Nylon 66 Worth It?

[Panzerschwein]

I'm seeing some refer to them as "jam-o-matic" and others are very reliable and low maintenance.

#feelingconfused

 

[Resist Evil]

It was my first rifle that used gunpowder. I think it was 1971-72, I was 18 or 19, when I paid $69.95. It was the regular brown one. I got this version because it was the least expensive. It was the 100,000 round ad that convinced me that now was the time to get my first real rifle. I bought a cheesy cheeep 4x scope that clamped into the grooves on the receiver and a soft rifle case. My first box of ammo was thrown in for free. I ran thousands of rounds through it for years without a single hiccup.

I loved it. Too bad Remington stopped making them. I could use a new barrel.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I've been watching the gun stores for a good deal on a '66 for years now. It seems that the LGS seems to feel they're more collectible than I do. I rarely see one much under $350. They're awesome little guns! As a kid we had four or five of them. The 'Black Diamond' was probably my favorite. All of the ones we had ran like a Swiss watch.

IMO $400 is too much, but they are nifty little rifles.

 

[Panzerschwein]

So if one were to find one in good shape, could one expect it to probably not jam a lot?

 

[GooseGestapo]

IMO not worth it. In high school in the early '70's a buddy had one with a scope. In early '80's, I had a Brazilian copy.
Neither would hold zero. In fact, holding them "tight" to sand bags, would cause the entire rifle to warp, shifting impact point.
I took the scope off, and under most conditions, the gun would shoot well enough for its intended purposes, shooting squirrels, pigeons, and such. I carried it in my patrol truck for dispatching road-hit deer or (suspected) rabid skunks, raccoons, ect. Until we were issued Rem 870's.
A Savage M60?, or Ruger 10/22 are significantly better and cheaper.
Biggest problem will be finding .22 ammo.

 

[Panzerschwein]

IMO not worth it. In high school in the early '70's a buddy had one with a scope. In early '80's, I had a Brazilian copy.
Neither would hold zero. In fact, holding them "tight" to sand bags, would cause the entire rifle to warp, shifting impact point.
I took the scope off, and under most conditions, the gun would shoot well enough for its intended purposes, shooting squirrels, pigeons, and such. I carried it in my patrol truck for dispatching road-hit deer or (suspected) rabid skunks, raccoons, ect. Until we were issued Rem 870's.
A Savage M60?, or Ruger 10/22 are significantly better and cheaper.
Biggest problem will be finding .22 ammo.

I do not plan to scope it. Irons only, that goes for all of my firearms.

 

[mag1911]

They got very popular a few years ago. Just an average one shot up to 300-400 dollars and lots of them still sell on gunbroker no reserve completed auctions in that range. Some of the rare colors and variations like the bolt actions can go much higher than that. But I don't see many of them sell around here at that price range.

I think Numrich bought up all the spare parts from Remington some time ago. Most parts still available but some might be aftermarket. If I was buying one to keep as a full time shooter I'd at least have a spare magazine tube assembly and bolt handle. It appears the only magazine tube assembly available now is aftermarket.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Remington-33454/Rifles-37895/Nylon66-39587.htm?page=1

Fun to shoot and accurate enough for most purposes. They're about like any 22 auto showing a preference for some ammo brands over others. I bought one when they were still around $200 mostly just because my Dad always kept one in the gun rack in his pickup..

 

[Elkins45]

So if one were to find one in good shape, could one expect it to probably not jam a lot?

They built their reputation on reliability...but for $400 I could buy two brand new reliable rifles with parts support.

I'm told the Nylon 66 falls into the same category as the Ruger 22 pistol and the Browni g BLR: the "don't ever take it apart" category.

If you want it, buy it, but it's no bargain at that price.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Thanks so much all.

I managed to find a good looking one on Gun Broker, advertised as almost-new with very good pictures and a strong seller rating. Paid $250 for it. After shipping and FFL fee I'll still make out under $300.

After fondling that one in Cabelas the other day, I knew I just HAD to have one. I plan to take others advise and buy a spare bolt handle and magazine tube as well just to be on the safe side. Like I said, this won't be no safe queen. I just think they are so cool with their unique looks and design. It just spoke to me on that day... I can't wait to get mine in the mail!

 

[bannockburn]

Cooldill

Glad you found a decent Nylon 66 at a better price than the one at your LGS. When I went looking for my first .22 back in the late '70s I knew I wanted a semi-auto and considered the Nylon 66. But I really liked a lot of the features on the Ruger 10/22, especially the 10 round rotary magazine, and went with that instead.

Hope your new rifle is reliable, durable, and accurate.

 

[au_prospector]

Oh...Cabela's was your LGS. That explains the price. . .

