{{Short description|US ammunition manufacturer}} {{Infobox company | name = CCI Ammunition | logo = CCI Ammunition logo.svg | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | logo_padding = | image = | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = | former_name = | type = Subsidiary | industry = Ammunition | founded = 1951 | founder = Dick Speer | hq_location = Lewiston, Idaho, U.S. | area_served = <!-- or: | areas_served = --> | key_people = | products = Cartridges | brands = | services = | parent = Czechoslovak Group | website = {{Official URL}} }}
'''CCI Ammunition''' (formerly '''Cascade Cartridge, Inc.''') is an ammunition manufacturer and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Czechoslovak Group, located in Lewiston, Idaho. CCI manufactures rimfire and centerfire handgun ammunition, including primers for handloaders and an industrial ammunition production line. CCI made the first .22 Long Rifle Mini-Mag rimfire ammunition in 1962 and, in 1975, they developed the .22 Stinger rimfire ammunition, a high velocity .22 Long Rifle product. Today, CCI makes a wide range of rimfire and snake shot ammunition.<ref>https://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/products.aspx CCI ammunition product list</ref>
==History== CCI was founded by Dick Speer (brother of Vernon Speer, who founded Speer Bullets) in the early 1950s. Arvid Nelson was a partner in the business. The firm's first shipment was part of a defense contract to make primers using chlorate FA-70. CCI later moved on to much safer formulas for sporting ammunition. CCI provided the first reliable supply of primers for hobby reloaders.<ref name="Officer2">{{cite web |author1=Staff |title=CCI Ammunition |url=https://www.officer.com/tactical/firearm-accessories/ammunition/company/10743342/cci-ammunition |website=Officer |publisher=Endeavor Business Media |accessdate=2 November 2020}}</ref>
As of February 2015, it was a subsidiary of Vista Outdoor, a spinoff of Alliant Techsystems.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.atk.com/locations/locations_armamentgroup.asp |author= ATK Commercial Products |title= CCI/Speer }}</ref> As of the same date, CCI employed about 1,100 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inwp.org/pdf/ATK.pdf |title=ATK Company Overview |publisher=ATK |accessdate=21 December 2012}} {{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref> The company was sold to the Czechoslovak Group in November 2024.<ref>https://www.armadninoviny.cz/csg-se-stava-vlastnikem-skupiny-kinetic.html</ref>
CCI purchased 17 acres of land next to the Lewiston Gun Club. When the gun club moved, CCI purchased that land as well. As of 2020, CCI's plant was still located on this land.<ref name="Officer">{{cite web |author1=Staff |title=CCI Ammunition |url=https://www.officer.com/tactical/firearm-accessories/ammunition/company/10743342/cci-ammunition |website=Officer |publisher=Endeavour Business Media |accessdate=22 September 2020}}</ref>
==Product lines== In 1975, CCI engineers completed development of the first "hyper-velocity" .22 Long Rifle ammunition. This ammunition became known as the "CCI Stinger."<ref name="Stinger">{{cite news |last1=Lounsbury |first1=Tom |title=Tom Lounsbury: Old and dependable 'Twenty-Two' rimfire |url=https://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article/Tom-Lounsbury-Old-and-dependable-Twenty-Two-15918194.php |date=3 February 2021}}</ref> The CCI Stinger has a slightly longer case length of .702 in (17.8 mm), compared to the standard case length of .613 in (15.6 mm) for the .22 Long Rifle, both of these cartridges have the same overall cartridge dimensions.
Although CCI's Blazer line officially launched in 1981, reports of niche "Blazer" branded rimfire ammunition appeared around 1972. Their Blazer 9mm Full metal jacket (ammunition) is one of the most popular training rounds in America.<ref name="Homeland Arms">{{cite web |last=Barrett |first=Kenneth |date=22 March 2026 |title=Blazer Brass 9mm FMJ Review |url=https://homelandarms.com/reviews/blazer-brass-9mm-fmj/ |publisher=Homeland Arms |access-date= 23 March 2026}}</ref>
In early 2020, CCI introduced 14 new products.<ref name="Guns1">{{cite web |last1=Eger |first1=Chris |title=CCI DELIVERS OVER A DOZEN NEW RIMFIRE LOADS FOR 2020 |url=https://www.guns.com/news/2020/02/07/cci-delivers-over-a-dozen-new-rimfire-loads-for-2020 |website=Guns.com}}</ref>
CCI/Speer sells the Gold Dot line, component bullets, and handgun ammunition using a bonded copper-plated hollow point bullet. Plated bullets were originally sold only for handloading as a cheap substitute for jacketed bullets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.speer-bullets.com/html/products/ProdDesc.asp?prod%3Dbullet_hand_GoldDot |title=Speer Gold Dot description |accessdate=May 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203042104/http://www.speer-bullets.com/html/products/ProdDesc.asp?prod=bullet_hand_GoldDot |archivedate=February 3, 2009 |df= }}</ref><ref>[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=19&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=5,079,814&OS=5,079,814&RS=5,079,814 Patent 5,079,814] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124030337/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=19&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=5,079,814&OS=5,079,814&RS=5,079,814 |date=2016-01-24 }}, for a bonded plated hollow point bullet (the Speer Gold Dot)</ref>
CCI sells the MeatEater line of hunting ammunition for small game. CCI partnered with Steven Rinella of MeatEater to produce and market this product line. The MeatEater line of ammunition includes Copper-22, Mini-Mag, and Maxi-Mag variants.<ref name="AmmoMeat">{{cite news |last1=Grant |first1=Jim |title=CCI Introduces a New Line of MeatEater Series Rimfire Ammunition |url=https://www.ammoland.com/2020/07/cci-introduces-a-new-line-of-meateater-series-rimfire-ammunition/#axzz6WE5ZHi41 |accessdate=26 August 2020 |work=AmmoLand |publisher=AmmoLand.com |date=31 July 2020}}</ref>
In 2023, CCI introduced Clean-22 Hyper Velocity ammunition; this adds to their line of polymer-coated rimfire ammunition. Polymer coatings significantly reduce lead fouling in barrels.<ref name="Clean">{{cite news |last1=Massaro |first1=Philip |title=New for 2023: CCI Clean-22 Hyper Velocity |url=https://www.americanhunter.org/content/new-for-2023-cci-clean-22-hyper-velocity/ |access-date=13 February 2023 |work=American Hunter |date=20 January 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{Official website}}
{{Vista Outdoor Brands}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Lewiston, Idaho Category:Companies based in Idaho Category:Companies established in the 1950s Category:Ammunition manufacturers of the United States Category:Alliant Techsystems Category:1950s establishments in Idaho