Headquartered in Anoka, Minnesota, the Kinetic Group is the largest manufacturer of ammunition in the United States with several brands under its umbrella, including Cascade Cartridge Inc. (CCI), Federal Premium, Hevi-Shot, Remington Ammunition, and Speer.
The Kinetic Group was previously part of Vista Outdoor, a large, publicly traded conglomerate that specialized in ammunition and sporting goods, before it was sold to the Czechoslovak Group, a Czech conglomerate owned by billionaire Michael Strnad, for $2.23 billion. First announced in October 2023, the sale was completed in November 2024 after a contentious sales process.
Before it was spun off, the Kinetic Group’s brands made over $1.5 billion in ammunition sales in fiscal year 2024, representing a significant industry segment that faces far fewer restrictions than firearms.
For example, while the Kinetic Group sells ammunition through gun shops and sporting goods stores, its brands also offer ammunition directly through their websites, enabling even those who are underage or legally prohibited from owning firearms to stockpile ammunition. According to federal law, licensed gun manufacturers and dealers cannot sell long gun or handgun ammunition to anyone they know or have reasonable cause to believe is under 18 or 21 years old, respectively, but there is no requirement that an ammunition seller verify the customer’s age, run a background check, or keep sales records, as required for firearms. In many states, ammunition can be shipped directly to individuals, too, removing any need to visit a brick-and-mortar store.
When purchasing ammunition through the Federal Premium website, for example, the “guest checkout” option asks for a buyer’s address, contact information, and payment. The buyer must also input which state they live in because “[s]ome states have legal restrictions for the purchase of certain items” and check a box saying they are old enough to buy ammunition — an easy obstacle to overcome. There are no further requirements for a customer to prove they are of age or legally able to purchase ammunition.
There are also no limits to how much ammunition customers can purchase at once or in subsequent transactions and have shipped to their doors across the Kinetic Group’s brands.
It is unclear what measures the Kinetic Group takes to secure its supply chain to prevent the ammunition it produces from entering the illegal market. For example, information is not publicly available on whether the Kinetic Group requires its dealers and distributors to secure their inventories, flag questionable customers, or report the results of ATF compliance inspections and crime gun trace requests.
Considering the lack of legislative or regulatory action in this regard, firearm and ammunition manufacturers should, at a minimum, adopt stronger public codes of conduct to hold their distributors and dealers accountable in securing supply chains.
The Kinetic Group sells military-grade ammunition to civilians, including .50-caliber rounds. The .50 BMG was originally adopted by the U.S. military for use in machine guns and, later, sniper rifles to disable enemy vehicles, including aircraft, and other material targets at great distances. The caliber’s raw power and range has also made it an attractive choice for criminals and extremists, but firearms experts concede that it is overkill for self-defense and hunting.
Similarly, Federal Premium offers civilian AR-15 owners versions of the M855 “green tip” ammunition adopted by the U.S. military to give soldiers a better chance of penetrating an enemy combatant’s steel helmet at a distance with their M16 rifles. Despite their barrier-penetrating capabilities — one reason why the perpetrator of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, sought M855 ammunition, according to his racist diatribe and Discord “diary” entries — these rounds are legal for civilians to own in most states, and do not meet the federal definition of “armor-piercing ammunition” because their bullets have cores made from a mixture of lead and steel.
While the company produces lead-free alternatives, a review of the ammunition available on the Kinetic Group’s websites shows that the majority is lead-based. Lead is incredibly toxic to humans, and hunters “who frequently consume game shot with lead ammunition are at risk from high dietary lead exposure.” Gunshot victims can also suffer the ill effects of lead poisoning years after they were attacked if bullet fragments remain in their bodies.
Lead ammunition can also have a devastating impact on wildlife — especially those animals, like California condors, that consume the remains of game hunted with lead ammunition.
The Kinetic Group has also helped popularize concealed carry. Along with offering a wide range of personal-defense ammunition and sponsoring content from the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), the manufacturer unveiled a new handgun caliber, the .30 Super Carry, in 2022 that is designed specifically for concealed carry. It is slightly smaller than the 9mm while allowing for increased ammunition capacity. As the company claims, the .30 Super Carry “allows more magazine capacity than [the] 9mm Luger, yet delivers equal muzzle energy and performance,” giving shooters “more confidence” and the “best ballistic performance attainable.”
The Kinetic Group’s previous owner, Vista Outdoor, was a major NRA supporter. Not only have the company’s brands sponsored NRA events and been consistent exhibitors at NRA conventions, but in 2019, Vista Outdoor’s then-CEO Chris Metz stated, “If we’re not the largest industry supporter of the NRA we’re certainly one of the top and that will continue to remain the case. We own more than a dozen leading brands, all dedicated to Second Amendment supporters. It’s the crux of who we are and what we represent. You’ll see that support continue, even more so.”
That same year, Federal Premium joined the NRA’s “Golden Ring of Freedom” for donating over $1 million to the organization.
