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gschwertley
veteran member
Posts: 170
(12/22/04 2:17 pm)
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The Wonderful Remington Nylon 66
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Here I go again, away from military subjects and rhapsodizing about the past. But doggone it, why not when so much fun was had?
Another of my cousin Rich's guns we borrowed when I was about 13 or so was a Remington Nylon 66. This was a semi-automatic tube-fed rifle, with the tube in the butt stock instead of under the barrel. This little hummer could pump out the rimfire rounds just as fast as the trigger could be pulled. We all know how dirty rimfires are to shoot, too. When you are pouring out the .22's in a Nylon 66, the dirt really piles up fast. I don't know how dirty one of those rifles has to get before it will no longer shoot, but I never found out.
Remington also made a similar model with a box magazine below the receiver instead of the tube mag.
One of the things that makes the Nylon 66 stand out, at least from the standpoint of appearance, is the stock. The stocks are all plastic and come in brown (with fake grain), black, and "Seneca Green" in order of rarity. The name "Nylon 66" comes from the name of the DuPont plastic compound used called number 66. DuPont owns Remington and they sometimes are able to create a ready market for their chemical products just by selling them to one of their own companies, like compound 66.
The use of plastic for gun stocks wasn't a new idea. Stevens used a material called Tennite in the mid to late 1940's, but I don't think it was quite as strong as that used later by Remington.
My cousin Rich still has his Nylon 66 - in pieces. When he went to sell off his guns a few years ago, I asked him where it was and he told me it was all apart and "missing some pins and springs and stuff". He did not elaborate as to how it came to be disassembled in the first place. Could it have been that all that dirty .22 ammo finally caught up with it??
A few years ago, I saw a like-new Nylon 66 sitting in a rack at a pawnshop for, oh, I don't remember exactly the amount, but around $75. I thought that was a reasonable price and took it home with me. Since then, I have put one of those trashy made-in-China red dot aiming devices on it. I haven't used this gun much; I think I bought it just because I had so much fun with my cousin's all those years before.
Aside from the nostalgia about this model, it cannot be denied that Remington turns out a good product and has done so consistently for a long time. Their products may lack some of the romance of the guns from other companies, but their stuff is solid. As a business, they have done well too, avoiding the kind of corporate ups and downs of the other biggies. This probably contributes to their product consistency. One of my gun-conscious co-workers told me that the secret to Remington's success is that their engineers concentrate on knowing what parts to make cheaply and what parts to make well.
nam barney
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Posts: 500
(12/22/04 6:54 pm)
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Re: The Wonderful Remington Nylon 66
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GS
I have fancied that rifle since its inception. I remember they also made a lever action model. From time to time I will see the '66' at gunshows and keep telling TR that I'm gonna have one someday, but alas something else usually catches my eye and I blow my stash on it. But someday-----!!
One other Remington that has allways tickled my fancy is the model 600. Want one in .308 cal. Not the 660 Mohawk but the real 600 with the dogleg bolt, raised rib and sharkfin front sight. Just too cool
Nam
mikmarjon
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Posts: 2302
(12/22/04 7:52 pm)
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Re: The Wonderful Remington Nylon 66
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The only problem I've ever had with most of the remington semi's and some of the Marlins for that matter is that the stocks are too straight.The Idea was to put a scope on it I guess but it makes it a bummer to get comfortable in the sites.
mike
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nam barney
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Posts: 503
(12/22/04 10:41 pm)
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Re: The Wonderful Remington Nylon 66
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Have the same problem with a lot of my rifles. Whenever I went looking for a new gun I tried it on first to see if it fit. My Dad's old Western Field 12 ga. pump fits like a second skin. As soon as it touches my shoulder everything is in alignment. All I have to do is point it like my finger and I usually drop the piece of game. Great grouse gun but we don't have many of them around either.
Nam
Edited by: nam barney at: 12/22/04 10:42 pm
gschwertley
veteran member
Posts: 171
(12/23/04 2:41 am)
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Re: The Wonderful Remington Nylon 66
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NB:
I saw another neat old Remington for sale recently at the gun shop at the range I belong to. It is a Model 722 in .257 Roberts, an old one. It has the date code "WW" on the barrel which is supposed to be 1950, but I saw in a book somewhere that .257 wasn't chambered until later, around 1957 or so. Maybe I have bad information on that latter point. Anyway, this rifle while not "like new" is an honest piece about 80% (I am always conservative on this number) . They want $275 for it.
millwright39
contributing member
Posts: 332
(12/26/04 4:38 pm)
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Re: The Wonderful Remington Nylon 66
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I would gladly trade the Remington 597 I bought a few years back for a [66] anyday of the week,,,Just never took a liking to it and the first PLASTIC clip bites big time===Friend had a 66 that was really a monster And seem like many many years ago I seen a picture of a guy standing on a hill of blocks setting a record for most shots without a miss with a 66
Millwright39
[ANOTHER DAY IN INDUSTRIAL PARIDISE]
[U.A.W. Steward]
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