Remington Nylon .22 collector information-updated in post #75

I still have mine....here's my Godson shooting it last year...and I to, had one of those blocks...didn't remember it until I saw the above post as I got the gun on my 12th birthday, 42 years ago......

I was infatuated with the Nylon 66 from the first moment I saw one. Dad got me a single shot instead. When I was old enough, and had a part time job and enough money, I bought one. I fell on the ice and broke the stock. I must have sold that one, but bought another one some time later. I still have it.

My wife just purchased me one of these at an auction for $75 as an early father's day present. After reading through the info on this forum it appears based on the RE stamping that it was manufactured in Nov '58. The rifle is pristine and seems like it may have only been fired a couple of times. I'm thinking this was a pretty good purchase and I'm extremely happy about it.

Some VERY good research here. This string deserves to be a sticky.

I find it interesting that I posted in a "which .22 should I buy" yesterday saying I have a Remington Nylon, and then this thread shows up!

Love my Apache 77 (Kmart Special), definitely the gun I shoot the most. I had just bought myself a .22 pistol, and when talking with my girlfriends uncle, he said he had a .22 rifle he'd sell. Told me for $50 it was mine, and my girlfriend jumped in and bought it as my birthday present. It was a steal, and I'll never sell it.

Hello to all on the forum. Just joined and was searching things about my Apache 77 Remington. Purchased my Apache 77 in 7/77 and thanks for the research on the numbers. This is the only .22 rf rifle I own. After several years of getting out of the Corps (USMC) in 1973, I purchased this rifle and 6 10-round mags and taped 3 pairs together so I could shoot 60 times without reloading a mag.

I simply love my Remington Apache 77. I have put it up against my dad's 10/22 (his has a scope & mine just iron sights) and I can put 3 rounds at 50 yds. in a dime size circle as can he with his scoped 10/22. I've never experienced the flexing of the stock; if I had I'd probably have sold the rifle. I simply love the 4 lb. rifle. And of course I'd never sell it. Bullet Caster herein known as BC.

Here's my 66...made in February of 1960...will go to my son when I am done with it!

Mohawk 10C

When I was 14 my dad and I went to a farm auction in central Nebraska. A almost new 10C came up on the trailer for bid and I remember my dad asking if I wanted it. Ummm Yah! I was tired of shooting squirrels with my Winchester single shot 410!
He bid it to $65.00 and we took it home with the original box(which I still have). That was in 1982 and over the 32 years I have had that gun it has Never jammed and never been apart to be cleaned.. My fault! but I was always to scared to take it apart. In that time it must have had at least a thousand rounds through it.
I clearly remember on one cold December day telling my brother I would kill a squirrel that was on a wood pile across a field. He laughed as I squeezed, then the squirrel fell. That squirrel was 114 long paces for a 15 year old. Good guns make good memories! Now I have a 3 year old boy and one on the way. I cant wait to hand it down, and I promise to clean it first. You tube is a wonderful thing:>

I found this thread purely by accident, but what a find. I have a Nylon 66, actually it's my daughters, and the only firearm I've ever purchased twice. I originally bought it for my kids to learn to shoot with. When my youngest daughter was killed in an automobile accident, interest in shooting was set aside for a while. It sat for so long and I couldn't bring myself to shoot it, so I stupidly traded it off for something I was a little less connected to. My older daughter noticed it was gone one day and ask about it. She said she really wanted it, as it was hers and her sisters, and was a little hurt I got rid of it. The next day I went to the shop where I traded it, and it was still there, so back home it came. I hid it until Christmas and returned it to my daughter. It's now hers forever, and I'm sure in time, my grand daughter will shoot it like her mom and aunt did. After reading through the post here, I checked the markings and found it was made in July 1959. She has no idea she is the owner of a 55 year old firearm. She will be thrilled!
These were and are wonderfully accurate, light, soft shooting .22s, and in an odd way, a look into the future of firearms. Everything has a synthetic stock these days. I know where three are right now, and I may have to bring one home for myself.
Thanks for posting this, and thanks to the forum for saving it here.

My brother has two of the Apache Black models. They were the first real guns that I had ever shot. I was only 7 yrs old the first time. My brother-in-law has one of the 1976 commemorative Mowhawk Brown models, in mint condition. My 66, a Black Diamond, was the first gun of any kind that I owned. Other than BB/pellet guns, that is.
Mine was, and still is, extremely accurate. I recently won a 22lr wood walk at my local club with it. Beating out guys with optics and some even had Volquartsen and TC rifles.
I know, it's not the gun, it's the shooter that makes for winning scores. But it was nice to best some of those high end guns with my "plastic" rifle.
I have always kept my eye on these, when they showed up used. Usually with poor condition stocks, and worse. They have typically run on the high end for "cheap" 22's. They were $300-$400 when I did see them. Sometimes more.

