Rimfire - AFTE

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Federal Cartridge Company
900 Ehlen Drive
Anoka, MN 55303-7503
1-800-322-2342
Fax: (763) 323-2506

Federal Cartridge Website
From Federal Cartridge Company Website:
Federal Cartridge Company
The Ammunition Industry's Technology Leader

Highlights:
*Federal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Edina, Minnesota-based ATK
*Federal manufactures a complete line of shotshell, centerfire and rimfire ammunition and components
*Nearly 1,000 employees work at the Anoka, Minnesota facility
*The facility is located on 175 acres in Anoka County and spans the border of Anoka and Coon Rapids with half a million square feet of manufacturing space
*Federal Premium® Ammunition is the company's flagship brand and focuses its competitive advantage on cutting edge technology

ATK Website
From ATK Website:
Our History
ATK was launched as an independent company in 1990, when Honeywell spun off its defense businesses to shareholders. The former Honeywell businesses had supplied defense products and systems to the U.S. and its allies for 50 years, including the first electronic autopilot that enabled B-17 aircraft to accomplish pinpoint bombing missions during World War II.

ATK expanded into the aerospace market with the acquisitions of Hercules Aerospace Company in 1995 and Thiokol Propulsion in 2001, which transformed the company into the world's largest supplier of solid propellant rocket motors and a leading provider of high-performance composite structures.

A series of other acquisitions and key contract wins have continued to increase the company's presence in the aerospace, defense, and commercial ammunition markets:

•2000 Selected to operate Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, the U.S. Government's only small-caliber ammunition manufacturing facility.

•2001 Acquired the commercial ammunition businesses of Blount International, which made ATK the nation's largest manufacturer of ammunition.

•2002 Acquired the ordnance business of Boeing, which brought together ATK's munitions portfolio with the products and capabilities of a leading military gun manufacturer.

•2002 Acquired the assets of Science and Applied Technology, Inc., which added critical precision seeker, guidance, and system-level expertise.

•2003 Acquired Composite Optics, Inc., which made ATK the world leader in composite space structures.

•2003 Acquired GASL and Micro Craft, which added leading-edge propulsion and airframe technologies for highly demanding aerospace and defense applications.

•2004 Acquired Mission Research Corporation, which enabled an advanced aerospace and defense technology pipeline spanning concept development to full-scale production.

•2004 Acquired the PSI Group, which strengthened ATK's space systems portfolio and positioned the company to capture emerging opportunities in spacecraft integration and satellite technology.

•2007 Acquired Swales Aerospace, adding enhanced systems engineering and engineering services to ATKs existing space launch, space exploration, small satellite, and spacecraft markets.

•2009 Acquired Eagle Industries as a wholly-owned subsidiary, expanding position in the domestic and international accessories markets serving military and law enforcement customers.

2299 Snake River Ave.
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: (208)-799-3944
Fax: (208)-798-3397

CCI Website

From Website:

A History of CCI®
Richard ”Dick” Speer (1915-1994) possessed a remarkable talent for things mechanical. He was a machinist at Boeing Aircraft's Seattle plant when his realized that his brother Vernon's success in the component bullet business meant there was money to be made in reloading.

The brothers found another niche that they felt held opportunity. There were a number of proprietary rifle cartridge like the Weatherby and Newton designs that were not supported by the ”big” ammo companies. Dick decided to make cases to service this small but active market. He left Seattle and joined Vernon in Lewiston, Idaho. In a small room at the Speer bullet plant, he began production of these special cases using an impact extrusion process.

Speer's cases were first sold under the name, "Forged from Solid", before changing it to Speer Cartridge Works. Later, market confusion over to companies with ”Speer” in the name led Dick and his partner Arvid Nelson to change the name to Cascade Cartridges, Inc., or CCI.

Although Dick's case-making process was sound, the quality of the raw material was not. In the early post-war years, most stocks of cartridge brass had been depleted for the war effort. Faced with an untenable situation, Dick turned to a different path.

