Calico Light Weapons Systems

Calico Light Weapons Inc
Private
Industry firearms,
Founded October 1982
Headquarters Cornelius, Oregon, U.S.
Area served
 Worldwide
Products Firearms, Magazines, Speed loaders, other firearm accessories
Website www.calicolightweaponsystems.com

Calico Light Weapons Inc. (CLWS) is a privately held manufacturing company based in Cornelius, Oregon. The company was established in 1982 in Bakersfield, California, and released its first production weapon in 1985. Calico was sold in 1990 but remained in Bakersfield. The company was sold again in 1991 to the original concept designer, and in 1998 operations were moved to Sparks, Nevada, where replacement parts for existing weapons were produced.[1]

In 2006, Calico was sold once again, and moved to Hillsboro, Oregon, where full production of firearms resumed. Calico implemented a CNC machining process and upgraded materials used in manufacture. Additionally, there were minor redesigns of some production models to increase durability and reliability.

Products

CLWS produces a line of pistols and pistol-caliber carbines. Calico firearms feature a top-mounted, helical-feed, 50- or 100-round magazine that ejects spent shells from a port in the bottom, making a brass catcher more practical in various situations. The Calico 9 mm pistols, carbines and submachine guns use the roller-delayed blowback principle used in the Heckler & Koch series of firearms.[1]

At the 2012 SHOT Show, Calico exhibited a prototype 12 gauge shotgun with top-mounted helical magazine.

View

Although reviews of the product line were very favorable, Calico is working to secure military and law enforcement and export contracts. Sales were severely curtailed by the introduction of the Federal assault weapons ban in 1994 which limited magazine capacity of newly made firearms to ten rounds. Once the legislation was allowed to sunset in 2004, Calico began producing firearms again. Calico firearms are sometimes seen in various movies and science fiction films ranging from Spaceballs to James Bond due to their reliability, capacity and futuristic appearance. The company tagline is A Revolution in Firepower!

Calico remains one of the largest manufacturers of large magazines for automatic and semi-automatic weapons (50 and 100 rounds).[1]

Products

Current

Discontinued

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lewis, Jack (28 February 2011). Assault Weapons. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. pp. 158–161. ISBN 1-4402-2629-6.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hogg, Ian V.; Walter, John (29 August 2004). Pistols of the World. David & Charles. p. 56. ISBN 0-87349-460-1.
  3. ↑ Hogg, Ian V. (2001). Submachine Guns. Greenhill Books. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-1-85367-448-8.

External links