CCI (ammunition)
 | |
| Headquarters | Lewiston, Idaho, United States |
|---|---|
| Products | Ammunition |
CCI (Cascade Cartridge Inc.), based in Lewiston, Idaho, manufactures rimfire ammunition, centerfire handgun ammunition, and primers for reloaders and industrial power loads. CCI produced the first Mini-Mag rimfire ammunition in 1963, and in 1975 developed the Stinger, a hypervelocity .22 Long Rifle product.
History
Founded by Dick Speer (brother of Vernon Speer, who founded Speer Bullets) in the early 1950s, CCI is as of Feb. 2015, a subsidiary of Vista Outdoor, a spinoff of Alliant Techsystems,[1] and currently employs approximately 1100 people.[2] CCI was once known as the Speer Ammunition Company - the Speer name was associated with bullet manufacturing.
It was once a subsidiary of Omark Industries with Speer Bullets, RCBS (formerly the Rock Chuck Bullet Swage company), and Outers.
While originally sold only for handloading as an inexpensive substitute for jacketed bullets, this plated bullet has come far. CCI/Speer offers the Gold Dot line, component bullets and commercially loaded premium handgun ammunition using a bonded copper plated hollow point bullet.[3][4] The Gold Dot line is now in use by many police departments.[5]
On June 14, 2009 the Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune reported that Alliant Techsystems, Edina, and Humbert CTTS SAS were awarded an approximately US$14-million contract to provide Speer GoldDot 9mm ammunition to the French Gendarmerie, French Customs, French Corrections and all 250,000 police officers in France.[6]
Notable 22 long rifle cartidges
Mini-Mag
The standard Mini-Mag load is a 40-grain (2.6 g) copper-plated round nose bullet (Or a 36-grain (2.3 g) copper-plated hollow point) with a muzzle velocity of 1,235 ft/s (376 m/s). The copper-plating reduces lead fouling, which makes plinking with this load favorable over conventional lead bullets, which can present cycling and jamming problems, especially in semi-automatics.[7]
Velocitor
CCI's Velocitor is claimed by CCI to be "the fastest 40 grain hollow point on the market". This is a 40-grain (2.6 g) copper-plated hollow point, derived from Speer Gold Dot technology with a muzzle velocity of 1,435 ft/s (437 m/s). It is designed for use on varmints including up to large varmints like coyotes.[7]
Stinger
Another highly popular varmint load is the Stinger; introduced in 1976. This is a 32-grain (2.1 g) copper-plated hollow-point bullet with tear-drop cavity for complete disruption, with a muzzle velocity of 1,640 ft/s (500 m/s) - the fastest 22 LR with varmint-class accuracy. This hypervelocity is achieved by increasing the cartridge length to allow more powder, yet it still remains within SAAMI 22 Long Rifle pressure standards and is loaded with a lighter 32-grain (2.1 g) bullet. The Stinger can be easily identified by its longer nickel-plated casing.[7]
Quik-Shok
Quik-Shok, now known as Segmented hollow point, loads are copper-plated segmented hollow-points that fragment into 3 sections on impact. These are intended to cause quick disruption on varmint type game. CCI offers Quik-Shok in a 32-grain (2.1 g) load at 1,640 ft/s (500 m/s) (same velocity as Stinger), or a 40-grain (2.6 g) subsonic load at 1,050 ft/s (320 m/s). The subsonic load is intended for hunting around a populated area when a quiet, effective round is needed.[7]
Quiet-22
CCI Quiet-22 ammunition produces 75 percent less perceived noise than standard velocity .22 caliber long rifle loads. Quiet-22 uses a standard .22 long rifle case and achieves muzzle velocity of 710 feet per second. As Quiet-22 produces only 68 decibels of noise at the shooter's ear, hearing protection is suggested but not required. The National Rifle Association's American Hunter magazine honored CCI for producing Quiet-22 with its Golden Bullseye Award in 2014.[8]
Copper-22
In early 2016, CCI announced Copper-22 long-rifle ammunition intended for target shooting and varmint hunting. Copper-22 does not contain lead and is legal in California. Copper-22 is composed of a mix of copper and polymer compressed into a 21-grain hollow-point bullet. It achieves a muzzle velocity of 1,850 feet per second.[9]
A17 rimfire
A17 HMR ammunition was developed in cooperation with Savage Arms for the A17 rifle. This is .17 caliber rimfire round was designed for semi-automatic weapons and produces muzzle velocities 100 feet per second faster than competing ammunition with the same weight. Its Varmint Tip is designed to expand quickly upon on impact.[10]
Shotshell
Big 4
Big 4 is handgun shotshell design for snakes and other pests. The product gets its name from being loaded with Number 4 lead shot. Big 4 initially had an internal name of "Big Shot.: CCI claims Big 4 is effective at a distance of up to 15 feet. It comes in chamberings of 9 millimeter Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 caliber, and .45 Colt.[11]
References
- ↑ ATK Commercial Products. "CCI/Speer".
- ↑ "ATK Company Overview" (PDF). ATK. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ↑ Speer Gold Dot description and patent number Archived February 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Patent 5,079,814, for a bonded plated hollow point bullet (the Speer Gold Dot)
- ↑ Comparison of various 9 x 19 mm expanding bullet loads, including the Speer Gold Dot bonded plated bullet
- ↑ Minneapolis-St.Paul StarTribune. 2009-06-16. Retrieved from <http://www.startribune.com/business/48193407.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU> on 2009-08-24. (Archived by WebCite at <http://www.webcitation.org/5jHK39QN2>)
- 1 2 3 4 CCI. "Rimfire Selector".
- ↑ "American Hunter Bestows CCI Quiet-22 with NRA Golden Bullseye Award for Ammunition of the Year". Ammoland (United States). 18 April 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑
- ↑ Stakes, Justin (20 May 2015). "CCI Introduces A17 Varmint Tip Ammunition Designed to Optimize New Savage A17 Rifle". Ammoland (United States). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑
| ||||||||||||||||||||||