| Cascade Cartridge Inc. (CCI) | |
|---|---|
| Type | Rifle/varmint/small game |
| Place of origin | United States |
CCI (Cascade Cartridge Inc.), headquartered in Lewiston, Idaho, is a manufacturer of 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.
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Founded by Dick Speer (brother of Vernon Speer, who founded Speer Bullets) in the early 1950s, CCI is now a subsidiary of Alliant Techsystems,[1] and currently employs approximately 800 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]
CCI's 22 Long Rifle Mini-Mag has been a standard and an incredibly popular load in the rimfire industry. 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, but can present cycling and jamming problems, especially in semi-automatics.[7]
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]
Another highly popular varmint load is the Stinger. 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, 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]