Navy Arms/Uberti 66 in 22lr will not feed

[SiringoMN]

Hello Gents,

I picked up a 1970 Uberti 66 in 22 lr today.  However, it will not feed properly.  Using 22 lr ammo, sometimes the rim will jump over the stop in the carrier and allow another round to lay in the trough of the carrier.  Thereby jamming it.  Other times the round will not feed into the chamber.  The nose of the bullet is not quite lifted far enough to slide into the chamber.  The round hits on the bottom edge of the chamber.  It seems the lifter is fully up.  Any thoughts of wisdom??

Siringo

[Abilene]

Howdy Siringo, without seeing it I'm going to make some guesses.  As to the round getting past the carrier, that happens with some centerfire '66's when the loading gate tab bends or breaks, but since the .22 version has no loading gate obviously that ain't it.  I haven't seen what a .22 carrier looks like on the inside  so I don't know what the stop looks like that is built in to the carrier, but maybe it is worn?  If you take it apart, take a picture of the inside of the carrier to show us.  Now as to the carrier seeming to not rise far enough, sometimes that could be a weak carrier spring (the flat spring that attaches to the screw on the bottom just behind the carrier opening in the frame, on the right side of the rifle, or the left side if it is upside down) so make sure that screw is tight (or that leaf spring could be worn and need replacing).  But you said it seems to be raising all the way, which you could verify by reaching underneath and pushing it up with your finger.  If it is indeed all the way up, possibly the lifter arm needs to be bent a little so it raises the carrier further.  When people have out-of-battery discharges, that arm and/or the lever can get bent, but I wouldn't think an OOB on a .22 would have enough force to do that.  Since I don't know what the cartridge stop looks like in the .22 carrier, I'm wondering if both problems could be related, that is, the carrier is also too low when it is in the lower position.  Does it stick down below the frame in the down position?  I'm out of WAG's for now    Perhaps Pettifogger or Coffinmaker will see this and chime in.  If nobody else knows, I'd send a PM to those guys.
Good luck.

[Malamute]

 The 66 in 22 cal had a spring steel hook that limited cartridge depth into the carrier, the bolt pushed it aside the chamber the round. It may be worn, bent, or lost some spring tension. Check it to be sure its seating deep enough in the carrier to fully engage. if your lucky, maybe the screw is just loose and can be snugged up to correct. Cleaning under the part may help it if theres not enough obvious wear to affect the function. Mine wore quite a but on the hook end but never failed to function.

Id love to have another 22 cal 1866.