CCI (ammunition)
CCI (Cascade Cartridge Inc.), based in Lewiston, Idaho, manufactures rimfire ammunition, centerfire handgun ammunition, and primers for reloaders and industrial power loads. CCI made the first mini-mag rimfire ammunition in 1963, and in 1975 developed the Stinger, a high velocity .22 Long Rifle product. Today, CCI makes a wide range of rimfire and snake shot ammunition. CCI was founded by Dick Speer (brother of Vernon Speer, who founded Speer Bullets) and Arvid Nelson in the early 1950s. Speer previously worked as a machinist for Boeing. The Omark Company purchased CCI in 1967. Omark was purchased by Blount  International in 1985. As of February 2015, it was a subsidiary of Vista Outdoor, a spinoff of Alliant Techsystems. As of that time, CCI employed about 1,100 people. CCI 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 hand-loading as a cheap substitute for jacketed bullets. CCI's parent company, Vista Outdoor, is the largest manufacturer of ammunition in the United States.