A few months ago, I found three of the Mohawk Brown rifles at a Gander Mountain. Two were beat pretty badly, as expected. The third however, was almost perfect! One very light scratch on the left side of the butt stock.
I ask, "how much are these?" The guy says $250.
I ask "are all three $250 each?" He says yes. (I suspect that the fact that 22lr ammo is so scarce, and has been for far too long, that the prices might be falling for all kinds of 22 guns). Well, it didn't take me long on that decision. That very nice one came home with me. A few days later, I sighted it in at 50', then at 50yds. It's a tack driver! From a bench, rested on foam blocks, I was able to get .75"-1.0" groups, using the open sights. I was very impressed, but not too terribly surprised, as my original 66 was always that good.
Now, I'm trying to convince a friend of mine that I would take really good care of his Model 11 Nylon, bolt action, clip fed.
If he is willing to let it go that is.
Great guns!

Ceapea said:

Now, I'm trying to convince a friend of mine that I would take really good care of his Model 11 Nylon, bolt action, clip fed.
If he is willing to let it go that is.
Great guns!

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If you're really interested in the Nylon bolt actions, you might want to view my pictures of all the variations in the pictures and albums section of the forum here:

Smith & Wesson Forum - PALADIN85020's Album: Remington Nylon Bolt Actions

John

PALADIN85020 said:

If you're really interested in the Nylon bolt actions, you might want to view my pictures of all the variations in the pictures and albums section of the forum here:

Smith & Wesson Forum - PALADIN85020's Album: Remington Nylon Bolt Actions

John

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Thanks.
Good info. I have been aware of the various models for some time, but I never knew (until recently) about the long barreled 11's and 12's.
My friend has a short barreled 11 that I am after.
I really want a magazine fed model. I don't care for the under barrel tube feeding.

I have the green stock version. I researched the markings (no serial number is visible) long ago and learned manufacture was in November 1959. Made sense as I received it for my birthday in February 1960. I still own and shoot it. It isn't in perfect condition, as it was neglected by my brother while I was away in the army, but it's one I'll never part with.

Awesome write up sir! I still have my 66 from childhood. I also just picked up the single shot bolt action 10 for what I consider a good deal of $300.... Need to clean it up and take it to the range. It's used, but I'd say about 90% condition.

From my book, "101 Classic Firearms": The Nylon 66

This is an excerpt from my new book "101 Classic Firearms." It's a capsule summary of the history of the Remington Nylon 66. I hope you enjoy reading it.

John



The Remington Nylon 66 .22 semiautomatic rifle was revolutionary when it was introduced. The stock and most of the rifle itself was made of plastic. It needed no lubrication. It was accurate and boringly reliable right out of the box. It was virtually impervious to the elements. Critics said it would never sell well. It sold phenomenally. Now that it has been long gone from production, used examples sell for escalating prices unheard of just a few years ago. Light, handy and nearly indestructible, the Nylon 66 filled a niche that no other rifle has since. It spawned a variety of limited-manufacture spinoff arms that are nearly unobtainable now and extremely expensive when found on the collector market. There’s never been anything like it.

Let’s rewind the calendar back to the late 1950s. Remington’s research and development department had conceptualized a .22 rifle made almost entirely of plastic, to be designed as a light, reliable and durable semiautomatic. Luckily, Remington had the resources of its parent corporation, DuPont, to come up with a plastic material that would meet stringent criteria. The synthetic material had to be moldable to any shape. It had to have high tensile, impact and flex strength. It should have high abrasion resistance and withstand extremes of cold and heat. It should not burn when an initiating flame would be removed. It should be fungus-resistant, and unattractive to rodents and insects. The finish should be easily repairable. And finally, it had to be self-lubricating and hold its dimensions indefinitely. DuPont’s solution was a blended Nylon formula christened “Zytel 101.”

Wayne E. Leek headed the Remington R&D department. Assisting him was a crack team that included Charles H. Morse, Homer W. Young, Robert P. Kelly, and James S. Martin. This team machined a prototype framework out of a solid bar of the new material for test purposes. They were thrilled with the results. The new gun was fired 75,000 times and exceeded all their expectations for suitability and durability.

Now it was 1958. Wayne Leek actually had two big challenges. One was designing the rifle, using a large number of metal stampings that could be made inexpensively and yet interact together reliably and consistently. The second challenge was even larger. The Remington management was unconvinced that the radical new rifle would sell. Leek had to become a crusader, selling the concept to the Remington brass. He lobbied hard, and finally got his way. The result was outstanding. The new rifle, finally called the “Nylon 66”, was named after the specific color mixture which produced a wood-like appearance. Production started in November of 1958, and in 1959, the new rifle took the market by storm. It was to become one of the largest selling .22 rifles of all time.