Component primers for reloaders were in short supply. Some war surplus primers were showing up but the supply and choice was limited. Dick decided to get into the component primer business. He found a refugee scientist from Lithuania, Dr. Victor Jasaitis, and brought him to Lewiston in 1951. Dr. Jasaitis, or "Doc" to most people, was a specialist in explosive chemistry, and developed the exotic chemicals and processes needed for primer manufacture. Although Dick intended to build primers for hobby reloaders, his first shipment was to fulfill an military contract, using the chlorate FA-70 formula. Then he turned to non-corrosive, non-mercuric formulas for sporting cartridges, and reloaders now had a steady supply of rifle and pistol primers that was unheard of previously.

To handle the new business, Dick Speer bought a 17-acre chicken "ranch" next to the Lewiston Gun Club just a mile south of brother Vernon's bullet works. The farmhouse doubled as an office and warehouse, and production began in a renovated chicken coop. He quickly erected modern labs and manufacturing buikdings, gaining him room to expand the product line. When the gun club moved, Dick bought the adjoining property for future expansion. The CCI plant still occupies that property today.

In 1957, Dick added shotshells to the line and, two years later, began making industrial powerloads for powder-actuated fastener systems. In 1962, he expanded into rimfire ammunition with Mini-Mag, still our most popular rimfire product.

In 1967, an Oregon firm, Omark Industries, was seeking an in-house source of loads for the powder-actuated tools they manufactured, and bought CCI from Dick Speer. Seeing the profitability of sporting ammo and components, they wisely elected to let CCI continue to grow in this area. New products such as Stinger, the world's first hypervelocity 22 Long Rifle ammo, rolled out of the CCI facility.

In 1980, CCI entered the centerfire ammunition market with Blazer®. This innovative products used aluminum cartridge cases and high-tech manufacturing processes to create effective, low-cost ammunition for training and practice.

In 1986, CCI's development engineers set out on a comprehensive primer improvement program to meet the requirements of progressive loading equipment that was starting to dominate the reloading market. The program wrapped up in 1989 with the introduction of all-new primers that featured smooth feeding through automated equipment, reduced residue in non-magnum primers, improved primer seating, and better sensitivity that included a larger "sweet spot" for firearms that produced off-center firing pin strikes.

In 1991, CCI opened a new, state-of-the-art primer manufacturing facility to insure that we could supply all our customers' needs. During the so-called "primer shortage" of 1993-94, CCI was the only US primer manufacture to continuously ship primers to commercial accounts, largely due to the increased capacity afforded by this new facility. CCI is also a major supplier of military cannon primers.

In 1990, CCI perfected the first hypervelocity 22 Magnum Rimfire cartridge, and has continued to add new rimfire products like Mini-Mag™ Silhouette, Quik-Shok, and Velocitor™, the fastest 40 grain 22 Long Rifle load on the market.

A Brief History Of CCI® Blazer® Centerfire Ammunition
Including some Frequently Asked Questions
In the late 1970's, US ammunition makers were faced with increasing costs and competition from cheap imports. At CCI-Speer, our premium Lawman® ammunition with high-performance bullets appealed to serious sport shooters and peace officers, but was more than the casual shooter needed. We set out to find a way to offer these shooters economical ammunition that could be priced lower than many imports yet provide American-made quality. As the 38 Special was the most popular handgun cartridge then, the project was known internally as "Low-cost 38's."

We knew that the cartridge case was the single most expensive component of a modern cartridge. Significant costs savings in the other components were not realistic, so we investigated ways that would take costs out of the case without compromising safety or function. The areas of raw material, production processes, labor, and scrap rates all had to be considered.

Raw material costs vary through the year with supply and demand, but we could take cost out of a case by investigating materials other than cartridge brass. We looked at other grades of brass, several classes of polymer plastics, steel, various grades of aluminum, and other materials. Of these, the best candidate was an aircraft-grade aluminum that could be heat-treated for strength. Although cartridge brass and this grade of aluminum cost about the same per pound, one pound of aluminum yields more cases than one pound of brass. We had a material-now the question was, "Can we build cases at a decent internal cost?"

