POTD: The Kodiak Model 260 – The First of Its Kind

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a quality little rifle from a company that barely existed. This is the Kodiak Model 260, built up in North Haven, Connecticut by an outfit that was only in business from about 1963 to 1966 (and went by “Jefferson” before that). Short-lived as they were, they earned one real distinction.

The Model 260 was the first semi-automatic rifle ever chambered for the .22 WMR, the .22 Magnum. Winchester had only introduced that hotter rimfire in 1959, and getting a self-loader to run reliably on it was no small thing. The Magnum is a tricky round to cycle in a blowback action, and that’s exactly where these guns earned a mixed reputation. Plenty of owners will tell you about busted extractors and shattered plastic feed lips. When they run, they’re nicely made; when they don’t, parts are basically unobtainium now.

You’ll also find this same gun wearing other names. Kodiak built the basic rifle for Colt, who sold it as the Colteer, so the design got around more than the Kodiak label lets on. Well-built, truly scarce, and a footnote worth knowing, the gun that got there first on the semi-auto .22 Magnum.

Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!

“Kodiak Model 260 Semi-Automatic Rifle with Scope.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5032/977/kodiak-model-260-semiautomatic-rifle-with-scope. Accessed 25 June 2026.

The post POTD: The Kodiak Model 260 – The First of Its Kind appeared first on AllOutdoor.com.