In 1951, CCI Ammunition's founder Dick Speer hired an explosives chemist and set up a primer operation inside an old chicken coop in Idaho.
Seventy-five years later, Cascade Cartridge Incorporated (CCI) now spans 350,000 square feet across 400 acres and employs 1,100 people working around the clock.
This is the story of how the dream of two brothers changed the world of ammunition forever, in the USA and beyond.
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How CCI Got Started: The Founding Story
Dick Speer did not originally set out to build an ammunition giant, or even a primer company.
Alongside his brother Vernon, he initially launched businesses focused on reloading components, with Vernon producing bullets and Dick making brass cartridge cases.
The product was solid, but the business struggled, pushing Dick toward the small-arms primers production that would define CCI’s future.
In 1953, he changed the company name to Cascade Cartridge, Inc., later shortened to CCI.
Although civilian reloaders were the target market, one of CCI’s earliest major customers was the U.S. government, which bought primers for America’s fighting forces.
Within five years, CCI had found its footing and was offering a broad lineup of primers to the public.
Early staples included the No. 200 Large Rifle, No. 300 Large Pistol, No. 400 Small Rifle, and No. 500 Small Pistol, all of which remain in the lineup today.
Speer Reloading Manuals helped spread the word, too, with Vernon Speer referencing CCI primers in tested recipes, beginning with Manual No. 2.
CCI expanded quickly. By 1958, the plant had grown to seven buildings across six acres, with a tool-and-die shop, metal-parts fabrication, chemical research, and more.
A couple of years later, Dick bought a neighboring 20-acre tract from a local gun club and range, giving the company room for the expansion that followed.
Seventy-five years on, CCI remains amongst the best ammunition options for beginners and experts to this day.
From Primers to Rimfire Ammo
If reloaders know CCI as a primer company, many shooters know it first as a rimfire ammo brand. That part of the business began almost by accident.
In 1960, CCI expanded into rimfire loads for powder-actuated industrial fastening tools. That move opened the door to rimfire ammunition.
By 1963, CCI was offering factory-loaded rimfire cartridges for hunters and shooters.
Early product names included HySpeed, Target, and Dart. In 1965, the company renamed some of those loads and introduced what would become one of its most recognizable products: Mini-Mag, promoted as a way to make a .22 shoot like a magnum.
With the company growing quickly, Dick Speer sold the business to Omark Industries in 1967. Omark, then known for chainsaw chains, used the acquisition to launch its Sporting Equipment Division.
CCI kept innovating. In 1969, the company introduced its plastic 100-round box with a sliding lid, followed by the 50-round version in 1971.
Today that style of rimfire packaging is so common that most shooters never think twice about it, but CCI helped make it the industry standard.
Everyone is looking to get more bang for their buck, and as convenient as the 50 PAC and 100 PAC boxes were, the easiest way to get costs down is to put more ammo into a bulk package.
This led to the introduction of Blazer ammo in 1972. It promised the same high-velocity performance as the trusty Mini-Mag, but at a cheaper price point. You can still pick up bulk packs of Blazer ammo today.
Mini-Mag, Blazer, Stinger: CCI's Landmark Products
In 1972, CCI introduced Blazer rimfire ammo, offering Mini-Mag-like high-velocity performance at a lower price point through bulk packaging.
That same year, the company standardized the prominent “C” headstamp still seen on CCI cartridges today.
Around the same time, it also launched Green Tag, a competition-grade .22 Long Rifle load selected to meet the company’s most demanding testing standards.
The next year brought another landmark product. After years of hyper-velocity testing, CCI introduced Stinger in 1973, giving shooters a high-speed .22 Long Rifle load that remains one of the best-known names in rimfire ammo.
The 1970s also saw the arrival of Lawman ammunition. Originally sold as CCI-Speer Lawman, the line was offered in a range of revolver and pistol calibers before eventually becoming a Speer-only brand.
That success helped open the door for more centerfire handgun products, including Blazer handgun ammo in 1980.
Built with aluminum-alloy cases, Blazer gave shooters a lower-cost factory-loaded practice option.
In 1985, Omark Industries was acquired by Blount, Inc., bringing CCI along with the rest of Omark’s brands.
At that point, CCI’s catalog included 14 primers, 17 rimfire loads, and 39 centerfire handgun products.
In 1985, Omark Industries was acquired by Bount, Inc. and CCI went along with the rest of Omark’s brands.
By then, CCI offered 14 primers, 17 rimfire loads, and 39 centerfire handgun products.
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CCI in the 1990s/2000s: Military Contracts, ISO Certification and a Primer Shortage
In 1991, CCI opened a new facility near the Lewiston airport focused on explosives chemistry and cannon primers for the U.S. military.
That same period also brought a primer shortage, and CCI stood out as the only domestic primer manufacturer that continued selling primers to the public while competitors shifted fully toward government demand.
Another major milestone came in 1996, when CCI became the first U.S.-based ammunition manufacturer to earn ISO 9001 certification.
It was not the kind of achievement consumers see on a shelf, but it was a major statement about process control and manufacturing standards.
The new millennium brought fresh products and partnerships. Velocitor HP arrived with a 40-grain bullet at a listed 1,435 fps, and collaborations with Hornady helped introduce the 17 HMR and 17 Mach 2 cartridges.
On the primer side, CCI also expanded offerings aimed at a growing prepper market.
Ownership changed again in the early 2000s when Blount’s shooting sports division was acquired by Alliant Techsystems, or ATK. In 2015, ATK shifted its ammunition business to Vista Outdoor, taking CCI and Speer with it.
The 2010s also reflected broader industry marketing trends, with tactical-themed rimfire loads and co-branded products like Swamp People ammo reaching store shelves.
In 2018, CCI introduced another industry first with Clean-22, the first polymer-coated .22 Long Rifle bullet.
Because rimfire ammo is notoriously dirty, the cleaner-shooting concept gave shooters something genuinely new.
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CCI Ammunition 75th Anniversary: 2026 and Beyond
The 2020s have brought both disruption and momentum. Despite the challenges of 2020, CCI launched co-branded ammunition with MeatEater’s Steve Rinella, became the official rimfire ammunition of Steel Challenge, and expanded the Blazer line with 10mm Auto.
Recognition followed. Clean-22 and Clean-22 Hyper Velocity both received awards in 2021 and 2022, respectively. In 2025, CCI earned Predator Xtreme’s Readers’ Choice Gold Award for the ninth consecutive year.
Another ownership change came in 2024, when Vista Outdoor’s ammunition brands were reorganized as The Kinetic Group and then acquired by CSG, the Prague-based industrial group.
As we head into CCI Ammunition's 75th anniversary, the catalog is broader than ever, with 149 products listed, including target, plinking and defense offerings.
Over three-quarters of a century, CCI has built a reputation for primers and ammunition that shooters trust, whether they are loading for competition, hunting, personal use, or a day at the range.
No one knows what the next 75 years will bring. But if CCI’s history is any indication, the company’s next chapter will be driven by the same mix of problem-solving, product development, and steady growth that built the first one.