To do this, it meant having a good process and controlling scrap rates. We found the equipment needed to form and heat-treat aluminum cases. We sourced a raw material format that reduced scrap rates from the 30 percent of conventional case forming to a tiny two percent. Over the period of a year, scrap rate improvement alone would yield impressive savings.

We entered this project targeting the 75 percent of the shooting market that does not reload, so several aspects of an aluminum case that affected reloadability played well with a cartridge for the non-reloader. To discourage reloading of Blazer cases, and to gain a small savings on primer cost, we elected to go with efficient Berdan priming. In the Berdan system, the anvil moves from the primer to the case. Adding a Berdan anvil to a case is free; in a Boxer primer it is a separate part with its own cost.

Original Blazer cases used an odd primer diameter (0.195 inch) to further discourage reloading. This was eventually changed when we started loading higher pressure cartridges like the 9mm Luger and 357 Magnum. They needed the extra material in the case head that a 0.175 inch primer pocket affords. From that point on, we used a standard .175 inch Berdan pocket in all cartridges that took a small pistol primer.

An early problem came up. Although cases were heat-treated "by the book," they were not springing away from revolver chamber walls as they should. We discovered the problem was "the book," not the material. All published aluminum heat treat references were prepared with large part like landing gear struts in mind. The techniques did not translate to small parts. Out of necessity, CCI rewrote the book on aluminum heat treatment. We made numerous breakthroughs in this field that gave us a strong case and a leadership position in this technology.

The final case was ready for market. The savings were partially due to getting more cases per pound of raw material, but the savings in processing and the all-important scrap rate were as significant. The economical case was a multi-discipline success that grew directly out of smart engineering.

The cases were done, and a new, more efficient loading line was built to reduce direct labor costs and increase throughput. The later had a remarkable positive effect on the bottom line. We went "outside the box" to develop a loading system that was not previously used for centerfire ammunition. It was safe, efficient, and enabled us to change caliber set-ups easily to quickly react to incoming orders. In 1981, the first Blazer ammunition was introduced to the market. It was 38 Special, loaded with a 158 grain round nose lead bullet. Blazer was on it way.

Today, Blazer is a highly evolved product. Through constant testing and improvement, we have overcome the objections that traditional shooters found to a non-brass cartridge case. The number of Blazer calibers increased to 13 today. We offer a selection of bullet weights and types not found in most imports or "white box" domestic ammo.

2299 Snake River Ave.
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: (208)-799-3944
Fax: (208)-798-3397

CCI Website

From Website:

Essay from "Industrial Canada" 1967

CANADIAN INDUSTRIES LIMITED
The corporate history of Canadian Industries Limited began in 1862. In that year, the Hamilton Powder Company was incorporated and acquired the Canada Powder Company (started in 1852). Their product was the black blasting powder so essential to Canada's pioneers.

In 1878 the company was purchased by Dr. Thomas C. Brainerd, a U.S. businessman well-known in the powder-making industry. To meet the need for tremendous quantities of explosives (especially nitro-glycerine dynamite) required for construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, a dynamite plant was built at McMasterville, Que. on the general site of the present plant. Other black powder plants were acquired in Quebec and the Maritimes and, in 1890, the Hamilton Powder Company established the first explosives plant in the far west near Nanaimo, B.C.

Another C-I-L ancestor, the Dominion Cartridge Company, was founded at Brownsburg, Que. in 1886 by Captain A. L. ("Gat") Howard, who introduced the Gatling gun into Canada and operated a battery of two of the new weapons during the Riel Rebellion. Howard won the support of several influential Canadians, including Dr. T. C. Brainerd of Hamilton Powder, and when the Dominion Cartridge Company was formed Dr. Brainerd became its first president, with "Gat" Howard as plant manager.

In 1910 five explosives companies, a cartridge plant and a plant making acids and fertilizers merged to form Canadian Explosives Limited. Hamilton Powder Company and the Dominion Cartridge Company were among them; the others were Acadia Powder Company, Waverley, N.S., Ontario Powder Company, Tweed, Ont., Standard Explosives Company, Vaudreuil, Que., Western Explosives Company, near Vancouver and the Victoria Chemical Company, Victoria, B.C.

