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Nylon 66: Remington's Revolutionary Plastic Rifle (ad-free)

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!

Nylon 66: Remington's Revolutionary Plastic Rifle (ad-free)

Comments

I have the semi-auto magazine fed version in the less popular green color. It's also called a Nylon 77. It's pretty fun and amazingly light. I bought it from K-Mart sometime in the early 90s.

Ben Manthey

A brown Mohawk version that was detachable mag fed was my first gun. I still kick myself for letting it go.

Rick Thurman

A friend of mine has one hanging in his garage/workshop that he uses to dispatch rabbits that appear in his lower yard to eat his grass, and poop, which his chihuahua then eats, much to his disgust. He claims it is really accurate. These rifles never appealed to me as I always wanted the wood.

Paul Ingraham

Bought one of these in the mid 80`s second hand as a trade in against a new CZ75 (I was an assistant in a gunshop/shooting range in the UK). The previous owner had had the barrel threaded to take a Parker Hale moderator. I used it for rabbit control for about three years with Fiocchi subsonic (called Asonic if memory serves). Worked fantastically all the time with a new can on the end, fast follow up shots if required, and quiet. Used the standard sights on this but had a scoped and moderated BRNO Model2 for longer range stuff. Sold it eventually before the UK went to pot. Would recommend them to anyone in the market for a reliable, light vermin control rifle.

Adrian Colwill

and those are DIRTcheap in germany these days! see them rather often. remington did a great job on the looks. from some distance it looks like a real rifle with a real stock just high gloss ugly finished. but the shape looks awesome. wouldn't mind one of those.

Guido Schriewer

I am intimately familiar with the Nylon 66... I have 3. My dad bought one in about 1960, with the green stock, and carried it in the rear window rack of his pickup for years. It was the first .22 I really learned to shoot. Years later bought one in Mohawk Brown and then one in Apache Black. There was also a variation called the Black Diamond which had a chrome-plated receiver cover. The only criticism of the Nylon 66 was that some people tried to carry it with a sling over their shoulder which could conceivably cause the nylon stock to temporarily BEND (like when crossing a fence), which could cause the sear to jump off and fire the rifle. That's probably no surprise to Remington because they never put sling swivels on the Nylon 66 so it would not be so inadvertently stressed.

that is the word that comes to mind when I hear glock!

Guido Schriewer

My dad bought a Nylon 76, because a semi auto 66 was too dangerous for children. The short throw of rhe lever can make for fast cycling, but the nylon gears were often misaligned, making the rifle unreliable. He sent in into Remington several times, to no avail. Eventually, Remington sent him a Nylon 66, but he returned it and got an Apache black 76 with nickel or stainless metal. He was never happy with the appearance, but still has it.

EyeBall

I really wanted one of these the first time I saw one in the 50s. My father didn't like guns so I was never going to get one. Fast forward to 2015 and I see a nice one at at gun show. Paid $250 which I thought was a a decent price; so I finally got my Nylon 66. Sweet little rifle. Thanks for showcasing it.

Byron J Wassenar

Wow, I'd bet they would still be making them if the mold hadn't worn out.

Wayne S.

Wanted one of those when I was a teenager, but couldn't afford it. Still see them sometimes at gun shows.

John Arpin

I appreciate opening with a 'The Graduate' reference. :D

Strypgia

Nylon 66 refers to the number of carbon atoms in the two monomers, Hexanedioic acid (adipic acid) and hexane 1,6 diamino. Both have 6 carbons and react to form long chains. It was first made in the '30s and is dirt cheap to make.

Thomas R Burkholder

Remington knew that the old farts were gonna bash it by saying "ItS pLaStIc, It WiLl BrEaK" and proved otherwise by dumping as much .22 down the barrel to show that it won't snap under recoil.

Trenton Bushnell

*clutches VP70* No baby, you were the first. Don’t listen to what others say.

Falling Steel


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