I saw a Rem model 66 in my LGS today that was nickel with a brown stock. Did Rem ever make that combination. Any experts with knowledge of this?

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Patriots Forever!!

To the best of my knowledge no...they offered that gun in Apache black, Mohawk brown, Seneca green and one called the Black Diamond. Only the Apache had the nickle {stuck in my mind it was actually chrome} and it in fact had a black plastic stock. The others all had a blued receiver and other metal.
The green was about the color of buzzard vomit, and some of the brown stocks in some years appeared a little more red.

msinc has named it. That's the Mohawk Brown & he's right, the receiver was chromed, not nickled & the stock is plastic.

Hank M.

The stock is DuPont Zytel, quite a far cry from common plastic. It's quite rugged.

I seem to remember that the 66s with the green stock were those sold by K-Mart. I have seen chrome metal with black stocks, but not brown stocks. Zytel is a Nylon. Very tough stuff. 66s did not have receivers in the commonly accepted sense. They are great guns and will take a lot of punishment. Also not often seen today, and they now bring handsome prices for something so cheap when they were being manufactured. An ideal survival weapon.

Those stocks can be fragile in low temps. I've seen more that one
broke in these parts. Weak point is near breech. Stock has the
guides for bolt moulded in. When stock cracks your out of luck.
Reciever is nothing more than stamped sheet metal dust cover.
Grooves for scope mets are stamped in the reciever. I have
seen guns seized when scope mounts are tightened down.

That looks like a black stock in the photo on my computer. If so, then it could be correct. But as others have mentioned, I'm pretty sure they didn't make any in brown with the silver metal.

They are amazing guns. I still have my Black Diamond from my childhood, another 66 in Brown and even one of the elusive Model 10s (not 10c) - single shot bolt action.

An ex-brother-in-law of mine had one in the '60's. Very accurate, tough and reliable. Wish I'd bought one then, to alternate with my 39A.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Thanks guys. It's definitely a Mohawk brown stock with chrome receiver and barrel. At some point some one must have switched parts; for what reason I guess I'll never know.
Still appears to be a decent price on that gun.

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Patriots Forever!!

I would grab it if'n I were you...I always thought those rifles looked pretty neat...nice lines. It has the distinction of being the only full length stocked {Mannlicher??? Could you call it that???} that doesn't cause me to puke. Just look at that rifle...then look at the Ruger 10-22 "International"....but have a bucket handy when you do, you will need it!!! They named it the International because the whole world would think it was ugly. The Browning automatic 22 now has a competitor.
Stock is not plastic...it's nylon....no, not nylon...Zytel!!!! and Max here is not a dog...he's a mountain dog, no wait...Jack Daniels Terrier!!!!!!

I remember em too. Bringing respectable cash often these days. Was this the model Tom Frye was shooting small boxes with way back when? Recall seeing him sitting on top of those small wooden boxes in the gun mags. Advertised they would send ya one for free.

Yep! That was the advertising blitz back in the day

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Patriots Forever!!

I wanted one of those so bad when they first came out, but couldn't afford it. Several years ago a good friend took one in on trade for some lumber and then sold it to me. It is a real fun gun to shoot.

Remington also made a lever-action .22 with styling similar to the Model 66, but it was called the Model 76. I haven't seen one of those for a LONG time. They were made for only a short period in the early 1960s, and it would be a real prize to run across one for sale.

opaul,
Not an expert, but I own two of the 66's.I bought a black diamond back when they came out. I inherited another one from one of my Uncles, it is the black and chrome version. He bought this rifle in the 60's, and this little rifle led a hard life & is testimony to the ruggedness & durability of the Nylon 66.
This particular Uncle lived off from 50's acres of ground along the Eel river. He was a child of the depression, He existed on what he grew, raised, hunted, trapped & caught. He was an avid coon hunter, fish and turtle trapper, fur trapper. His nylon 66 was his constant companion. If he was planting, it was on the tractor with him to shoot ground hogs.
I have seen this rifle on the driving deck of an open cab combine/corn picker covered in chaff and bean dust. I have seen this 66 in the bottom of his jon boat, submerged in river water, with flat head catfish, snapping turtles, traps and lines piled on top of it. I've seen it frozen, covered in snow, with traps, pelts and gear piled on top of it. It never saw a gun case or a gun rack.
When I was young, I always thought it a bit gaudy. Six decades later, I have a different perspective. If you picked up that little nylon 66, you would never know the life it led. The combination of the chromed metal and Zytel stock made it impervious to whatever was thrown at it. It is in amazingly good condition, all things considered.
This rifle was in service up to 2012, when I acquired it. I still tote it around when I feel the urge. So, in summary. If you want a light weight, reliable, pretty much "bullet proof", accurate 22 cal. rifle, go buy that one.

I have always wondered why Remington discontinued these fine rifles. The main reason was because DuPont sold off Remington and thereby lost the supplier of their unique Zytel stock. For tons on information on these great rifles, check out NylonRifles(dot)com.

I remember a article back in the 80s that was about the CIA in
Cuba. This was when they were trying to overthrow Castro. They
we're suppose to have bought thousands of clip feed 66s to drop
to Free Cubans. Politicians backed out and stopped drop. Govt.
is suppose to still have them stored. Similar thing happened in
RVn, they were going to drop a "Liberator" type 9mm pistol
and decided just as many VC would get them as friendlies.
Probably a good call in that situation.

The story that I read about this said that the molds that
Remington used to make the stock were about worn out and
they didn't feel that the investment required to replace them
was justified for the aging 66.

They are great rifles. However unless you really know your stuff do not disassemble one!

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Stay safe people!

Am not a marketer but seems today these guns were ahead of their time. Walnut ruled the roost it seems and for me a Ruger 10/22 was my big want. Now with the price of black and english walnut synthetic is here for good I believe. Wish I kept that Gun Digest from 68. Ruger 10/22s were $56. Not sure about the Nylons.

I have indeed disassembled one and most astonishingly reassembled it. I have to give credit where credit is due; if not for two very through you tube videos I would never have attempted the job 📽👍

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Patriots Forever!!

I really doubt it. Remington could have purchased all the Zytel it needed (Zytel is Nylon, and comes in several forms) regardless of its relationship with duPont. It can be glass-reinforced, but I don't know whether that was the type used for the Remington stocks. While duPont could well have helped Remington to develop the technology for molding these stocks, I can't imagine it ever manufactured them for the Remington division. Would be interesting to know if Remington had these stocks made by some outside plastics molding company, as that would be the logical approach.

My very first rifle. Bought it when I was 16 (early 1960s). Great little rifle. Very reliable (don't remember the little gun ever malfunctioning).

Rich

I had one of those. Bought it after high school from a pawn shop for $25 dollars. It was a good accurate gun. Never jammed like others I had seen. The feed ramp to the chamber broke, I tried gluing it, but did not hold up. I sold it for $25 so guess I broke even on that one. But the guy I sold it to told me after buying it from me, they had a lifetime warranty on the stock. Would not have sold it if I had known that! Oh well,,,,,,,,

I read that they had some safety issue with the trigger.

Remington sold the machinery to some outfit in Brazil I think, and they made additional examples.

I had to sell mine years ago, and replaced it with a Marlin M-795SS. I think it's the best item of its kind, a synthetic stocked survival/utility .22 rifle.