Throughout the 20's, Canadian Explosives Limited diversified into paint and varnish, coated fabrics and plastics. In 1927 the company's name was changed to Canadian Industries Limited.

At the outbreak of World War II C-I-L put its technological experience at the service of the Canadian government. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Defence Industries Limited, was formed to handle the construction, operation and management of Crown-owned munitions plants. Defence Industries Limited designed, built and operated Crown-owned plants worth more than $100 million, and at one time employed 33,000 men and women.

A great post-war building program geared C-I-L to meet peacetime needs for explosives, paints, agricultural and industrial chemicals, plastics, sporting ammunition and man-made textile fabrics.

In 1954 C-I-L was divided into two separate companies in accordance with the ruling of a U.S. court which had ordered E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company to end its joint interests with Imperial Chemicals Limited.

Today the company is the largest producer of chemicals and related products in Canada. With head office in Montreal, 36 plants across Canada and sales offices and warehouses in most of the major centres, C-I-L handles hundreds of products manufactured in its own plants and those of its associated companies.

The company also has manufacturing interests in the West Indies, Liberia and Mexico.

From Winchester Website:

During the late 1890s and early 1900s, several companies in the United States began to develop as integrated ammunition organizations.

One of those was the Western Cartridge Company, which was also a powder manufacturer. In 1892, Franklin W. Olin and his associates formed the Equitable Powder Manufacturing Company at East Alton, Illinois, to manufacture black powder that was sold chiefly to the mines in the area. However, because that business was seasonal, Olin became interested in loading shotshells. In February 1898, he persuaded his associates to join him in forming the Western Cartridge Company, also located in East Alton, the principal purpose being to provide a market for powder that could be produced by The Equitable Powder Company in the off season.

With the outbreak of World War I, interest in negotiating contracts for arms and ammunition picked up sharply. When the United States declared war in 1917, Winchester again was called on to fulfill contracts for arms and ammunition.

The purchase of Winchester by the Olin interests brought a breath of life to the institution. A major benefit was having the leadership of John M. Olin, son of company founder F.W. Olin. When John Olin, at that time First Vice President of Western Cartridge Company, came to New Haven to find out just what he and his associates had purchased, he found stored-up accumulation of new gun models and ideas. He was able to make an accurate appraisal of each model and to introduce a number of revolutionary ideas he had in mind.

John Olin was a master inventor

...and his name appeared on more than 20 patents, several of which dealt with Super-X developments. Super-X ammunition, probably Western Cartridge Company's most widely known product, resulted from his work during World War I. Super-X was a major development in the ammunition industry early in the post-war years. It came, according to John Olin himself, partly from his personal desire to teach sportsmanship to a hunter who shot ducks on the water rather than on the wing. Olin even suggested to the greedy hunter that if he needed meat on the table he should go shoot a cow. "You can get a thousand pounds of meat with one shell."

On December 14, 1940, a contract was signed with the government for the United States Cartridge Company, a subsidiary corporation of the Olin-owned companies, to build and operate the St. Louis Ordnance Plant, the greatest small arms plant in the military history of the nation. At its peak production period in 1943 the plant had 34,338 employees on its payroll. Manufacture of ammunition components began October 20, 1941, and the first finished ammunition came off the line at the new plant on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor forced the United States into World War II.

Total production of .30 and .50 caliber rifle and machine gun ammunition at the St. Louis Ordnance Plant during the war, 6,738,009,746 loaded rounds, exceeded the output of all of the nation's small arms ammunition plants in World War I. In addition, the Western Cartridge Company plant at East Alton produced 4,022,621,734 loaded rounds of ammunition, and the Winchester plant in New Haven another 4,499,493,774 rounds. Thus a total of 15,260,125,254 rounds of ammunition were produced by the various Olin companies during World War II.