The new semiauto had no conventional stock and action. Instead these were molded together in two halves which were joined together laterally. This formed one sturdy and warp-free unit. The action parts were placed within this framework. The barrel was inserted from the front and held by a yoke in the proper position. A sheet metal action cover gave the visual illusion of a separate receiver, and was grooved for “tip-off” scope mounting. A tube in the buttstock held fourteen .22 long rifle cartridges that were fed forward into the action by a spring. The reciprocating blowback bolt rode on nylon raceways, and needed no lubrication. This was a big advantage, as oil would tend to attract unburned powder granules and other firing residue. A light coating of oil on the metal parts for protection was all that was needed. The stock looked like finely finished wood. It was first introduced in “Mohawk brown,” followed in early 1959 by “Seneca green,” which was actually a green-tinted brown. This version was only made from 1959 to 1961, with just short of 45,000 bearing this unique color. It’s a collectors’ item today.

The rifle had a “space age” look with its sleek lines and racy front sight. It weighed about four pounds and was easy to carry and handle. Its tubular magazine was well-protected within the stock. It proved to be utterly reliable and amazingly accurate. The first models featured a fully-adjustable notched rear sight, with both elevation and windage knobs that contained screw slots. The windage knob was exchanged in 1964 for just a screw slot in the end of the windage screw. The rifle illustrated is an early one made in September, 1959, and is complete with the windage knob. All Nylon 66s, by the way, have date codes stamped on the barrel which are easily found and deciphered on the internet, yielding the month and year of manufacture.

To induce the public to break with the tradition of wood and steel, Remington went all out with an advertising campaign. As part of this, Remington field representative Tom Frye, an accomplished exhibition shooter, used two weeks of his vacation in October, 1959 to set a new world record at the Holiday hotel in Reno, Nevada. Fifty-three years earlier, the legendary Ad Topperwein had shot at 72,500 2.5-inch square wooden blocks which were thrown in the air, using Winchester Model 1903 .22 semiautos over a period of 12 days. He shot all the blocks except nine. Frye was up to the challenge. Alternately using two to four Nylon 66 rifles, Frye shot at and hit all but six of 100,010 similar wooden blocks. The rifles and the Remington-Peters rimfire cartridges performed without a hitch of any kind.

In 1962, the “Apache black” variation of the 66 was introduced. This had a black stock with white inlays, and a chromed receiver cover and barrel. It sold well. 220, 564 units were made until it was discontinued in 1983. Also in 1962, the “Gallery Special” came on stream, modified internally to fire .22 shorts only. It’s easily identified by the sheet metal shell deflector plate on the side ahead of the operating handle. It was part of the line until 1981, and with only 16,474 made, it’s now a valued variation among collectors.

Flushed with the success of the Nylon 66, Remington came out with quite a number of spinoff rifles featuring the use of Nylon stocks. These came on the market in 1962, but never enjoyed the popularity of the “parent” Nylon 66s. There were bolt action single shots, bolt action tubular feeds, and bolt action “clip fed” types. There was even a single shot smoothbore for shooting .22 LR shot shells. Nylon-stocked lever actions (Trail Riders) in Mohawk brown and Apache Black were also made, as well as some limited all-black lever rifles with matte receiver covers that were uncataloged. All of these are now in the collector category, and they were discontinued in 1964.

In 1970, a detachable-magazine variation of the Nylon 66 came out. Called the Nylon 77, its plastic magazine held five rounds. It was not popular, and was soon replaced by the Mohawk 10C; the only change was a 10-round plastic magazine. This was not a catalog item and was sold at cut-rate prices through distributors. In 1978, the “Black Diamond” Nylon 66 came on stream. It had a black stock, but unlike the “Apache Black” version, the receiver cover and barrel were the standard blue. Instead of a white diamond stock insert, it had a black one, hence the name. It was discontinued in 1989. Two commemorative Nylon 66s were made, one to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, and one to mark the Remington 150th anniversary in 1966. Both had stamped bronze-filled roll-marked “engravings” on the left of the receiver cover. The final variation of the Nylon series was the Apache 77, sold only through K-Mart. It had a green “clip fed” stock, and unlike all the previous versions, no white line spacers were used. It used the same plastic magazine as the Nylon 10C.

Finally, the molds used to produce the stocks had become worn, and Remington decided to discontinue the Nylon rifles. They are no more. The last 66s were probably shipped in early 1991. It's been estimated that over 1,050,000 were made. Some of the tooling was sold, and a few clones were produced in South America for a while. There’s much more detail involved in the Remington Nylon saga, but space considerations preclude it from being covered here. It’s a subject for a future book – maybe when I find the time and a publisher! At any rate, used Nylon rifles are now in high demand, and besides their collector interest, they still make fine rifles for shooting. If you have one or more, you know that!

(c) 2014 JLM

John,

I sent you an email....

They're getting pricey. I saw two at the El Paso gun show this weekend; a brown one with blued metal: $600, and a black one with chromed metal: $750.

Cyrano said:

They're getting pricey. I saw two at the El Paso gun show this weekend; a brown one with blued metal: $600, and a black one with chromed metal: $750.

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Well, rats. Those were probably mine a while back.

I just picked this one up and paid 3 bills for it which was probably too much.

AirCommando said:

Well, rats. Those were probably mine a while back.

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Possibly, but they were on two different tables.