Nylon 66 Cleaning?

[Sasquatch-1]

I am curious about how often, those that have them, give their Nylon 66's a good deep cleaning? I have one that I bought in the late 70's, used. It is a patent pending gun. I took the receiver cover off and the barrel out for the first time since I owned the rifle and cleaned it. I was amazed at all the grunge I found in the receiver area. Even with all the dirt the gun never skipped a beat.

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[zarrinvz24]

That is why Nylon 66's are still desirable, like a good old pickup truck, take a lickin & keep on tickin. . .

[Texas by God]

A quarter and a stout toothbrush once every 5 to ten years is my cleaning regimen for my Nylons....
And never oil it.
Lots of prettier .22 semi auto have been made- but none better to ride the river with.

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[webfoot10]

Take off reciever cover, spray with brak-kleen till carbon and dirt is gone then blow
out with low pressure air hose. Replace cover. Done.

[Dutchman]

One of the great .22 rifles of the 20th century. My brother bought one in the early 60s. When I was visiting him in Kansas a few years ago he asked me how do you take this thing apart to clean it.

This is it. You don't take it down any further than this. This one shown is about 60 years old and still going. Make sure you swab out the magazine tube housing in the buttstock and wipe down the tubular magazine itself.

https://images14.fotki.com/v1643/photos/4/28344/9895637/photo2-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/firearms/0729091526ab-jpg.html)

[Winger Ed.]

This is it. You don't take it down any further than this.

This is good advice.

I took one all apart once, but only once.
I spent about three days getting it back together too.

[KCSO]

Take it down too far and it will take special tool and three hands to get it back together. Mostly you can get by by just taking off the top cover and flushing it out and cleaning the barrel.

[pietro]

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The nylon is self-lubricating, so I always just removed the cover & barrel, then flushed the action, bolt, & both the inner & outer magazine tube, letting it air dry.

Mine was an early version, in Seneca Green (not the later bright green).

In the days prior to the sanitary landfill process, my friends and I used to practice the arcane sport of dump rat shooting - for which I removed the rear sight elevator (the shots were usually measured in feet, not yards).

.

[Texas by God]

The Apache Black version (like shown above) was advertised as being THE commercial fisherman's choice for marauding Sea Lions. I've only had Mohawk Brown Nylons- including a .22 Short Gallery Special. Dad gave me his recently so I have two to pass down when the time comes.
The very last model before discontinuance was called Black Diamond( Blue steel, black stock with black diamond instead of white.

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[Sasquatch-1]

I understand that the gallery gun is one of the most desirable models. I hope you still have it.

[Gussy]

No longer have one, but I never took anything apart. Stood it barrel down and hosed it with auto starting fluid. Don't get down wind! Let dry which was very fast. Shot it with WD-40 or other aerosol lube. Done, 5 minutes! It was a magazine type, not tube feed.

[rockrat]

Think those Seneca Green ones are also on the list of highly collectable guns

[Mk42gunner]

I never took mine down as far as Dutchman. I guess I read too many horror stories about reassembly. On the other hand, I have taken both my R92 Rossi and my 94 Winchester down completely with no problems.

With the Nylon 66, I'm in the "Take the cover off and hose it down" camp.

Robert

[fiberoptik]

Remove 2 cover screws. Pull off cover. Remove big headed screw underneath. Twist barrel. Take off. Spray & clean. Re-assemble reversed.


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[desi23]

Dutchman's post is correct, that is as far as anyone should go in taking one apart. You can detail clean and flush everything that needs it from that point. I had the "fun" of putting one back together that came into the store as a pile of parts in a box............ never again! Took way too long and was far more trouble than I wish to deal with.

[JoeJames]

Dutchman's post is correct, that is as far as anyone should go in taking one apart. You can detail clean and flush everything that needs it from that point. I had the "fun" of putting one back together that came into the store as a pile of parts in a box............ never again! Took way too long and was far more trouble than I wish to deal with.

A cousin who had a gun shop/pawnshop said he took one completely apart and it took 40 forevers to get it all back together again. Take the cover off, hose it down, and call it good.

[MI2600]

Bought one at a police auction back in the 60's and thought I had better clean it properly, of course without any directions...how hard could it be? I removed one screw and heard an internal spring go "boing". Next stop gunsmith.

[DaleT]

This is good information. My Dad has/had one of the black ones and I'm pretty sure it has the diamond on it. We kids shot the dickens out of that thing and I never remember it being cleaned. My Dad recently passed away and along with a very old octagon Winchester, this nylon 66 will be coming home with me next weekend I think. The last time I saw it I think it had a crack in the stock ��, but it still shoots.

[Sasquatch-1]

This is good information. My Dad has/had one of the black ones and I'm pretty sure it has the diamond on it. We kids shot the dickens out of that thing and I never remember it being cleaned. My Dad recently passed away and along with a very old octagon Winchester, this nylon 66 will be coming home with me next weekend I think. The last time I saw it I think it had a crack in the stock ��, but it still shoots.

Check YouTube. There are a couple of good videos on the disassembly and re-assembly. Like everything on YouTube, you need to weed through the Want-to-be's.