Fiocchi Ammunition USA
6930 Fremont Road
Ozark, MO 65721
Phone: 417-725-4118
Fax: 417-725-1039
Fiocchi USA Website

Fiocchi Website

From Website (Translated):

Fiocchi activity starts in 1876 when the founder, Giulio Fiocchi, took over a small factory producing black powder. At that time a radical change was introduced in firearms: the newly developed breech-loader employing ammunition and components (especially cases) of modern concept replaced the traditional muzzle loader.
Fiocchi took the chance and started manufacturing cases with primers suitable for reloading; in the early 90's the production is extended to complete cartridges
loaded with bullets or shots.
At the same time Fiocchi gave up the production of black powder as it was no more profitable.
Since the very beginning of its activity the company adopted a structure policy laying the ground for then and today's succes: production machinery and equipment are designed and made by Fiocchi fully meeting its production
requirements.
Such a strategy has always enabled Fiocchi to guide production with up-to-date technology matching with its manufacturing configuration.
At the beginning of 20th century Fiocchi introduced a product diversification and successfully entered a new field of activity-snaps-made using the off-cuts of production.
Snaps busines assumed an important role to counterbalance
the trend of the ammunition market and at the end of 80's was so attractive that, upon Fiocchi decision to focus ammunition as core business, the snaps factory was taken over by the European leader in this field of activity.
During its long life Fiocchi has manufactured all kind of ammunition for guns rifle or pistol: from fire pin shotshells and cartridges, to all kind of cartridges and cases either rimfire or centerfire.
Nowadays Fiocchi is world-leader in small gauge ammunition and offers a very wide range of products suitable to meet all demands from shooters or hunters.
Qualifications and Certifications of prestige attest the level of quality achieved by the company.

Fiocchi history
1876 Year of foundation
1877 Start of ammunition production
1901 Product diversification: snaps
1930 Beginning of export
1940 Development of social policy in the territory of Lecco
1945 Bombing of the plant in Lecco
1946 Re-building of the plant
1970 Attack on the European markets
1980 Start of .22 Super Match production
1985 New quality inspection unit
1985 Start of "leadless" primers production
1989 Nato qualification of the cartridge 9 mm Parabellum
1990 Impulse to world-market
expansion
1990 Quality Sistem Certificate in accordance with the stardands NATO AQAP-1
1991 Start of production of ammuni-
tion with frangible bullets
1993 New loading department for .22 cartridges
1994 New flexible manufacturing line for centerfire ammunition
1994 Automatization line for cases
production
1995 New line of products: "Official" clay shooting cartridges
1996 New line of Spas Mil and Law Enforcement ammunition
1999 New line of hunting cartridges
1999 Nato qualification of the cartridges 5,56 mm Ball
2003 Environment Management System Certificate in accordance with the standards UNI EN ISO 14001:1996
2003 Quality Management System Certificate in accordance with the standards UNI EN ISO 9001:2000

Fiocchi Ammunition USA
6930 Fremont Road
Ozark, MO 65721
Phone: 417-725-4118
Fax: 417-725-1039
Fiocchi USA Website

Fiocchi Website

From Website (Translated):

Hornady Manufacturing Co.
Box 1848
Grand Island, NE 68802
1-800-338-3220
Fax: 308-382-5761
E-mail: webmaster@hornady.com
Hornady Website

From Website:

“Ten bullets through one hole” was the philosophy of Joyce Hornady, the company's founder. This great idea of accuracy and perfection has continued from the first bullet made more than half a century ago, right through today.

Like so many successful companies, Hornady Manufacturing was born out of one man’s vision of a better product for his own use. Joyce Hornady was an ardent shooter and needed a constant supply of good, accurate bullets. While commercially available bullets were usable, Joyce felt that better bullets could be made.

