my favorite here! My first gun was (IS!) a Marlin model 60 my grandfather bought for me (at Kmart!). in the 1970s. I have "better" guns today, but NONE are as TRULY valuable as my "60". You have a cool story! Guns like this are MAGIC. You NEVER forget your FIRST! 👍😊👍
The Nylon 66 was my first rifle, likely purchased in the early to mid-80's so among the last produced. But I wish there was was a way to know the number of rounds I put through it and the miles I walked through the woods carrying it over the years. Not to mention the number of squirrels and rabbits that meet their end. It is certainly one of the few I will NEVER let go. Still shooting strong today. I remember there was a version with a detachable mag in the Mohawk color. Really enjoyed this one and glad I am not the only one who appreciates this "Cheap" little rifle. I plan to teach my grandchildren with it just as I taught my kids. So cheap plastic or not, this little rifle is about to start teaching its third generation. Guess I will have to pull it out now and run a few rounds through it for old times sake.
My late grandpa's favorite .22.
Inherited my dad's Apache nylon 66 several years ago. A beautiful light weight rifle. A joy to carry and shoot and is now my favorite 22.
Thank you for the review.
Mine is Apache Black and was given to my older brother when he turned 8, in 1980. She's a sweetie, of course Dad told us the legend about the Inuit who used them to bag moose. Pretty accurate and fun to shoot. Thanks Ian!
Am sure lots of venison was put in freezers with'em...!
My favorite gun as a kid. Lightweight and easy to reload with a mag tube in the stock. Crazy to see them go for so much $$$
This was my first gun, it having belonged to my great grandfather. I still have it, and it's still my favorite rifle for pleasure shooting. An excellent firearm.
I've retained mine for 50+ years now. What a great birthday gift from my dad .
Growing up in 60s and 70s I used to see the adds for this gun in the Outdoor life magazine. I always wanted one.
So the Nylon 66 was the first rifle my grandpa taught me to shoot. He ended up giving me the rifle before he passed and I love it dearly. When I was about 16 I decided that I wasn’t able to clean it up to my standards because of all the small crevices down inside the action so I started punching pins out. What a huge mistake!! Soon I had springs, pins and small parts everywhere and no real idea of how I would put it all back together. Being way before computers or handy CZcams videos, I spent night after night carefully attempting the reassembly and finally I finally got it all back together. That was a learning moment for sure, if it’s working fine and reasonably clean as you can get it, just leave it alone! What a great rifle 😊.
Like everyone else, I love my little 66 and can't even begin to imagine haw many rounds have gone through it over the decades. It's literally as reliable as a rock.❤ The only failure to fire I have ever seen with this rifle was not even it's fault but mine and beyond most peoples' expectations. I got up one early morning and decided on a quick rabbit hunt. It was a calm, clear and very brisk day. I spotted a bunny, took aim. Click! Darn! Cycled the bolt for a new round and again,Click!! The was repeated a couple of more times before I checked the rounds. Good primer strike mark. Bad rounds? Not likely, the rest of the box had been fine. So I went back to the house to the house to investigate further. As I walked up to the back porch, gave a quick look at the thermometer by the door. -25F!! As I said, a brisk morning. It appeared my rounds had decided enough is enough, we quite!!! 🥶🥶🥶🥶
Really fascinating gun. With more people looking to design 3D printable 22s, revisiting it is a great idea.
Tom Frye --- was a Remington exhibition shooter who used three Nylon 66 rifles to shoot 100,004 wood blocks tossed into the air as many as three at a time. He missed 12. I wrote the above before you told the story..
The barrels were worn by the constant shooting. I was trying to remember Ad(olph?) Topperwein -- I was commenting about it when you beat me to it.
Topperwein's record was 60,000 glass balls tossed in the air. Like skeet shooting.
I owned one of those rifles shortly after they were introduced.
My preferred 22 was a Winchester 52C with a 20x Lyman Supertarget spot scope as well as Iron sights.
I used the scope to shoot flies that rested on the white area of an outdoor targe at 50yards.
I knew I hit them dead-center by the liquids star that formed around the bullet hole.
I used my iron sights in my first NRA outdoor competion -- 199 w 6x gave me 2nd place.
