Calico Light Weapons Inc. (CLWS) is an American privately held

manufacturing company Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...

based in

Elgin, Oregon Elgin is a city in Union County, Oregon, Union County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,711 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The community is named after the ''PS Lady Elgin, Lady Elgin'', a ship lost on Lake Michigan. Th ...

that designs, develops and manufactures semiautomatic firearms. It was established in 1982 in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

, and released its first production weapon in 1985. In 1998 its operations were moved to

Sparks, Nevada Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the fifth most populous city in ...

, where replacement parts for existing weapons were produced. In 2006, it was sold once again and moved to Hillsboro, Oregon, where full firearm production resumed. It implemented a

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a ...

machining process and upgraded materials used in manufacture. There were also minor redesigns of some production models to increase durability and reliability.

Products

CLWS produces a line of

pistols A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

and pistol-caliber

carbines A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

that feature a top-mounted

helical Helical may refer to: * Helix, the mathematical concept for the shape * Helical engine, a proposed spacecraft propulsion drive * Helical spring, a coilspring * Helical plc, a British property company, once a maker of steel bar stock * Helicoil A t ...

-feed 50- or 100-round magazine that ejects spent shells from a bottom port, making a

brass catcher A brass catcher (also brass trap) is a device designed to capture Cartridge (firearms), cartridge casings, often made of brass, as they are Extractor (firearms), ejected from a firearm. Various designs exist, utilizing a bag, pouch, net or box to ...

practical in various situations. Nine millimeter pistols, carbines and submachineguns use the

roller-delayed blowback Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge. Several blowback systems exist wit ...

principle used in the

Heckler & Koch Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK; ) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also ...

series of firearms. At the 2012

SHOT Show The SHOT Show , which is an acronym for "Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show", is an American annual trade show for the shooting sports, hunting, outdoor recreations and firearm manufacturing industries. The show is owned and sponsored by ...

, Calico exhibited a prototype 12-gauge shotgun with top-mounted helical magazine.

Projects and operations

Calico is working to secure military and law enforcement and export contracts. Its firearms have appeared in several action and science fiction films, including ''

Spaceballs ''Spaceballs'' is a 1987 American space opera parody film co-written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. It is primarily a parody of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, but also parodies other sci-fi films and popular franchises including ...

'', ''

I Come in Peace ''I Come in Peace'' (released under the alternative title ''Dark Angel'') is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Craig R. Baxley, and starring Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley and Matthias Hues. The film was releas ...

'' and some James Bond films, due to their futuristic appearance. The company's motto is ''A Revolution in Firepower!'' Calico is one of the largest manufacturers of large (50- and 100-round) magazines for automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

Products

Current *.22 LR pistols **Calico M110 *.22 LR rifles ** Calico M100S & M-100 tactical **M-100FS & M-100FS tactical *9 mm pistols **Calico Liberty III & Liberty III tactical *9 mm rifles **Liberty I and II **Liberty I and II tactical **Calico M960 ''(military and law enforcement only)'' **

Calico M960A The Calico M960A is an American selective Automatic firearm, fully automatic submachine gun (SMG) based on the Calico M950 with the addition of an extending butt and a forward grip. It is chambered for the 9×19mm Luger which takes 50-round or 10 ...

Discontinued *.22 LR pistols **M-100P *9 mm pistols ** M950 *Carbines **M-900 **M-951 *Sub-machineguns **M-750 **M-900A **M-950A Cancelled *Shotgun **Calico 12-gauge shotgun

References

{{reflist

External links

Calico Official Web Site

Firearm manufacturers of the United States Companies established in 1982 Privately held companies based in Oregon Union County, Oregon 1982 establishments in California

Products

Projects and operations

Products

See also

References

External links