CCI, or Cascade Cartridge, Inc., traces its roots to the mid-1940s, when brothers Vernon and Dick Speer relocated to Lewiston to get into the reloading components business. Vernon's bullet-making operation, Speer Bullets, took off first.
Dick followed with plans to make brass cartridge cases, but the timing wasn't great as brass was hard to come by, and the case business never found its footing. So Dick pivoted to primers instead, bringing on an explosives chemist in 1951 to help him develop small-arms primers that were both non-corrosive and non-mercuric, a meaningful improvement at the time. This is what would birth CCI as we know it today.
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Note: The Jack O'Conner Hunting Heritage and Education Center is also in Lewiston, ID.
For decades, his feature articles in Outdoor Life Magazine brought excitement, enjoyment and a sense of appreciation for wildlife and hunting to millions of people throughout the world.
The sense of adventure that came alive in his many writings inspired, informed, and educated outdoorsmen and hunters about wildlife conservation and modern wildlife management.
Dick followed with plans to make brass cartridge cases, but the timing wasn't great as brass was hard to come by, and the case business never found its footing. So Dick pivoted to primers instead, bringing on an explosives chemist in 1951 to help him develop small-arms primers that were both non-corrosive and non-mercuric, a meaningful improvement at the time. This is what would birth CCI as we know it today.
The Rimfire Report: Celebrating 75 Years of CCI — A Trip to Lewiston
There are media event trips, and then there are the kind of trips that remind you why you fell in love with this industry in the first place, and continue to sacrifice much to keep working in it.My recent visit to Lewiston, Idaho, to participate in CCI Ammunition's celebration of its 75th...
Note: The Jack O'Conner Hunting Heritage and Education Center is also in Lewiston, ID.
For decades, his feature articles in Outdoor Life Magazine brought excitement, enjoyment and a sense of appreciation for wildlife and hunting to millions of people throughout the world.
The sense of adventure that came alive in his many writings inspired, informed, and educated outdoorsmen and hunters about wildlife conservation and modern wildlife management.