During World War II, Joyce had taken a job in a guard training unit at the Grand Island Arsenal. He and his family of three moved to Grand Island from Lincoln . In the first years following the war, shooters and hunters used some of the vast surplus of military ammunition for their sport shooting. This surplus ammunition, however, did not offer the accuracy or performance needed for target shooting, big game or varmint hunting. Joyce realized the need for better bullets and he responded to it. In 1949, using his training as an engineer, he and his original partner Vernon Speer built a machine that converted spent .22 rimfire cases into bullet jackets, and then into bullets. Advertised in the “American Rifleman” Magazine, these bullets sold well all over the country. Using a surplus bullet assembly press, he also began to produce a 30 caliber bullet. From the initial production in 1949, this bullet still remains one of our most popular.

The early years
The first year yielded total sales of only $10,000 - a figure that increased three-fold over the first decade. The Korean War slowed growth for a time, as raw materials were allocated for war production. During this time, Hornady Manufacturing produced a variety of products not associated with bullets - aluminum hearts for bracelets, and condenser cans for the government. After the war, the can material was used to make ultra thin copper jackets for varmint bullets.

By 1958, the company had moved from the rented garage that was its first home, to our present location on the west edge of Grand Island. The new facility included a 200 yard underground tunnel for test firing new designs and for quality control of bullets in production. A new rifle bullet shape was developed at this time and continues to be used to this day. Also, the number of full-time employees increased to 40.

Since not all hunters and shooters are reloaders, in 1964, Hornady introduced its line of Frontier ammunition, which was manufactured using surplus military brass. The initial offering was five different cartridges. However the Viet Nam war caused a shortage of military brass, so the ammunition began to be loaded with new brass cases.

Steve Hornady
By this time, Steve Hornady had joined the company fulltime. Hornady Manufacturing had become the world's largest independent manufacturer of bullets, and the Frontier ammunition division also continued to prosper. In 1972, Hornady opened a new chapter with the accquisition of the Pacific Tool Company -- a California maker of home reloading presses. Hornady brought Pacific’s manufacturing operation into the Grand Island fold, and brought exciting improvements to the product line.

Through the 1970's the Hornady divisions continued to grow. New bullet designs and ammunition were added to the line as well as different styles of reloading equipment. In the late '70's Hornady acquired the West Coast Shot Company in Reno Nevada , and renamed it Hornady Magnum Shot. It became in independent company in the early 1990's reverting back to its original name, and produces premium grade lead shot.

In January, 1981, Joyce, along with engineer Ed Heers, and customer service manager Jim Garber were killed in a private plane crash en route to New Orleans for a major trade show. Steve Hornady became president, and his sister Margaret Hornady David and her husband Don David moved to Grand Island to become vice-president and chief engineer respectively.

In 1983, Frontier Ammunition and Pacific reloading Tools were renamed Hornady Custom Ammunition and Hornady Reloading Tools to reflect the merger of the divisions into one corporation.

In 1990, the Hornady XTP (which stands for Extreme Terminal Performance) won the industry's Product Award of Merit 1990 from the National Association of Federal Licensed Dealers.

Today
Hornady Manufacturing has over 150 employees, and occupies over 70,000 square feet of a plant that in a single day produces more bullets than the entire first year's production. Our market includes not only the United States , but much of Canada ,Europe ,Australia ,Iceland ,New Zealand , and parts of Africa

We continue to be the largest independent producer of bullets which we sell as separate reloading components, loaded on our Custom Ammunition, and also sell to other ammunition companies to be loaded on their premium grade ammo. Marval Hornady is still active in the company as chairman of the board, and as you're aware, does a huge amount of volunteer work in Grand Island promoting the arts, the Stuhr Museum, and College Park, to name a few.

Our employees exhibit our products at trade shows and shooting matches across the country, and our product lines are represented to dealers and distributors by over 60 independent reps. In spite of the sluggish economy in parts of the country, we've been able to keep two work shifts in both the bullet and tool division and a single shift making ammo.

"Ten bullets through one hole" is still what it takes to make a good product. And thanks to continued advancements in Hornady's engineering designs and production tolerances, that hole keeps getting tighter and tighter.

Federal Cartridge Company
900 Ehlen Drive
Anoka, MN 55303-7503
1-800-322-2342
Fax: (763) 323-2506

Federal Cartridge Contact Form