My brother has one given to him by our late dad. We took it out one day and it wasnt feeding properly nor ejecting the correct way either. It was jamming for sure and not to the tune of a Jamaican Rock Star. I took one look at it and exclaimed good lord when is the last time you cleaned it? Took it home and went to work with the Hopps and brake cleaner on the action and feeding mechanisms. Got it nice and shiny and handed it back to my brother a couple days later. Told him next time I have to clean it I was keeping it. It runs like a champ and is decades old. Turns out he had only been running patches down the barrel and had not taken it apart in over 10 years.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Oh...Cabela's was your LGS. That explains the price. . .

My brother has one given to him by our late dad. We took it out one day and it wasnt feeding properly nor ejecting the correct way either. It was jamming for sure and not to the tune of a Jamaican Rock Star. I took one look at it and exclaimed good lord when is the last time you cleaned it? Took it home and went to work with the Hopps and brake cleaner on the action and feeding mechanisms. Got it nice and shiny and handed it back to my brother a couple days later. Told him next time I have to clean it I was keeping it. It runs like a champ and is decades old. Turns out he had only been running patches down the barrel and had not taken it apart in over 10 years.

Very nice to hear. Yes Cabelas is my LGS.

 

[Elkins45]

Brownells sells the bolt handles. There's a reason I know that.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

1996 I bought a pawn shop orphan Nylon 66, busted stock held with tape at the grip, missing extractor and extractor spring; I paid $50 bucks.

I stopped by the gunsmith and asked for a Nylon 66 extractor and spring. He had them for $13. He told me I was the first person he could remember to ask for parts for a Nylon 66. I had been doing business with him since the 1960s.

It took two tries but I got an epoxy fix on the broken stock and decided just to give the stock a camouflage finish. The gun goes to the mountain with me often. After all the use and abuse, it has proven to be the most reliable .22 semi-auto I own. With a scope from the bench with a full mag, 14 rounds make a single jagged hole that can be covered with a quarter. It's a good gun.

Whether I would pay collector's price for one is another question. But when the gunshops have them used, they don't last long.

 

[jmorris]

He had them for $13. He told me I was the first person he could remember to ask for parts for a Nylon 66.

That reminds me of getting a part for a Farmall Super MTA, go to get the part and they have it in stock but $50 seems a little steep. "Oh, the part is really only $10 the extra $40 is for me saving it for you for the last 40 years."

 

[W.E.G.]

The 66 is a cool gun. Remington sold the tooling to an outfit in Mexico, and they made them there for a while. Then the tooling was destroyed/scrapped.

The 10/22 has overtaken the market for that sort of rifle now.

And you can actually disassemble/re-assemble a 10/22 without feeling like you are trying solve a Chinese puzzle.

 

[db_tanker]

some folk call it a jam-o-matic but I can honestly say I have had few if any issues with the Nylon I got from my dad after passing.

Hell I have even had it apart to clean and put back together again with no issues whatsoever.

I love mine

 

[Nature Boy]

Cooldill, it's not a PTR91, but I'd get it anyway

 

[jeepnik]

wow I am surprised at the price my uncle had one of those things it was a jam-o-matic.

I'd bet its issues were ammo related. They can be bit iffy with some brands.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I was actually coming back to say basically what jeepnik just said- find an ammo it likes and stick to it. The truncated Remington stuff (plated bullets, was it Yellowjackets or Thunderbolts?) wouldn't run through my Ruger but the '66 gobbled it up. You could probably run a thousand CCI Stingers through it without a hiccup. I realize that nowadays, circa 2016, we don't always have the luxury of buying a dozen different loads to try, though.

 

[mag1911]

Mine likes Stingers. I think those were first ones I tried so I stuck with those.

 

[benEzra]

I shot one heavily for 20 years and cleaned it once, when the powder fouling got so bad that it started to jam. Other than that, I don't recall any jams at all. It had good iron sights, but they don't do too well with heavy-ish scopes because the scopes mount to the receiver cover, which can shift under recoil. A very lightweight scope might work.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Thanks so much gang. Can't wait to get it. I have some Stingers on hand and will try those after I clean the gun.

I did some reading and apparently people in Alaska like these. Bush pilots, trappers, explorers, and hunters enjoy them as they are so light and reliable and handle the cold really well.

 

[jeepnik]

Since others have said what works, I have a number of nylons, different models. They all like CCI MiniMags.

 

[Resist Evil]

Back in the day when I shot it regularly, CCI Stingers and Mini-Mags were regular fodder. It was more expensive, but I could hit anything with that stuff. I could hit twigs, pebbles stacked on rocks, the occasional lizard taking in the sun; anything. That was back in a time and place when, for a 20 minute drive, I could be out free, plinking away carelessly, 14 rounds at a time.