Stevens Visible Loading Repeater-.22

[daisey53]

My Dad has my Great Grandfathers "Stevens Visible Loading Repeater" rifle used on his farm in the early 1900's. This .22 rifle is unusual as it loads and unloads the .22 shells in mid air when one pulls back on the pump and you can see the action as the cartridges are placed in the chamber and the empty casings are withdrawn later. Does anyone have any information on these rifles as far as history, parts, cleaning etc.? I can't seem to find much on my current Internet search. Thanks...
PS- Here is a picture on another web site...
http://www.auctionarms.com/closed/printitem.cfm?itemnum=6495003

[Mike Irwin]

While unique, the Visible Loader didn't have a very good reputation.

It was prone to jamming and misfeeding, especially if it became dirty. And, given that a lot of the .22 ammo at that time was still black powder and semi-smokeless, they tended to get dirty and jam a lot.

Two apparently common nicknames were the Miserable Loader and the Risible Loader.