In the presentation it was noted that a couple of bolt action nylon stock models were produced. I purchased a tube feed model from a co-worker. I ended up mounting a 4x high power rifle scope to my Nylon Bolt gun. This was a good move. The rifle proved to be exceptionally accurate with most brands of ammunition. It became a regular groundhog slayer at all normal ranges. However, it proved itself to be "minute of groundhog ear" at 297 of my paces (I am 6'4"). It was a very still day and I had to apply "Kentucky elevation" from a sitting field position for the shot. My estimation was right. It seemed like forever from the report of the shot until the bullet struck. The hog collapsed dead. Upon inspection the bullet entered at the base of the hog's ear, right where I had intended. That little rifle will stay in the family.
I wanted one of these so badly. My father was horrified by the prospect of a plastic rifle. So I had an Ithaca saddle gun which was a fantastic single shot that I could shoot as fast as any non-selfloading repeater. One of the guns I foolishly sold during tough times because it did have decent desirability and it paid a bill or two.
I sold a stainless marlin .22mag bolt action years ago, when I was in a tough spot. It got me through that month, but I have kicked myself ever since.
The last time that I looked, that particular model wasn't available anywhere. It was really nice.
Bills keep coming, but that rifle is gone forever. I have since vowed to never sell another gun. 😢
(I am actually considering selling one of my SKS, and maybe my 1917 Enfield .303) probably can't bring myself to part with the Enfield.
The good old Ithaca M-49 saddle gun. Dad got one new for Christmas back in the 60’s, and he bought me one for Christmas when I was 12 in 96. I don’t recall how his left his possession, but I will never let mine go. I would love to offer mine up to Ian if he got THAT far down the list of guns to cover.
@@briansmith3011 That is the one. I always thought the fake magazine tube under the barrel was dumb, even as a 13 year old. But otherwise, a great little gun I wish dearly I still had.
I love my Nylon 66. I've had it for 57 years and it works and shoots like the day it was new!
My grandpa had one I remember shooting at the their cabin. Was a great 22 for youth because of the lighter weight.
This was my first gun from my grandfather, he had two Nylon 22’s one had a 9 round clip and the other was fed in a chamber underneath the barrel which held a massive amount of shells in my eyes lol Cause i got the clip fed Nylon. I and my father went to a gun show and seen the same nylon for $350. Awesome 22 Lr to shoot. Miss you dad and grandpa.
Having tested some CAD design and 3D printing I'm really impressed by the complexity of this molded pieces.
But it is comforting to hear that this was actually one of the most complex molds in the world at the time.
I am really not a fan of plastic but still impressed that they managed to pull it off!
Also that shooting record anecdote is so freaking insane.
Just imagine doing that for 13 straight days 😮
I got into shooting in 1974 and over the years have seen one or two of these rifles usually on the trade in rack of a store. Handled a black one once. Until now, didn't know that the black stocked ones were so less produced than the mohawk brown ones. I think I'm going to acquire one, just for plinking. Thanks, Ian.
I am an original owner of an Apache Black and chrome one (50+ years now) . The rarer is the green one that so few are around. Have you ever seen one of the Nylon 66 bolt action pistols ??. Maybe the rarest of them all .
@@billycarpenter4740 only in pictures I have.
I shot a Mohawk brown version that belonged to a friend while shooting prairie dogs. It was very accurate. Years later I found an Apache black with the chrome barrel at a pawn shop and bought it for $125 Canadian. Best money I spent on a firearm. I also justified the purchase by telling my wife it was for her as she found my 10/22 a bit heavy!!
@@alanward4266 A good score for you/her. I prefer shooting small calibers, and found the Nylon 66 a very good introductory rifle for kids and females. Hope your's will become a family heirloom !
Entertaining and educational - the best of Forgotten Weapons videos. I love learning how different firearms function. The basic idea - firing pin hits primer which ignites powder, thereby causing it to burn rapidly and force the bullet down and out of the barrel - is simple and universal. The many different mechanisms men have invented to accomplish this seemingly simple set of tasks is fascinating.
This was the first gun I ever fired as a kid. An Apache Black version that my Dad rented from the firing range. I remember it jammed like crazy and we had to take it back up to the counter to complain. The guy behind the counter just sprayed some lube down into the breech and handed it back to us. And it actually fixed it!