[Texas by God]

I created a time machine by mounting a period Marlin rimfire scope on Dad's old Nylon 66. We certainly have better scopes nowadays. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220825/9421cf50ca2103ca2de8851cfdecb66e.jpg

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[beemer]

Texas, does the scope hold zero well ? I have owned several over the years but never had any luck holding to POA. It would zero but change if shot a bit. I always blamed the thin sheet metal cover.

I wish I had kept one, they were tough, reliable and I loved the sights. Last one I bought in the early 80's, still have the box. I gave it to my Daughter and it was stolen. The prices on a nice used one's are crazy.

[El Bibliotecario]

My first firearm was a Nylon 66. I am baffled by the consternation expressed over disassembly. I clean mine as often as I would clean any weapon--after firing. I have owned it most of my life, and to date the rifle shows no signs of wear from excessive cleaning. I remove everything shown in the Dutchman's photo except the striker assembly (between the receiver cover and the receiver cover screws in the photo) This requires a screwdriver; preferably two: one sized to fit the receiver cover screws and one sized to fit the barrel retaining collar screw, and takes perhaps two minutes. The only problem I ever had was when I ignored the instructions to cock the rifle before disassembly. But even as a dumb teenager I eventually figured out how to cock the striker whose forward position inhibited reassembly, even though the rifle was in pieces.

Having said that, the previous anecdotes of grossly neglected Nylon 66s continuing to function underscore the weapon's reputation for reliability. I don't understand the rationale for neglecting the rifle, but it's your Nylon 66 and you should do whatever you sweet please with it.

[Texas by God]

Beemer, I always used iron sights on my 66's, so I'll have to let you know. I always got tired of the scope and removed it in the past. Ive been told that the front ring must abut the chamber end of the dovetail.


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[rockrat]

Didn't Remington have an ad one time, using a Nylon 66 to shoot wooden blocks thrown in the air? Thinking it was either 10,000 shots or maybe 100,000 shots without a breakdown and IIRC, 6 misses

[pietro]

.

In 1959, Remington's Tom Frye broke a world record by shooting at 100,010 hand-thrown 2-1/2" wood blocks, 8-10 hours/day for 15 days straight, hitting 100,004 of them.

[El Bibliotecario]

Beemer, I always used iron sights on my 66's, so I'll have to let you know. I always got tired of the scope and removed it in the past. Ive been told that the front ring must abut the chamber end of the dovetail.


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This mirrors my experience. As a youth I tried a 4x scope but found it slowed target acquisition and impeded the natural smooth handling of the rifle. Nylon 66 iron sights are exceptional in that they are similar to modern pistol sights rather than the traditional buckhorn rear and miniscule bead common to many .22 rifles of that era. I am not fond of the white front post, but that is what nail polish is fer.

My only complaint about the weapon was lack of sling swivels. As a kid I tied a leather thong around the pistol grip and duct taped another to the forearm. Aesthetic it wasn't, but it served the purpose. The nylon stock can be drilled for swivels, but rather than alter the weapon, I upgraded my youthful Rube Goldberg solution.303542303543

[pietro]

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Alas, I no longer have a Nylon, but kept/use my Cordua-Nylon solution for most of my other guns that I want to leave as-issued.

https://i.imgur.com/IofTwoWm.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Di4yX7jm.jpg https://i.imgur.com/5rkXcfWm.jpg

[Texas by God]

This is 7 shots at 40yds with Dad's Nylon 66 using 40 gr Aguila Super.
One inch to the left. I'll wait a week and see if it shifts. If it does, the $5 scope isn't above suspicion....https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220829/7e9fbf730166096fae293ffc38606685.jpg

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[Travisbishop]

I've bought several of these over the years. My first was a Seneca Green model. I bought it from the Western Auto back when I was 12. That was 1974. It's still sitting in the box. He'd had it in his stock room since the 60's. Nobody wanted it. I cleaned out that stock room for it. I never shot it.

My next one was a Bicentennial edition in 1976. It's still in it's box, unfired.

My go to is a Mohawk Brown. I picked it up in 1978. I've run countless rounds through it. Had to replace the extractor once. Remington sent it to me free of charge. That rifle was new when I bought it. It gets a thorough cleaning after every field run. But that was just how I was raised. You NEVER put up a dirty gun or a wet horse. You cleaned the gun, rubbed down the horse. No exceptions. Anything less would result in a somewhat invigorating application of a hand plaited rawhide lariat rope to your Fourth Point Of Contact. It makes sense to me now.My great grand father fought in Europe in WW1. My grandfathers, both mother and father's side served in WW2. My mother's daddy in the Phillipines, my father's daddy, in France, then in Korea. My father in Vietnam. Myself? Various nasty places I don't care to recall, where people wanted to kill me.

You learn the value of a clean, properly functioning weapon when you need it to go bang everytime you pull the trigger.

[Streetwalker]

I have a number of .22's but, I have to admit, my least persnickity rifle is the Nylon magazine model. I still haven't found any ammo that thing won't shoot without decent accuracy, even the cheapest, dirtiest foreign ammo made. I bought that rifle in 1983 and it has never been cleaned and runs without a hitch. No doubt about it, one of Remington's very best gun models!